Traditional games: cards and "mora cantada"

Of course, these are the most popular games in Istria, representing the desire to socialize and have fun.

Cards: “briscola and tressette“ are card games originating in Italy and domesticated on the Croatian coast. Are played with cards originating from Trieste (triestine cards). The deck have 40 cards divided into four 10-card suits: coins, swords, cups and sticks. Trump can be played in twos, fours, or two pairs, and rarely with three players (so one card is ejected). The game in pairs is punctuated and made interesting by communication with motions, i.e. secret signs agreed between teammates, which make the game more interesting.

The classic „tressette“ is played in four players playing in two partnerships, or in heads-up play. Under the same basic rules, the game is played with houses (called or loaded, usually up to 41 points) and without the charge (usually up to 31 points).

There are slight variations in the rules of the game in the different areas where these games have taken root.

"Mora cantada" is a traditional game for two or four players; the players simultaneously show the outstretched fingers of one hand and try to guess the sum of the fingers shown, shouting a number between 2 and 10 at the same time. The  numbers are modified in the Istro-Veneto dialect  "sie", "sette" (six , seven). Although the game has elements of luck, the skill of the player comes to the fore.