Tute
Officially Tute (Spanish Card Game)
Iconic Spanish trick-taking + melding card game (2-4 players) using 40-card Spanish deck — 'tute' bonus for holding all 4 kings or knights; family + café + tapas bar staple across Spain + Cuba + Argentina + Philippines with regional variants.
What is Tute?
Tute is one of the most popular card games in Spain and across the Spanish-speaking world — a trick-taking + melding game (2-4 players) using a 40-card Spanish suited deck (Copas/Oros/Espadas/Bastos — Cups/Coins/Swords/Clubs). Named for the game's signature bonus: 'tute' = holding all 4 kings (kings tute) or all 4 knights (knights tute), scoring +20 pts. Core mechanics: deal cards, trump established by turned-up card, play tricks capturing point-value cards (Ace=11, King=4, Knight=3, Jack=2, 7=10, others=0). Melds (secuencias, 20/40 for suit-sequences + tute for all-same-rank) add scoring depth. Multiple regional variants: Tute Cabrero (Spain, 2-player), Tute Habanero + Tute Cubano (Cuba), Tute Argentino, Filipino Tute (Philippines), and casino Tute in Spanish gaming halls. Family + café + tapas bar game across all Spanish + Latin American communities.
Quick facts
Category
Card Games
Type
Individual
Players
2–4
Duration
~45 min
Where played
indoor
Country of origin
🇪🇸 Spain
Estimated origin
18th century Spain (from Italian roots); regional variants developed 19th century in Cuba + Argentina + Philippines
Olympic
No
Popularity
regional
How it works
Objective
Score most points across hands via trick captures + melds + tute bonus; first to target score wins.
Match structure
Deal + trump indicator → play tricks capturing scoring cards + declaring melds → tallies final scores → repeat until target.
Rules
Basic rules
Deal 8-10 cards + turn trump indicator
Deal all 40 cards among 2 players (8 each) or 4 players (10 each); top card face-up = trump indicator.
Trick play
Highest card of led suit or trump wins trick + captures scoring value of cards played.
Card values
Ace=11, Three=10 (variants), King=4, Knight=3, Jack=2, 7=some value in variants, others=0. Total 120 pts across all cards.
Meld declarations
Player winning a trick may declare secuencias (King + Knight + Jack of a suit) for 20 pts (non-trump) or 40 pts (trump).
Tute bonus
Holding all 4 kings + declaring 'Tute!' = +20 pts. Similarly 4 knights = another 20 pts.
Last trick bonus
Player winning last trick = +10 pts (10 de últimas).
Advanced rules
Trump exchange
Player holding 7 of trumps may exchange it for the trump indicator card (advanced positional play).
Meld timing
Melds must be declared immediately upon capturing a trick + before playing next lead.
Partnership melds (4-player)
Partners combine meld possibilities; strategic hand division matters.
Tute Cabrero (2-player variant)
Only 8 cards per player; simpler structure; folk game across rural Spain.
Cuban variants (Tute Cubano)
Adds bidding phase similar to Trump games; more complex than Iberian Tute.
Scoring
Trick capture pts (120 total) + meld pts + tute bonus + last trick 10 = per-hand total.
| Action | Points |
|---|---|
| Ace captured | 11 |
| Three captured (some variants) | 10 |
| Ten (Sota / Jack) captured | 2 |
| Knight captured | 3 |
| King captured | 4 |
| Meld non-trump (secuencia) | 20 |
| Meld trump (secuencia trump) | 40 |
| Kings Tute (all 4 kings) | 20 bonus |
| Knights Tute | 20 bonus |
| Last trick | 10 |
Win condition · First to 101 (Spain) or 121 pts wins match.
Equipment
40-card Spanish suited deck
Copas/Oros/Espadas/Bastos suits × Ace, 2-7, 10 (Jack/Sota), 11 (Knight/Caballo), 12 (King/Rey). No 8s/9s.
Score pad or chip pile
Track cumulative scores across hands.
Positions & roles
Partner (2 per team, 4-player)
×2Partners across table.
Individual (2-3 player)
×11v1 (Tute Cabrero) or 3-way individual play.
Officiating
Casual play + café tournaments self-refereed; no formal international body.
- Self-refereed (family + café)
Penalties & fouls
Penalties
Renege (failure to follow suit)
Hand loss + potential penalty.
Meld not immediately declared
Meld forfeited (must be at trick capture).
Strategies
Aim for tute bonus
Collecting all 4 kings or knights = +20 pts each; huge scoring boost. Aggressive trick-taking on high-value cards enables this.
Declare melds ASAP
Melds must be declared immediately upon capturing trick + before next lead; missed declarations = forfeited pts.
Trump 7 exchange
If you hold 7 of trumps, consider exchange with trump indicator card for positional advantage.
Save trumps for high-value trick
Aces + 10s + Kings + Knights of non-trump suits are worth 11-4 pts; capture them with trumps.
Partnership meld coordination (4-player)
Partners strategically pool melds; one holds King + Knight while other holds Jack for combined secuencia.
Terminology
- Tute
- Holding all 4 kings or all 4 knights; +20 pts bonus.
- Secuencia
- Meld — King + Knight + Jack of same suit; 20 (non-trump) or 40 (trump).
- Copas / Oros / Espadas / Bastos
- Spanish deck suits — Cups / Coins / Swords / Clubs.
- Sota / Caballo / Rey
- Jack / Knight / King in Spanish deck.
- 10 de últimas
- Last trick bonus (+10 pts).
- Cabrero
- 2-player Tute variant.
Major competitions
Spanish Regional Tute Tournaments
annual (community) · Spain (regional across Andalusia, Catalonia, Galicia) · since 1950
Cuban National Tute Championship
annual · Cuba · since 1980
Argentine Tute Regional (community)
annual · Argentina · since 1970
Where it is played
Governing bodies
No dedicated international Tute governing body
Founded 1750 · N/A
Federación Española de Tute (informal)
Founded 2000 · Spain
Famous names & records
Famous athletes
- Folk community game — no famous professional players
- Culturally embedded rather than star-driven
Records
Largest Spanish-speaking card game
Tute + Mus — Tute + Mus (basque partner game) are the two dominant Spanish card games; each ~10M+ players across Spain + Latin America (2023)
Café + tapas bar embedding
Tute — Cultural institution in Spanish bars + Latin American cafés for 150+ years; particularly Andalusian + Catalan variants (2024)
Learn this sport
beginner
- 1
Learn Spanish deck first (Copas/Oros/Espadas/Bastos)
Different suits + values than French deck; Ace-2-3-4-5-6-7-Jack-Knight-King structure.
- 2
Play with Spanish or Latin American family
Culturally embedded across Spain + Cuba + Argentina + Mexico; family game.
- 3
Start with 2-player Tute Cabrero
Simpler than 4-player partnership; learn tricks + trump + tute bonus first.
advanced
- 1
Master meld system + immediate declaration timing
Secuencias + tute bonuses require precise timing.
- 2
Compete in Spanish regional tournaments
Andalusian + Catalan + Galician regional Tute championships.
Frequently asked
What is a 'tute'?+
'Tute' is both the game's name and its signature scoring bonus: holding all 4 kings (kings tute) or all 4 knights (knights tute) in your hand at some point during the hand = +20 bonus points. This is the hallmark scoring event of the game — hence the name.
How is Tute different from Brisca?+
Both are Spanish trick-taking games using the 40-card Spanish deck, but Tute has meld declarations (secuencias for 20/40 pts) + tute bonus (20 pts) whereas Brisca is simpler trick-taking with no melds. Brisca is faster + more casual; Tute is more strategic. Both are family/café staples across the Spanish-speaking world.
Is Tute related to Italian Scopa?+
Both use Latin-suited decks (Cups, Coins, Swords, Clubs) but Scopa is a capture-based game where you match card values on the table + capture, not a trick-taking game. Tute has traditional tricks + trump. Both are cultural staples of Iberian + Italian family gaming but structurally different.
Sources & provenance
- Wikipedia — Tute (card game)— Wikipedia
- Pagat.com — Tute— Pagat