How to Play

A Spanish partnership trick-taking game from the Bezique family with a 40-card Spanish deck, two-phase play (relaxed while stock remains, strict after it is exhausted), Rey-Caballo marriages scoring 20 or 40 points, and a 7-of-trumps swap. Match target 100 points.

Guiñote is a traditional Spanish partnership trick-taking game from the Bezique / Mariage family, most popular in Aragon, La Rioja, and Navarre. Four players in two partnerships use a 40-card Spanish deck and play in two strict phases. During Phase 1, the stock is still in play and suit-following is relaxed (you may play any card); each trick winner draws one card from the stock to refill their hand. During Phase 2 (arrastre, 'dragging'), the stock is empty and strict rules kick in: follow suit if able, overtrump if you cannot follow, and head the trick if you can. A player who holds both the King (Rey) and Knight (Caballo) of a suit can declare a marriage (matrimonio / vistas) when winning a trick, scoring 40 points if the pair is trump or 20 points otherwise. The 7 of trumps may be exchanged for the face-up trump card at the bottom of the stock. The deck contains exactly 120 card points plus a 10-point last-trick bonus, so each hand scores out of 130. Matches are played first-to-100 or to a fixed number of hands; tournaments commonly use best-of-3 match format.

Players

Most commonly 4 players in 2 fixed partnerships sitting opposite each other. A 2-player (Guiñote en solitario) variant exists for practice and uses the same rules without the partnership. Deal rotates anticlockwise after each hand. A typical 4-player match to 100 points lasts 25 to 45 minutes.

Card Deck

40-card Spanish deck in four suits: Oros (Coins), Copas (Cups), Espadas (Swords), Bastos (Clubs). Each suit has 10 cards: 1 (As/Ace), 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 10 (Sota/Jack), 11 (Caballo/Knight), 12 (Rey/King). A 52-card French deck can substitute by removing all 8s, 9s, and 10s. Rank within a suit (high to low for trick-winning): Ace, 3, King, Knight, Jack, 7, 6, 5, 4, 2. This ranking is the same for trump and non-trump suits.

Objective

Score more points than the opponents by capturing valuable cards in tricks, declaring Rey-Caballo marriages, and winning the last trick. Each hand holds 120 card points + 10 last-trick bonus = 130 per deal. Match target is typically 100 points (first team past 100 wins) or a fixed number of hands.

Setup and Deal

1. Choose partners (4-player) and seats. Partners sit opposite each other.
2. Shuffle the 40-card Spanish pack.
3. Deal 6 cards face down to each player, dealt one at a time anticlockwise starting with the player to the dealer's right.
4. Turn the next card face up on the table; its suit is the trump suit. Place the remaining 16-or-so stock cards face down on top of the turn-up so the trump's rank is still visible from the edge.
5. The player to the dealer's right leads the first trick.

Phase 1: Cuenta (with stock)

1. Relaxed play: Players are NOT required to follow suit, trump, or overtrump. Any card may be played.
2. Winning the trick: Highest trump wins, otherwise highest card of the suit led.
3. Refill from stock: After each trick, the winner draws the top card of the stock, then the other three players draw in anticlockwise order. Each player's hand stays at 6 cards.
4. Trump exchange: A player who holds the 7 of trumps may, on their own turn (before or after playing a card to a trick), exchange it for the face-up trump card at the bottom of the stock. The 7 becomes the new trump indicator, and the original trump card enters the player's hand.
5. Marriages (matrimonio / vistas): A player who holds both the Rey (King) and Caballo (Knight) of the same suit and wins a trick may declare the marriage by showing the Rey before leading to the next trick. Scores 40 points if the marriage is in trumps (Matrimonio real), or 20 points otherwise (Matrimonio común). Each suit's marriage may be declared only once per deal and only by the partnership that wins a trick while holding both cards.
6. Phase transition: Phase 1 continues until the stock is exhausted. When one player draws the last face-down stock card, the next player draws the face-up trump card itself; from then on Phase 2 begins.

Phase 2: Arrastre (without stock)

1. Strict follow suit: Players must follow the suit led if they hold any cards of that suit.
2. Overtrump obligation: If unable to follow suit, a player MUST play a trump if they hold one. If a trump has already been played in the trick, the player must play a higher trump than the current best trump if able.
3. Head the trick in-suit: If following suit, a player must play a higher card than the current highest card of the suit led in the trick, if able. (Not all Guiñote rule sets enforce this; regional variation.)
4. No more drawing: The stock is empty; hands shrink one card per trick until all cards are played out.
5. Marriages: Can still be declared in Phase 2 when winning a trick.
6. Last trick bonus: The side winning the final trick scores +10 points at deal-end.

Scoring

1. Card values: Ace (As) = 11 points, 3 = 10, King (Rey) = 4, Knight (Caballo) = 3, Jack (Sota) = 2. Cards 2, 4, 5, 6, 7 = 0 points.A♠K♠J♠
2. Deck total: 120 card points (4 × 30 points per suit).
3. Last trick bonus: +10 points to the winning side at end of deal.
4. Total per deal: 130 points.
5. Marriages: Matrimonio real (King + Knight of trumps) = 40 points. Matrimonio común (King + Knight of other suits) = 20 points each. Declared only when winning a trick while holding both.
6. Capote (slam): If one side wins every trick, they score the full 130 plus a capote bonus of +100 (some rule sets) or automatically win the match in some regional variants.
7. Match target: First partnership to 100 points (or 101, per house rule) wins. Some groups play best-of-3 matches.

Winning

The first partnership to reach 100 or 101 points wins the match. If both teams cross the target on the same deal, the side with the higher score wins; ties replay. Tournament play typically uses best-of-3 matches. A capote (winning every trick) in some rule sets ends the match immediately.

Common Variations

• Guiñote Aragonés: The Aragon-region standard. Strictly enforces Phase 2 overtrumping and head-the-trick.
• Guiñote Riojano: La Rioja variant; similar to Aragonés but sometimes plays 40 puntos de tute (all four Kings in one hand = 40-point bonus).
• Guiñote con arrastre temprano: Some groups enforce strict suit-following rules throughout, eliminating the Phase 1 relaxed rules.
• Tute (close cousin): The wider Iberian Bezique-family game played 2-player or 4-player. Close to Guiñote but with slightly different scoring and marriage rules.
• Brisca (simpler cousin): Also Spanish, also 40-card, but no marriages and no phase transition. Much simpler.
• 2-player Guiñote: Deal 6 cards each; everything else identical but without partnership play.
• Target 101 to avoid ties: Play to 101 rather than 100 to eliminate the possibility of a tied final hand.

Tips and Strategy

• Save Phase 2 for the cards that need strict rules. Use Phase 1's relaxed play to dump low-value cards you do not want in your arrastre hand, and preserve Aces and 3s for when the strict overtrump rule kicks in.
• Marriages lock in 20 or 40 free points. If you start the deal holding a Rey-Caballo, plan to win at least one trick early (even a cheap one) so you can declare the marriage before Phase 2 when tricks become harder.
• The 7 of trumps exchange is usually correct. The turn-up trump is often a high-value card (Ace, 3, or Rey), and trading your 7 for it is near-free value.
• Partnership signal: in Phase 1's relaxed play, your discard choice can tell your partner which suit you are void in. A lone 2 of Copas discarded early says 'I'm weak in Copas'; your partner can lead Copas later to trigger your trump.
• Count card points as they accumulate. Each side's captured total is visible (taken tricks are usually placed face down but can be reviewed). Once your side passes 70 card points, shift to protecting the last trick for the 10-point bonus.
• Lead your shortest suit early in Phase 1 to force opponents to commit trumps or to waste high cards on cheap tricks.

Glossary

• As (Ace, 1): Highest card of a suit. 11 points.
• Tres (3): Second-highest card. 10 points.
• Rey (King, 12): Third-highest card. 4 points.
• Caballo (Knight, 11): Fourth-highest card. 3 points.
• Sota (Jack, 10): Fifth-highest card. 2 points.
• Matrimonio real (royal marriage): Rey + Caballo of trumps. 40 points when declared.
• Matrimonio común (common marriage): Rey + Caballo of any non-trump suit. 20 points each.
• Cuenta: Phase 1, while the stock is still in play. Relaxed rules.
• Arrastre (dragging): Phase 2, after the stock is exhausted. Strict rules.
• Capote: Winning all tricks in a deal. Scores the full 130 plus a capote bonus.
• Last trick bonus: 10 points to the side winning the final trick of the deal.
• Trump exchange: The 7 of trumps may be swapped for the face-up trump at the base of the stock during Phase 1.