The origins of Cuccù lie in the French card game of Mécontent (Malcontent) whose first references date to the early 16th century.

[6] Cuccù was popular among sailors and mercenaries in the eighteenth century, allowing the game to spread to other parts of Europe and several local variants arose.

[6] Today, the only cardmaker of Cuccù cards is Masenghini, whose pack comes with a set of instructions in Italian for the usual comparing game.

[6] In modern Italy, the game is played with original rules only in the small Abruzzi towns of Campli and Montorio al Vomano, both in the Teramo province.

The dealer shuffles and has the pack cut by the player to the left before dealing one card each in anticlockwise order.

If the holder gets a card ranking from XI to XV, the following actions occur: Talking and bluffing are allowed.

A player with no counters left drops out; if this happens during play, their card is not involved in deciding the loser of the hand.