How to Play the Game of Triumphs

Also known as Trionfi or the Ludus Triumphorum

Jun 24, 2025

Part of a series on Tarot variant games

I wanted to write a piece on Tarocchini, the Bolognese variant of tarot, but I figured I should start with one on how to play Trionfi, the Renaissance ancestor of the game of tarot, it’s well overdue that I wrote one of these anyways.

File:Tarocchi-players-borromeo.jpg — *The Tarocchi Players*, Fresco at Casa Borromeo, Milan (~1440’s), Wikimedia Commons

“We have no actual description of any game played with the Tarot pack from before the midseventeenth century. We do, however, have sufficient evidence from which to extrapolate backwards, so as to determine, with high probability, at least the main features of the original game of trzoryi the game played with the Tarot pack at the time of its First invention and that for which it was devised. All later forms of the game have certain constant features, which may be presumed to have belonged to it from its inception. We know how certain forms of the game, played with variant types of Tarot pack, were later played, and we have excellent grounds for thinking that these games changed little in the course of the centuries, two of these variant packs- the Minchiate pack and the Tarocco Bolognese pack (sometimes called the Tarocchino pack) - originated in the sixteenth century, and so we have a good idea of the sixteenth-century Italian style of play.”
- Michael Dummett, The Game of Tarot [Pg. 164]

Trionfi or the Ludus Triumphorum, the Game of Triumphs, was played with the same 78 card pack as with modern tarot.

21 Trump Cards with the Fool used an ‘excuse’ - not a Trump but played in the place of one.

4 Suits - Batons, Coins, Cups, Swords

56 Suit Cards:
Ace - 10 Pip Cards
4 Court Cards - Page, Knight, Queen, King

Trionfi is a trick-taking game with the purpose being to capture the most points.

Ideally you will want at least 3 players, preferably four. The four player game was often played in partnerships like the modern Bridge game.

Players are dealt even hands of cards, in early versions all the cards in the deck dealt, in later iterations there is a remainder placed in the ‘widow’ - a ghost hand that acts as a won trick. The ‘widow’ cannot contain the highest or lowest trump cards and must be shown to players before the round begins.

The first player is chosen at random, usually by a card draw or some other means. The turns typically pass to the next player in a counter clockwise rotation.

Players win turns, or tricks, by playing higher cards in the same suit.

The winner of each turn then leads the next one.

The leader initiates, plays their card then the other players follow suit if they can.
If they cant, they can play a trump.

The trump cards can beat the cards from any other suit.

The fool cannot capture or be captured, it is instead added to the won tricks by the person who played it to be counted for scoring at the end of the round. In some regional variants, the fool is lost and it’s points are forfeited if it’s the last card a player has.

In the old Italian game the ‘Masculine’ Suits (Batons/ Swords) had their values ascending (Ace Lowest - 10 Highest) whereas the ‘Feminine’ Suits had their values descending (10 Lowest - Ace Highest). Descending values were abandoned shortly into the 16th century for simplicity’s sake.

Kings, the highest trump, the lowest trump and the Matto (or Fool) are worth 4 points
Queens - 3 points
Knights -2 points
Page - 1 Points
In Dummett’s rules the pips held no value; in later iterations they are worth 1 point and everything else is worth an additional point.

As the Bagatto (or Magician) is worth a lot of points and easily lost, trying to capture or protect this card is an important objective in this game.

Sometimes there is a bonus for capturing certain trumps (varies by region).

Any 10-card sequence (From trumps or suits) —15 points
Any 7-card sequence —10 points
Any 4-card sequence —5 points
Any three of the following:
Kings, highest trump, lowest trump and the Fool - 15 points

There were often as many turns in a round as there were cards dealt to each hand.
The player with the most points at the end of the round wins.
1 deal per round, 3 rounds per game.

I made this video playing French Tarot to illustrate following suit and the general flow of play.

Play French Tarot online here: Solitaire Paradise
Rules for French Tarot - explains bidding: Wikipedia

Melds

In later iterations of the game there would be a declaration of melds prior to play and a bonus would be given for holding certain sequences.

Trumps 1-5 (Magician, Popess, Empress, Emperor, Pope) were the five “Lesser Trumps” which combined for points in groups of three or more - 5 points for 3, 10 for 4, 15 for all 5. There was a similar bonus for cards 17-21 (Star, Moon, Sun, Angel, World) which were known as the “Greater Trumps”.

Cards can fulfill more than one objective.

Prior to the declaration of melds, if you are holding any 2 of the Honors - which are any of the 4 Kings, highest trump, lowest trump or the Fool - you may ask the other players for a 3rd one of these cards, if no one has one you receive 5 points. IF someone does, you must take it in exchange for a card from your hand and receive no points.

This has been a generalization of the rules extrapolated from later sources. As noted, there were many regional variants, but this should give you a good overall idea on how to play the game.