Tressette

How to play Tressette

Tressette is one of Italy's two great card games — the thinking partner to the lively Scopa. It is a four-player partnership point-trick game with a famous twist: there is no trump. You simply follow suit, and the highest card of the suit that was led wins the trick. You and the player opposite are a team against two bots — or play online and fill the table with friends in real time.

Play Tressette online with friends

Choose Play online to be matched with real opponents, or share a private invite link so your foursome can sit down together — all four seats in the browser, no account and no app. The server deals, counts the thirds and keeps everyone in sync.

The cards

A 40-card Italian deck (Ace, 2–7, Jack, Queen, King — we draw them with French pips; the figures are the Fante, Cavallo and Re). The card strength is unusual, highest to lowest: 3, 2, Ace, King, Queen, Jack, 7, 6, 5, 4. So the lowly-looking 3 is the boss of its suit, and the Ace sits only third.

Counting in thirds

Points are measured in thirds of a point. An Ace is a whole point (three thirds); the 2, the 3 and each figure (King, Queen, Jack) are worth one third; the 4, 5, 6 and 7 are worth nothing. At the end of a deal each team adds up its thirds and rounds down to whole points — the leftover thirds are simply lost. The side that wins the very last trick scores one extra point, so eleven points are in play each deal.

Playing a trick

• The player to the dealer's right leads; you must follow the led suit if you can.
• If you are void in that suit you may play any card — but you can never win the trick, because there is no trump.
• The highest card of the led suit takes the trick and leads the next.

Scoring

Add each deal's whole points to your running total. The first team to reach 31 points wins the game. (This is basic Tressette — no spoken declarations such as accusi or napoletana.)

Strategy

The 3s and 2s are precious: they top their suits but carry points, so losing one to an opponent hurts twice. Lead your blank low cards (4–7) to probe and keep your bosses in hand. When your partner is winning a trick, feed them your point cards (the Ace especially); when an opponent leads, take the trick as cheaply as you can. Watch which suits have been "cleared" of high cards — a 3 becomes unbeatable once the 2 and Ace above it are gone. Tap a card to play it; legal cards are highlighted. N starts a new game.