Tressette

The rules, in full

Tressette is played with the 40-card Italian pack. This is the two-player game with the stock: you against the computer, and a match goes to 21 points.

Each player gets ten cards and the other twenty stay in the stock.

• The leader plays any card. The other player must follow suit if they can: only a player with no card of that suit may play another.
• There are no trumps. The trick goes to the highest card of the suit led; a card of another suit never takes it.
• Whoever takes the trick draws first, then the other player, and the winner leads the next trick. Drawn cards are shown: in the game you see them face up in the computer's hand.
• When the stock runs out, the last ten cards are played.

The cards do not rank by number. The highest is the 3, then the 2, then the Ace, the King, the Knight, the Jack, and then 7, 6, 5, 4. The Three is where the game gets its name.

How the points are counted

At the end of a hand the thirds are added up and only whole points are kept: six and a third is six. That is why a hand almost never adds up to 11 points, though the pack holds ten and two thirds plus the last trick.

The first to 21 wins; if both pass 21 the higher score wins, and a tie means another hand.

Accusi

With the Accusi button on, at the start of each hand players declare the combinations among the ten cards they were dealt:

• napoletana: the Ace, 2 and 3 of one suit, worth 3 points, plus one for each card that continues the run (with the 4 as well it is 4, and so on);
• buongioco: three 3s, three 2s or three Aces, worth 3 points; all four, 4 points.

The game announces them when the hand begins, and the cards the computer declares stay face up in its hand: it said them out loud. Turning accusi on or off starts a new match.

Against the computer: three levels

• Easy often plays at random and gives points away.
• Normal plays the first rules everyone learns: it takes a trick when it is worth it with the lowest card that will do, never gives away an Ace, leads the cards nobody can beat and gets rid of the ones worth nothing.
• Hard keeps count of everything: the cards played, the cards drawn, and the suits you did not follow, which means you have none left. From that it imagines your cards and picks the best move, and it plays the last cards without a mistake.

The computer never sees your hidden cards or the stock.

Strategy that actually helps

Count the 3s and the 2s. They are the strongest cards in each suit. An Ace is only safe once the 3 and the 2 of its suit have gone or are in your hand.

Do not give away Aces. When you cannot take a trick, follow with the card worth least. An Ace played under a 3 is a point handed over.

Watch the drawn cards. In the two-player game you always know part of your opponent's hand. If they drew the 3 of cups, do not play the Ace of cups.

Not following suit tells everyone. The same goes for the computer: if it does not follow spades, it has none left, and your low swords become cards that take tricks.

Keep an eye on the last trick. It is worth a whole point, as much as an Ace. In the final cards it pays to keep a safe card back to take it.

Controls

• Touch or mouse: tap a card in your hand to play it. When you must follow suit, the cards you cannot play are faded.
• Keyboard: 1 to 9, and 0 for the tenth, play a card; the arrows and Enter choose and play. N starts a new match, L changes the level, D switches the cards between Neapolitan and Piacentine.

A little history

Tressette is the thinking player's card game of the Italian tradition, played mostly in central and southern Italy, and with Scopa and Briscola it makes up the trio of games found in every club. The best-known form is four players in pairs; the two-player game with the stock is how it is played when there are only two. If you would rather play without having to follow suit, try Briscola, where a trump suit decides.

Common questions

Is it free? Yes. It runs in your browser, with no signup and nothing to download.

Can I play Tressette against the computer? Yes: you against the computer, at three levels, with the stock and the drawn cards shown.

What is the highest card in Tressette? The 3, then the 2 and then the Ace.

How much is an Ace worth in Tressette? A whole point. The 3, the 2 and the court cards are a third each, the others nothing.

Do you have to follow suit? Yes, always, if you hold a card of that suit. It is the main difference from Briscola.

How many points is a match? Here, 21, the most common length.

Does it work on a phone? Yes. The ten cards overlap a little; tap the one you want to play.