OK. At a glance, Dummett's latest source for the rules predates this essay by less than 10 years and it doesn't look as though the rules had increased in complexity over the years. I would want to put the discrepancy in the Matto's use down to lack of knowlege of the game. So, I'm just about convinced, minchiate was played in 19th century Louisiana.
Just to illustrate what I mean by the game being far from childish, here is a draft of the rules extracted from Dummett's account of them.
I've never found these rules elsewhere on the internet, so this might be of interest to folk beyond Pinkerton's essay.
The Cards
There are four regular suites each of four court cards and ten pip cards with Latin suits and irrational ranking. This means that the suits of swords and batons rank K, Q, C, V, 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1 and the suits of cups and coins rank K, Q, C, V, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10. There is then the fifth suit of trumps numbering forty, with the last five being unnumbered. Finally there is a Fool which is played as an excuse.
Card points do not win a game, it is the points won from sequences and combinations that tip the balance. However, points are scored from cards - though not by all the traditional ones. To begin with, the empty cards (those that don’t carry any points or at least have very low points) really are empty - they score for nothing. Most striking of all is that the court cards below the rank of King are relegated to being empty cards.
The Arie (the top 5 trumps) 10
Papa Uno (the 1 of trumps) 5
X 5
XIII 5
XX 5
XXVIII 5
XXXtoXXXV 5
Matto (The Fool) 5
Kings 5
Papa II-V (Trumps II-V) 3
With 10 points scored for the last trick. The cards are counted individually making 91 points in the pack.
Noble Trumps: These are the trumps that carry points
Ignoble Trumps: These are the trumps that carry no points.
Papi: These are the five lowest trumps
Arie: These are the five highest trumps
Sopratrenti: XXXI-XXXV
Sopraventi: XXI-XXIX
Sottoventi: XI-XIX
Rossi: XXXIII-XXXX (all of these cards have a red background)
Salamandre: XVI-XIX
Versicole: These are the scoring combinations
La Fola: This is the stock
Versicole
Regular versicole:
These consist of three or more consecutive trumps
Versicole di papi: a sequence within the first five trumps
Versicole di tarocchi: a sequence from XXXVIII or higher
Versicole d’arie: a sequence within the last five trumps
Versicole di trenti: a sequence including the XXX
Versicole di sopratrenti: a sequence beginning with XXXI or XXXII
Versicole di rossi: the XXXIII, XXXIV, and XXXV
Irregular versicole:
Versicole del Matto: the I, XXXX, and Matto
Versicole del Tredici: I, XIII, and XXVIII
Versicole delle diecine: X, XX, and XXX or
XX, XXX, and XXXX or
X, XX, XXX, and XXXX
Versicole dei Regi: any three or four Kings.
All versicole may have Matto added to them but it cannot act as a wild card to in lieu of a missing card to make the sequence.
All versicole score for the card points within them with the XXIX scoring for 5.
If you look at the list of versicole, you will see that only the counting cards and the XXIX are used to make sequences.
Partnerships
Players form two partnerships, and sit with each partner opposite the other. After four rounds have been played, it was usual for players to switch partners for the next round.
Robbing the Pack
The first dealer is chosen at random, deal then moves to the right with each hand. Youngest (dealer’s left) cuts the cards and turns over the lifted part of the pack. If the exposed card is a counting card or a trump higher than XX, then Youngest takes the card, placing it face up. The same is repeated with the next card until either the card cannot be taken or youngest has taken 13.
Deal
Dealer completes the cut and deals each player one packet of 10 cards and a second of 11 cards with the last card dealt face up. If the exposed card carries any points, the player dealt it scores for them. Youngest’s side then score for any card points in the robbed cards.
Robbing the Fola
The remaining cards are called the Fola. Dealer places the pile face down and exposes the top card. If it is a counting card or a trump higher than XX, then dealer takes the card, placing it face up. The same is repeated with the next card until the card cannot be taken or there are no cards left. Dealer’s side then sore for any card points in the robbed cards.
Pigliare
Dealer now examines the fola and removes any counting cards, placing them face up. These cards will go toward the dealer’s sides tricks but they are not scored now. What remains of the fola is now passed to dealer’s partner who sorts them into their suits. The trumps are placed in pile face down and the regular suit cards are placed face up.
Discards
Youngest and dealer now pick up any cards they have robbed into their hands and must then discard the same number of cards that they took. The discards may not include any counting cards but may contain any others, including trumps. With the discards completed, Eldest leads to the first trick - however, other players do not yet play to the trick.
Declarations
Players may now declare any versicole in their hands by placing the relevant cards face up for all to see. When each side has scored for their declarations, the exposed cards are gathered back up by their declarers.
Completing the Fola
Dealer and Youngest now pass their discards to dealer’s partner who sorts them and places them with the other cards of the Fola. Again, the trumps are placed face down but the suit cards are face up. After everyone has seen them, all the fola cards are gathered up and passed to Dealer who placed them to one side. Dealer may examine the cards at any time and other players may as at any point to be reminded on the number of cards of each suit.
Dealer also collects up those cards of the Pigliare to form the start of his/her side’s trick pile.
Play
Play now continues to the first trick, each player in turn, moving to the right, must then play a card of the same suit (follow suit) as that led. If a player cannot follow suit, then they must play a trump, if they cannot play a trump, then they can play any card, though it will not win. If no trumps have been played, then the highest card of the suit led wins the trick and that player takes the cards and puts them into his/her trick pile. Otherwise, the highest trump played wins the trick.
The Matto may be played to any trick as an excuse for not playing a card you are otherwise obliged to play, but may be neither won nor lost. At the end of a trick to which the Matto has been played, the side who played it takes it into their own trick pile and gives the side who won the trick, an empty card from their trick pile in exchange. They may wait until the hand has been played to hand over the card but if they have only taken counting cards, then they must surrender one and the other side will score for it immediately.
When following suit to the first trick led to any of the regular suits, the player who holds the King must at their turn play it to the trick if a trump has been played.
When a trick is won, any counting cards in the trick that played by the opposing side are scored by the team that wins it.
At the end of the hand, if the team that had the Matto won no tricks, they must hand over the Matto which immediately scores for the other side.
When a player has no more trumps, then they have the option of dropping their hand. To do so, they place their cards face up on the table and make no further play. The winner of each trick may take any suitable card from the exposed hand - ie they must take a card of the suit led if there is one or, if not, then any other. Obviously, it would be a mistake to take this option if any Kings are still held.
Final Scores
Players should already have made a number of scores during the game. In the original scheme these scores were tracked by a running total, whereby the points scored by the side with the fewer points were deducted from those of the team with the most points. A little long winded - and unnecessary. I recommend just tracking your team’s own total till the end.
The team that won more than 42 cards in their tricks, now wins as many points as they won cards over 42.
Each team scores for all the card points in its tricks.
Each team scores for any versicole in its tricks.
The team with the most points wins and players pay in game points or in stakes according to the difference between the points taken by each side. If the difference is up to and including 60, then 1 game point is paid. If above 60 up and including 120, then 2 game points are paid. This scoring system then just continues in multiples of 60.
