Tarocchi, also known as Tarock or Tarot, is a traditional card game that originated in Italy in the 15th century. While there are several variations of the game across different regions, here are the basic rules for one of the most common versions, called Italian Tarocchi:
**Objective:**
The main goal is to score points by winning tricks containing high-value cards.
**Players:**
Typically played by 3-5 players.
**The Deck:**
A Tarocchi deck consists of 78 cards:
- 22 Major Arcana (trumps)
- 56 Minor Arcana divided into four suits: Cups, Pentacles (Coins), Swords, and Wands.
**Card Rankings:**
- The Fool (Il Matto) acts as a wild card.
- The trumps are ranked from 1 (lowest) to 21 (highest).
- The Minor Arcana suits are ranked like modern playing cards: Ace (low) to King (high), with an additional Page and Knight between 10 and Queen.
**Dealing:**
Each player is dealt 25 cards, with the remaining 3 cards forming the talon (a small stockpile). In some versions, the talon is 6 cards, and each player gets 24 cards.
**Bidding:**
Players bid to declare how many tricks they will win, or if they will take on specific challenges (such as winning all trumps or a certain number of points).
**Playing the Game:**
1. **Leading a Trick:** The player to the dealer's left leads the first trick by playing any card.
2. **Following Suit:** Players must follow suit if they can. If they cannot, they may play any card, including a trump.
3. **Winning Tricks:** The highest trump wins the trick if trumps are played. If no trumps are played, the highest card of the suit led wins the trick.
**Scoring:**
Points are assigned to certain cards:
- The Fool, 1 of Trumps (Magician), and 21 of Trumps (World) are worth 5 points each.
- Kings are worth 5 points each, Queens 4 points, Knights 3 points, and Pages 2 points.
- All other cards have no point value.
At the end of the game, players count their points based on the cards they've won in tricks. The player or team with the most points wins.
The specific rules and point values can vary depending on the region and the specific version of Tarocchi being played. It's a game rich in history and variation, much like the tarot cards themselves.
See also
https://boardgamemanuals.fandom.com/wiki/Tarot,_tarock_and_tarocchi_games#
Best as I understand it, Tarocchi and Euchre are kind of like distant cousins. Both are trick-taking games, But have different card decks, strategies, point systems, etc
I bought a deck when I lived in Europe ~15 years ago. This is what it looks like: https://imgur.com/a/hGJQq4O and https://imgur.com/a/hGJQq4O
The imagery on the trumps doesn't really correspond to anything in a RWS or other divination deck, it's more pastoral and rural scenes
It appears people have developed a few ideas how to do this, but I haven't tried them. I liked this one the best, but it could probably be improved. Ymmv.
1. **Deck Setup**: Use the full 78-card Tarot deck, including both the Major and Minor Arcana. Shuffle thoroughly.
2. **Tableau Setup**: Create the tableau with nine piles. Place one card face-up on the first pile, two cards (one face-up, one face-down) on the second pile, three cards (two face-down, one face-up) on the third pile, and so on until you have nine piles, with the top card of each pile face-up.
3. **Foundation Piles**: There are six foundation piles in total:
- Four for the Minor Arcana suits (Cups, Pentacles, Swords, and Wands), which are built from Ace to 10, followed by the Court cards (Page, Knight, Queen, and King) in sequence.
- Two for the Major Arcana:
- One pile for ascending order, starting with The Fool (0) up to The World (21).
- One pile for descending order, starting with The World (21) down to The Fool (0).
4. **Major Arcana Wild Card Rules**: Each Major Arcana card can be used as a wild card based on the following rules:
- A Major Arcana card can substitute for any Minor Arcana card of the same value.
- If a Major Arcana card is numbered 12 or higher, it can also be used as a wild card for its value minus 11 (e.g., The Hanged Man (12) can be used as an Ace, Death (13) as a 2, etc.).
- Major Arcana cards can also be stacked on each other in descending order, regardless of suits.
5. **Reserve Pile (Stock)**: The remaining cards form the reserve pile, which you can draw from to help move cards in the tableau or build the foundation piles.
6. **Gameplay**:
- Move cards within the tableau following traditional solitaire rules, where you can place a lower-ranked card of an opposite color on a higher-ranked card (e.g., place a 5 of Cups on a 6 of Swords).
- Use Major Arcana cards as wild cards or stack them in descending order within the tableau.
- Fill empty tableau spaces only with a King or a Major Arcana card starting a new descending sequence.
7. **Winning**:
- You win by building all six foundation piles correctly: the four Minor Arcana suits from Ace to King, the Major Arcana ascending from The Fool to The World, and the Major Arcana descending from The World to The Fool.
You can find info, gaming decks and directions to how to play Tarot when you search for "French Tarot" instead of just tarot. There's also a free app etc.
I've played it, it's pretty fun! It takes 3 players, so if you're starting to figure it out alone, the app (or an online game) where you play against a computer might be the easiest way to get a feel of it
There are whole families of these games (Italian, French, Hapsburg)
List of them plus rules for each 👉 [https://www.pagat.com/tarot/](https://www.pagat.com/tarot/)
Out of 78 card deck games I would guess the French tarot is played the most. Hapsburg versions which exist in pretty much every post Hapsburg country use 54 card deck (only 4 pip cards per suit).
Remove the major arcana and you’re left with the minor arcana which are the four suites (pentacles, wands, swords and cups) which are equivalent in a normal deck (hearts, clubs, diamonds and spades).
If we wanted to play with playing cards, we would just play with playing cards. The fun in playing games with tarot cards is the unique games that the major arcana allow for.
I think I do it the same way too. I'm not all insence, candles and beads. I just make a spread or ask questions and read the meaning from the booklet. If I need more indepth info I pull the oracle cards
you don't. those were games played by readers. that graduated from reading/ trading numbers & data on "playing cards" to images beyond people of status in Parliament, camouflaged by gamification to protect people from getting burned alive, outed as relics, or exploited by their neighbors, friends, and family. stick with backgammon. my bad for being sassy. I'm just so over people thinking that this is a game.
Tarocchi, also known as Tarock or Tarot, is a traditional card game that originated in Italy in the 15th century. While there are several variations of the game across different regions, here are the basic rules for one of the most common versions, called Italian Tarocchi: **Objective:** The main goal is to score points by winning tricks containing high-value cards. **Players:** Typically played by 3-5 players. **The Deck:** A Tarocchi deck consists of 78 cards: - 22 Major Arcana (trumps) - 56 Minor Arcana divided into four suits: Cups, Pentacles (Coins), Swords, and Wands. **Card Rankings:** - The Fool (Il Matto) acts as a wild card. - The trumps are ranked from 1 (lowest) to 21 (highest). - The Minor Arcana suits are ranked like modern playing cards: Ace (low) to King (high), with an additional Page and Knight between 10 and Queen. **Dealing:** Each player is dealt 25 cards, with the remaining 3 cards forming the talon (a small stockpile). In some versions, the talon is 6 cards, and each player gets 24 cards. **Bidding:** Players bid to declare how many tricks they will win, or if they will take on specific challenges (such as winning all trumps or a certain number of points). **Playing the Game:** 1. **Leading a Trick:** The player to the dealer's left leads the first trick by playing any card. 2. **Following Suit:** Players must follow suit if they can. If they cannot, they may play any card, including a trump. 3. **Winning Tricks:** The highest trump wins the trick if trumps are played. If no trumps are played, the highest card of the suit led wins the trick. **Scoring:** Points are assigned to certain cards: - The Fool, 1 of Trumps (Magician), and 21 of Trumps (World) are worth 5 points each. - Kings are worth 5 points each, Queens 4 points, Knights 3 points, and Pages 2 points. - All other cards have no point value. At the end of the game, players count their points based on the cards they've won in tricks. The player or team with the most points wins. The specific rules and point values can vary depending on the region and the specific version of Tarocchi being played. It's a game rich in history and variation, much like the tarot cards themselves. See also https://boardgamemanuals.fandom.com/wiki/Tarot,_tarock_and_tarocchi_games#
This sounds very similar to euchre I think? Or am I way off lol
Best as I understand it, Tarocchi and Euchre are kind of like distant cousins. Both are trick-taking games, But have different card decks, strategies, point systems, etc
Interesting, sounds very similar to the game called 500 too.
I bought a deck when I lived in Europe ~15 years ago. This is what it looks like: https://imgur.com/a/hGJQq4O and https://imgur.com/a/hGJQq4O The imagery on the trumps doesn't really correspond to anything in a RWS or other divination deck, it's more pastoral and rural scenes
This is awesome. Thank you for sharing. Do you know if there are any solitaire- like games you can play with the cards?
It appears people have developed a few ideas how to do this, but I haven't tried them. I liked this one the best, but it could probably be improved. Ymmv. 1. **Deck Setup**: Use the full 78-card Tarot deck, including both the Major and Minor Arcana. Shuffle thoroughly. 2. **Tableau Setup**: Create the tableau with nine piles. Place one card face-up on the first pile, two cards (one face-up, one face-down) on the second pile, three cards (two face-down, one face-up) on the third pile, and so on until you have nine piles, with the top card of each pile face-up. 3. **Foundation Piles**: There are six foundation piles in total: - Four for the Minor Arcana suits (Cups, Pentacles, Swords, and Wands), which are built from Ace to 10, followed by the Court cards (Page, Knight, Queen, and King) in sequence. - Two for the Major Arcana: - One pile for ascending order, starting with The Fool (0) up to The World (21). - One pile for descending order, starting with The World (21) down to The Fool (0). 4. **Major Arcana Wild Card Rules**: Each Major Arcana card can be used as a wild card based on the following rules: - A Major Arcana card can substitute for any Minor Arcana card of the same value. - If a Major Arcana card is numbered 12 or higher, it can also be used as a wild card for its value minus 11 (e.g., The Hanged Man (12) can be used as an Ace, Death (13) as a 2, etc.). - Major Arcana cards can also be stacked on each other in descending order, regardless of suits. 5. **Reserve Pile (Stock)**: The remaining cards form the reserve pile, which you can draw from to help move cards in the tableau or build the foundation piles. 6. **Gameplay**: - Move cards within the tableau following traditional solitaire rules, where you can place a lower-ranked card of an opposite color on a higher-ranked card (e.g., place a 5 of Cups on a 6 of Swords). - Use Major Arcana cards as wild cards or stack them in descending order within the tableau. - Fill empty tableau spaces only with a King or a Major Arcana card starting a new descending sequence. 7. **Winning**: - You win by building all six foundation piles correctly: the four Minor Arcana suits from Ace to King, the Major Arcana ascending from The Fool to The World, and the Major Arcana descending from The World to The Fool.
Thank you! That's awesome. I am going to give this a try soon.
You can find info, gaming decks and directions to how to play Tarot when you search for "French Tarot" instead of just tarot. There's also a free app etc. I've played it, it's pretty fun! It takes 3 players, so if you're starting to figure it out alone, the app (or an online game) where you play against a computer might be the easiest way to get a feel of it
There are whole families of these games (Italian, French, Hapsburg) List of them plus rules for each 👉 [https://www.pagat.com/tarot/](https://www.pagat.com/tarot/) Out of 78 card deck games I would guess the French tarot is played the most. Hapsburg versions which exist in pretty much every post Hapsburg country use 54 card deck (only 4 pip cards per suit).
Remove the major arcana and you’re left with the minor arcana which are the four suites (pentacles, wands, swords and cups) which are equivalent in a normal deck (hearts, clubs, diamonds and spades).
If we wanted to play with playing cards, we would just play with playing cards. The fun in playing games with tarot cards is the unique games that the major arcana allow for.
But obviously the games tarot cards are designed for wouldn’t remove the major arcana
You can play a game called beat the devil with the tarot deck. Search for "beat the devil with french tarot"
I've removed the major arcana cards and used the minor arcana to play an Italian card game called Scopa
TIL tarot was a game😂😂😂 I honestly thought it was meant to be a divination tool from the very start!
Same way you play with playing cards today. Poker, Crazy Eights, Go Fish, War, Bridge -- they all work.
I think I do it the same way too. I'm not all insence, candles and beads. I just make a spread or ask questions and read the meaning from the booklet. If I need more indepth info I pull the oracle cards
you don't. those were games played by readers. that graduated from reading/ trading numbers & data on "playing cards" to images beyond people of status in Parliament, camouflaged by gamification to protect people from getting burned alive, outed as relics, or exploited by their neighbors, friends, and family. stick with backgammon. my bad for being sassy. I'm just so over people thinking that this is a game.