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Tressette is a classic Italian trick-taking game for two with no trump suit: you must follow the suit that was led, the 3 is the highest card, and every card drawn from the stock is shown to both players. Aces are worth a point, picture cards, 2s and 3s a third each, and the last trick one more. Win matches to 21 to build a streak.
The game uses 40 cards: four suits, each with 3, 2, A, K, Q, J, 7, 6, 5 and 4. That is also the order of strength — the 3 beats everything in its suit and the 4 is the lowest. Each player receives ten cards and the remaining twenty form the stock.
The leader plays any card. The other player must play a card of the same suit if they have one; only when they have none may they play anything else. The higher card of the led suit wins the trick — a card of another suit can never win, because there are no trumps. Cards you are allowed to play are outlined in green; the others are dimmed.
After each trick the winner draws the top card of the stock, then the other player draws the next one. In two-player Tressette both drawn cards are shown, so you always know part of the opponent's hand; the line above your hand says what each of you drew. The winner of the trick leads the next one. Once the stock is empty, the last ten cards are played out without drawing.
Scoring: each Ace is worth 1 point, each 3, 2, King, Queen and Jack is worth ⅓, and 7s, 6s, 5s and 4s are worth nothing. Whoever takes the last trick earns 1 more point. At the end of a hand the thirds are rounded down, which always leaves 11 points shared between the two players. Hands continue, alternating the first leader, until someone reaches 21 points. Winning a match adds one to your streak; losing ends it. The computer plays with more foresight as your streak grows.
Aces are where the points are. Each Ace is worth three times as much as any picture card, and it is only the third-strongest card in its suit, so an Ace led early is easy prey for a 3 or a 2. Try to keep your Aces until the 3 and 2 of that suit have been played, or use them to win a trick that the opponent must follow with a low card.
Watch the drawn cards. Every card taken from the stock is shown, so by the middle of the hand you know a good part of the opponent's hand. If you saw them draw the 3 of a suit, do not lead your Ace of that suit into it.
Long suits are strength. Because the opponent must follow suit, leading a suit where you hold several cards forces them to spend theirs, and once they run out they have to throw away cards from other suits — often ones with points. Short suits, on the other hand, let you discard freely when the opponent leads them.
The last trick is worth a whole point, as much as an Ace. When the stock runs out and every remaining card is known, plan backwards from the end: keep a card that will win the final trick, and do not waste your strongest card on a trick with no points in it.