Primero (1500)

Primero (Primiera) is an Italian, renaissance-era card game that spread across Europe in the 16th century, becoming favored in the Elizabethan court. It is hand-based wagering game, not too dissimilar to Poker. Like poker, the goal is to have the highest-ranked hand after several rounds of wagering, although the exact rules differed among numerous regional variants (this too, is much like poker). The game is played with a standard deck, with the 8's, 9's, and 10's removed. From lowest to highest, the four-card Primero hands are as follows: - Numerus: Two or three cards of any suit. Only the cards from the strongest suit are scored. - Primero: One card from each suit. - Supremus: Ace, 6, 7, of one suit (this is the highest-scoring Numerus, but counts as a superior hand). - Fluxus: Four cards all of the same suit. - Chorus: Four of a kind. Some variations exclude the Supremus or Chorus. Ties are resolved by the total value of the scored cards in the hand.