Rules of Tute

Tute is one of the most popular card games played with Spanish-suited playing cards. It has Italian origin and the name derives from the word tutti (meaning: all).

Aim of the game

A game is played to an agreed number of rounds, established prior to the game start. The first player to win the required number of rounds is the winner of the game. Without prior agreement, the game is played in a single round.

Number of players

The number of players can vary from two to four, depending on the game mode.

Deck of cards

A 40 card Spanish deck is used to play.

Value of the cards

The value of the cards is as follows:

• Ace: 11 points
• Three: 10 points
• King: 4 points
• Knight: 3 points
• Jack: 2 points
• Seven, Six, Five, Four, Deuce: 0 points

Cards that have no point value are called white cards.

Dealing the cards

At the beginning of the game, the starting player, called the "hand", is determined. In the next round (if there is such), the new starting player will be the one to the right of the current one.

The number of cards to be dealt varies according to the number of players:

• 2 players: 8 cards each (16 cards plus 24 in the stock or deck).
• 3 players: 12 cards each (a deck of 36 cards is used, discarding all deuces).
• 4 players: 10 cards each (a full deck of 40 cards is used).

The last card dealt will be the one that marks the trump. If all the cards have not been dealt (in the 2-player mode), the rest is placed in a pile face down to draw.

Gameplay

The game starts with the player who is the current "hand", placing any of their cards on the table. The others continue according to their turn, playing a card based on the initial one. The group of cards played during a hand is known as a trick.

The next player has to:

1. Play a card of the same suit as the initial card and with a higher card value than the cards on the table, if possible.
2. Play a card of the same suit as the initial card and with a lesser value, if possible.
3. Play a trump suit card of higher value than any other card played by the other players.
4. Play any other card, whether of trump suit or not.

Note: If another player has already played a winning trump, the next player can play any card of the starting suit.

The trick is won by the player who has played the trump of the highest value, or, if there are no trumps, the card of the initial suit with the highest value. The winner takes the trick and keeps it until the end of the round.

The player who wins the trick starts the next hand and has also the option to make a declaration. When playing in pairs, the team partner has to declare too; otherwise, they will lose the opportunity.

Declarations

Declaration is made whena player announces that they have in their hand knight and king of the same suit, also known as ”acuse". The points are scored as follows:

• 40 points if the suit of the cards is the same as the suit of the trump. (the 40)
• 20 points if the suit of the cards is different from that of the trump. (20 in coins, swords, clubs and cups)

In addition, the player can declare "tute" if they have all the four kings or all the four knights, winning the game automatically.

• The declaration needs to be made immediately after winning the first trick, otherwise the opportunity is lost. If a player has more than one declaration to make, they have to distribute these between the different tricks.
  • In pairs mode, the declaration has to be made if the partner wins the first trick; otherwise, the opportunity is lost. The same applies to the following declarations.
• It is mandatory to declare "the 40" first.
• Only one declaration can be made for each won trick.
• Tute cannot be announced if another declaration has already been made previously.

2-player mode

In the 2-player mode, each time a trick is completed, both players must draw a card from the deck. As long as there are cards in the deck, the following game variations apply:

• The opponent can play any card.
• When the trump card is an ace, a three, a king, a knight or a jack, the player who has the 7 of the same suit can exchange them. You can also exchange the 7, 6, 5 or 4 for the 2 of the same suit. This operation can only be performed until a trick is won.

Declaring in 2-player mode

Declarations can only be done as long as there are cards in the deck and as long as neither the knight nor the king is the last card drawn.

4-player in pairs mode

In the four-player Tute mode, two pairs are formed (one player in front of the other) facing each other, with the aim of accumulating more points than the other pair. 10 cards are dealt to each player, and the last card reveals the trump suit.

Declaring in 4-player in pairs mode

Declarations are similar to the two-player mode, with the addition that a team can declare when one of the two team players makes a trick.

End of round and scoring

The round ends when all the players run out of cards. The player who manages to win the last trick of a round receives additional 10 points, known as “the last ten”.

The player or team who accumulates the most points in a round, adding the value of the cards they won, is the winner of that round. In each round, it is possible to reach up to 120 points (30 for each suit), in addition to the 10 points of the last trick, which gives a total of 130 points. In the case of exceeding 120 points, the player or team who has achieved it will score two games.

The rest of the points will depend on whether declarations have been made or not, and can reach a maximum of 100. There are 3 declarations that give 20 points each and an additional declaration that gives 40 points.

The first player or team who manage to win the total number of rounds is the winner of the game.

Know the rules, adapt your tactics and face each round with determination. Win crucial tricks and become the undisputed champion of Tute!