Minchiate Fiorentine

4 players · You partner the opposite AI · One deal

1. 1

   Objective

   • Partner with the player opposite and compete for card points. Convert the teams’ point difference into resti, the settlement units. Net resti determine the result; zero is a draw. The conversion is explained under Scoring and ending.
2. 2

   Setup

   • Use 97 cards. The system chooses the dealer and cuts. The cutter robs up to thirteen counting cards or trumps above 20. Robbed counting cards score immediately.
   • Deal each player a batch of 10 cards and a batch of 11, for 21 total. Reveal only the last card of the second batch and immediately score it if it has a point value. The undealt cards are the Fola. The dealer continues robbing from it, then takes its scoring cards and trump 29.
   • After robbing, the cutter and dealer must discard down to 21 cards each. Only zero-point cards may be discarded, and trump 29 may not be discarded.
   • Before play, you may declare versicole in your complete hand: the scoring combinations listed below. The Fola is then exposed. These remaining cards never take part in tricks. The system handles cutting and robbing. You choose discards, declarations and plays.
3. 3

   Playing a turn

   • Play anticlockwise. Follow suit, otherwise trump. Highest trump wins, otherwise highest of the led suit. The winner leads next.
   • Trumps rank 40 to 1. Courts rank Re > Regina > Cavallo > Fante/Fantina. Coins/Cups numerals rank A highest to 10 lowest. Swords/Batons reverse this.
   • On a suit's first lead, once trumped, a later player holding its King must play it—even instead of Matto. Otherwise Matto can excuse any play and stays with its team. Pay one captured card to opponents at the end, or Matto if your team took no tricks.
4. 4

   Scoring and ending

   • Individual card points: trumps 36–40 are worth 10 each. Trumps 30–35, 28, 20, 13, 10 and 1, plus Matto and the four Kings, are worth 5 each. Trumps 2–5 are worth 3 each. All other cards are worth 0.
   • During play, capturing scoring cards played by the opposing team immediately earns their point values. The total card points in the captured pile are scored again at the end.
   • Consecutive-trump combinations: at least three consecutive trumps within 1–5 or 28–40 form a versicola. Adjacent runs are merged for scoring.
   • Other combinations: trumps 1 and 40 with Matto. Trumps 1, 13 and 28. Trumps 10, 20 and 30 or 20, 30 and 40. Or at least three Kings.
   • Score each combination by adding the values of its cards. Trump 29 is worth 0 alone but 5 in a combination. Matto can add 5 to each combination.
   • After 21 tricks, each team scores its captured card points and combinations. Each captured card beyond 42 adds 1 point. The team taking the last trick adds 10.
   • After each scoring event during play, a lead of 60 points earns that team 1 resto and reduces the current point difference by 60. Repeat while the remaining lead is at least 60.
   • At the end, round the remaining point difference up in units of 60: a lead of 1–60 earns 1 resto, 61–120 earns 2 resti, and a zero difference adds nothing. Add this to the net resti settled during the deal.