The games · Coolhand Cards

Tressette

Italy's no-trump partnership game. Follow suit, the three is the highest card, and every ace is a point where the face cards are worth a third.

Players: 4
Family: Trick-Taking
App: Coolhand Cards · iOS and Android, soon

How it goes

The player across the table is your partner. The deck is forty cards, ten each, and there is no trump suit at all. A trick is one card from each player in turn. Follow suit if you can, and the highest card of the suit led takes it. The order is the surprise: three, two, ace, king, queen, jack, then seven down to four, so the three beats everything. Every ace you take is a point. Every three, two and face card is a third of a point, and the last trick is a whole point. That makes eleven and two thirds in the deck, and the loose thirds are dropped when the deal is counted, so it's eleven a deal. The score is counted when a deal ends: a side with twenty-one then wins, and if both sides got there in the same deal, the higher total wins.

A good hand

The three and the two of one suit together, which take two tricks nobody can beat, and long suits to run once the high cards are out. With no trumps, the order of the cards in each suit is everything. Lead the suit where your side holds the top cards, and keep count of who has shown out of what. A player with none of a suit left is free to throw anything, which is worth knowing before you lead.

The usual mistake

Leading an ace into a suit where the three and the two are still out. It's a point card, and it loses. And playing a face card on a trick your partner already holds when a seven would have done. Thirds add up, and the odd third is thrown away at the count, so don't give any away for nothing.

Played differently where you are?

Card games change from table to table, and we researched some of these games instead of playing them. If Tressette goes differently where you play it, tell us. That's one of the things the closed beta is for.

The closed beta is by invitation. How to ask to join.