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§ VII · LUDIC TRIONFI & GAME THEORY·“Ludus Triumphorum Renaissance”

The Tarocchi Table: 15th-Century Trick-Taking Mechanics

Before Court de Gébelin and Éliphas Lévi occultized Tarot in the late 18th century, Tarot was played for 350 years across Renaissance Italy and France as an aristocratic, highly strategic trick-taking card game.

c. 15th Century – Present62 Cards

Tarocchino Bolognese (62-Card Game)

Created in early 15th-century Bologna by Prince Francesco Fibbia. The deck removes the 2, 3, 4, and 5 of pips, creating a highly strategic 62-card partnership game played across centuries by Bolognese nobility and guilds.

c. 18th Century – Present78 Cards

Jeu de Tarot (French 78-Card Tarot)

The second most popular card game in modern France after Belote. Standard 78-card deck with 21 trumps (Atouts) and the Excuse. Uses bidding (Prise, Garde, Garde Sans, Garde Contre).

c. 18th Century62 Cards

Troggu (Swiss Alpine Tarot)

Preserved in the isolated Alpine valleys of Visperterminen and Goms. Retains archaic 15th-century trump ranking rules and a distinct call-the-king bidding mechanic.

Tarocchino Bolognese (62-Card Game) · Live Trick TableCards Played: 0/4
Click "Deal Sample 4-Hand Trick" below to observe Renaissance trick mechanics.
Score: Declarer 0.0 | Defense 0.0
THE OUDLERS (HIGH HONORS)
Game Honors / Bouts:
  • The Angel (Trump XX / Judgement) - Top Trump (5 pts)
  • The World (Trump XXI) - 5 pts
  • The Bagatto (Trump I / Magician) - 5 pts
  • The Fool (Il Matto) - 5 pts (Wild Card / Excuse)
  • The Four Moorish Kings (I Quattro Mori) - 5 pts each
The Fool Mechanic (L'Excuse)

The Fool (Il Matto) cannot take a trick, but can be played at any turn to excuse the player from following suit. The Fool is retrieved back into the player's trick pile.

LUDOLOGICAL HISTORIOGRAPHY
1. The Origin of Trumps (Trionfi)

Invented in Northern Italy around 1440, Tarot was initially called carte da trionfi (cards of the triumphs), inspired by Petrarch's allegorical poem I Trionfi. It introduced the world's first permanent trump suit to card gaming.

2. The Excuse (L'Excuse / Il Matto)

The Fool was never a "zero" or trump in gameplay. It served as a universal wild excuse: when a player could not follow suit, they could play the Fool without losing it, retrieving it into their score pile after the trick.

3. Michael Dummett's Scholarly Proof

Oxford philosopher Michael Dummett's monumental 1980 work The Game of Tarot proved conclusively through tax ledgers, court diaries, and guild manifests that no occult or fortune-telling usage existed prior to 1781.