Traditional games of Catalonia

Butifarra (a partnership trick-taking game) is Catalonia’s signature card game: it is played in pairs with a 48-card pack and, unlike other trick-taking games, trumps are chosen rather than decided at random. Set i mig (Seven and a Half, or Siete y Media in Spanish), Mona (Old Maid) and Tute (a trick-taking game) are also popular, alongside Truc (Trick) in some districts.

Butifarra

It’s the game of casinos, cultural associations and long afternoons lingering at the table after a meal. It has its own distinctive logic: the nine, known as the manilla (the highest-ranking card), is the top card, and you can play without trumps for double points. We explain it all in how to play Butifarra.

Other classics

• Set i mig: the familiar Siete y Media, a particular Christmas favourite.
• Mona: a simple card-matching game in which whoever is left holding the unmatched card loses.
• Truc: played in some areas, it belongs to the same family as the Valencian game.

A land of playing cards

Barcelona was one of the major centres of playing-card manufacture, with its own traditional pattern. We explore this in Spain’s first playing-card factories and what the Spanish pack looked like before Fournier.