Traditional card games
Briscola
- players
- 2–6
- minutes
- 20
- years
- 8+
In the box
40-card deck
Box details
- Origin
- Traditional game, with no specific designer or publisher
- Mechanics
- Hand ManagementTeam-BasedTrick-taking
Where to buy it
Near you
In a shop
Within 50 km.
The basics
With a 40-card deck, each player receives three cards and the card turned up under the stock sets trumps, the briscola; with four players, you play in teams of two. You lay any card you like, with no need to follow suit, the highest trump or else the highest card of the suit led takes the trick, then everyone draws. Once all forty cards have been played, you need more than sixty points out of a hundred and twenty, and the game is won by taking two rounds.
The rules, step by step
Setup
40 cards, 3 cards each, Turned-up card: trumps
- A 40-card pack, Italian or Spanish-suited. Three cards each.
- The next card is turned face up under the stock: its suit is trumps, the briscola.
- With four players, you play in teams of two, partners sitting opposite each other.
How to play
No need to follow suit, Highest trump wins trick, Draw 1 card
- The first player leads any card they like: you never have to follow suit.
- The trick goes to the highest trump, or failing that to the highest card of the suit led.
- Each player draws a card, starting with the winner of the trick, as long as the stock lasts.
Scoring
Ace 11, three 10, King 4, knight/queen 3, 61 of 120 is enough
- Ace 11 points, three 10 points, king 4, horse or queen 3, jack 2. The other cards are worth nothing.
- The trick-taking order follows these values: the three beats the king, and only the ace beats it.
- The pack totals 120 points: sixty-one are therefore enough to win.
- Sixty each: the hand is drawn and replayed.
End of the game
40 cards played, 2 rounds to win
- The hand ends when all forty cards have been played.
- The game is the best of three hands.
House rules and pitfalls
The last card of the stock is the turned-up trump: everyone knows who will take it…
- The last card of the stock is the turned-up trump: everyone knows who will take it, which weighs on the final tricks.
- With four players, signals between partners are part of the game in Italian practice, without being written into the rules.
Going further
Variants · Frequently asked questions · In the same family
Variants
Format
Every player for themselves
In teams of two
choose them when you start a game: the scorer adapts
Frequently asked questions
How many points do you need to win at briscola?
Sixty-one out of a hundred and twenty. At sixty each, the hand is drawn. Only the aces, the threes and the court cards score: more than half the pack is worth nothing.