Tute ›
Rules of Tute
- Introduction to Tute
- Aim of the game
- Value of the cards (from the highest to the lowest)
- How to play tute
- Calls
- Variation for 2 players (Havanian Tute)
- Game controls
- Table options
- Ranking per points
Introduction to Tute
Tute is a card game from 2 to 4 players and it is one of the most popular games of the Spanish deck. Its origin is Italian and it comes from the Italian word tutti.
Aim of the game
A game is played with a certain number of rounds or plays, previously indicated. The first player that manages to win that number of rounds, will win the game (the game is established with one round, by default).
Value of the cards (from the highest to the lowest)
The value of the cards is equal to that of Briscola:
- Ace: 11 points
- Three: 10 points
- King: 4 points
- Knight: 3 points
- Knave: 2 points
- Seven, Six, Five, Four, Two: 0 points
The cards that are worthless in points are called white cards.
How to play tute
At the beginning of the game, the player that is the hand is chosen by automatic drawing lots, that is, the player that starts to play. In the following round (if there is one), the player that starts is the one on the right of the current player.
The number of cards to be dealt depends on the number of players:
- 2 players: 8 cards (16 cards plus 24 on the pile or deck)
- 3 players: 12 cards (36-card-deck. All the 2s are removed)
- 4 players: 10 cards (full 40-card-deck)
After dealing, the last card will indicate the trump. If all the cards were not dealt (variation for 2 players), the remaining cards will be left face down in a pile to be picked up.
Game course
The player that is the hand starts by throwing any of his/her cards. The others must throw one of their cards considering the first one. The group of cards played in a hand is called trick.
The following player must throw...
- ...a card with the same suit of the trump and with a higher value than the cards on the table, if he/she has one.
- ...a card with the same suit of the trump and with a lower value, if he/she has one.
- ... a card of the trump suit that has a higher value than any others thrown by another player.
- ...any cards that are trumps or not.
Note: If another player already threw the winning trump, the player can throw any cards with the suit of the trump.
Note 2: Popularly, it is called “draw” when the start card is a trump.
The player that places the highest valued trump or if there are no trumps, the highest valued card of the initial suit (the first card to be thrown) wins the trick.
That player gets the trick, that is, the cards thrown by the other players on that hand and keeps them until the end of the round.
The player that wins the trick begins throwing down in the next hand. They also have the right to call at this time. If in pairs, the partner also must call or lose the chance.
End of a round and count of points
The final round ends when players have no cards left. The one who gets the last trick in a round wins an additional 10 points, called “the last ten”.
The player that has more points (calculating the value of the cards gotten) wins the round.
There are 120 points on each round (30 per suit). And it is necessary to add the 10 points for the last trick which results in a total of 130 points per game.
The other points depend on whether there are callss or not. They can reach up to 100, that is the maximum number of points. There are 3 calls of 20 points and another one of 40 points.
End of game
The first player to win the total of rounds, will win the game.
Calls
A call happens when a player says he/she has in his/her hands the knight and the king of the same suit. They are worth 40 points when they have the same suit as the trump (the 40) and 20 points when they have a different suit from the trump (20 in coins, swords, sticks and cups).
The player can call “tute” if he/she has the 4 kings or the 4 knights and will directly win the game.
Note: the table option “allow calling tute”
- The call must happen right after winning the first trick, otherwise it will be lost. If it is possible to have more than one call, it will happen on the following tricks.
- In pairs, the call must happen if your partner wins the first trick, otherwise you will miss the chance. The same happens for the following calls.
- It is mandatory to call the 40 first of all.
- It is only possible to have one call per trick won.
- You cannot have a tute if you called before.
Variation for 2 players (Havanian Tute)
When only 2 people play, each time a trick finishes, the players will pick up a card from the deck. While there are cards on the deck, several game variations can happen:
- The opponent can throw any of the cards.
Note: If the table option “Allow picking up when the deck is there” is activated, the player must answer a trump with any other trump, if they have it, if it’s not obligatory to beat it with a higher one.
- When the card of the trump is an ace, a three, a king, a knight or a knave, the player who has the 7 of the same suit can exchange them. The same can be done, identically, to exchange the 7, 6, 5 or 4 for the 2. This action cannot be done until a trick is won.
Calls in the variation for 2 players
It is only possible to call while there is a deck and whenever the knight or the king are not the last card you pick up.
Game controls
The cards appear in order of suits. To play a card simply click on it.
To call, press the button Calls and choose the option wanted. If the call is correct, it will be indicated with a message.
In the two player mode, to change the 7 or the 2 for the trump card, you only have to click it. See this rule above.
Why do robots play? What for?
In some games, when a player loses connection during the game, a robot substitutes until the player can return. The player has a time allowed of some minutes to return to the game and continue playing.
End the game amicably (cancel game)
Some games have the option of ending the game amicably. If this happens, the game is cancelled. That is, the players don’t receive or lose points and the game doesn’t count in the leaderboards or statistics. What’s more, the chips bet are returned to each player (except in the case of penalisation for abandoning the game).
To cancel a game, one of the players must click the following button 
. All the players must agree to end the game, otherwise the game will continue.
The robot doesn’t count in the votes to end a game amicably.
Table options
The table options are chosen by the master (the first player to sit at the table and that has a star 
beside his/her avatar).
To see or change the table options, press the following button 
. The table options can be changed before starting a game or in the middle of the games. If the icon is changed to red, that means the master changed some of the options.
- Time per turn
- Used to indicate the time a player has to play on his/her turn. If the time ends, the game plays for him/her. See also: Game in automatic mode
- Compete for points and chips.
- Permits playing competitive games. Deactivate this option to practise (you will not score points or win chips, nor will you get badges or level up).
- Bet per game:
- Indicate the amount of game chips you will bet in the game. The winner takes the pot. See also: What are the game chips? How can I get them?
- Private table.
- If this option is active, only invited players or friends can sit in. See also: How to invite other players to play at your table.
- Spectators allowed.
- Other people can enter the table to watch the game and chat. See also: Watchers during the games
- Allow to call tute
- It is allowed to call tute if one has the 4 kings or the 4 knights. Through that play, the game will be won directly.
- Allow throwing a trump when there is a deck
- This option only affects the 2-player-variation (the only one that has a deck) and forces the player to respond with any trumps to a trump thrown by the opponent.
- Rounds per game (1-5)
- Determines the end of the game. The player who gets the total of rounds, wins the game.
Ranking for points
To take part in the leaderboard of this game, it is necessary to be registered and have chips enough to meet the bets.
To score points, the games have to be competitive (indicated by a boxing glove or swords). There is no scoring if 2 players at the table share the same IP.
If at one table game chips are being bet, you will need to have sufficient chips available to cover the bet. The winner of the game will get the XP points and the chips bet (the bank will receive 25% of the pot).
The experience points (XP) got depend on the number of players and they are calculated 10×number of players. If the game is in pairs, the points are shared between the winning pair.
- 2 players: 20 XP points
- 3 players: 30 XP points
- 4 players: 40 XP points
- In pairs: 20 points for each
The players that lose a game, add 5 points.
You will get 10 additional XP points for each extra round indicated on the table options. If the game is for 2 rounds, you will get 10 extra points; if you play for 3 rounds, you will get 20 extra points, etc.