How to Play Briscola
How to Play Briscola
Briscola is a quick Italian trick-taking game for two people. You need a normal deck of cards, with a few cards removed, and a way to record the score. If you need cards, you can find a regular deck of playing cards from Playmore. This guide uses one common version; regional and family house rules can vary.
Quick facts
| Players | 2 |
|---|---|
| Playing time | About 15–25 minutes |
| Deck | 40 cards |
| Goal | Score at least 61 of 120 points |
| Key idea | Trump cards, called briscola, beat cards from other suits |
What you are trying to do
Your aim is to win tricks that contain valuable cards. A trick is one round in which each player plays one card. The cards in that trick go to the player who wins it. At the end, you add the point values of the cards you captured. There are 120 points in the whole deck, so you win the hand by collecting 61 or more. If you each have 60, the hand is a draw.
Winning tricks is not only about playing the highest-looking card. The trump suit is especially powerful, and sometimes the best move is to throw away a card worth no points while saving an ace or three for later.
What you need
Start with a standard 52-card deck. Remove every 8, 9, and 10, leaving the ace, king, queen, jack, and 7 through 2 in each of the four suits (40 cards total). You will also need paper and a pencil, or a notes app, for keeping score. Use familiar suits such as hearts, diamonds, clubs, and spades.
Briscola uses an unusual ranking from highest to lowest: ace, 3, king, queen, jack, 7, 6, 5, 4, 2. A card's rank decides which card is stronger when the relevant cards are in the same suit. Its point value is separate:
| Card | Points |
|---|---|
| Ace | 11 |
| 3 | 10 |
| King | 4 |
| Queen | 3 |
| Jack | 2 |
| 7, 6, 5, 4, 2 | 0 |
Set it up
Choose a dealer and shuffle the 40-card deck. Deal three cards face down to each player. Turn the next card face up beside the remaining face-down pile. Its suit is the briscola, or trump suit, for the entire hand. For example, if the face-up card is the 6 of hearts, hearts are trump.
Slide the face-up card partly under the face-down pile so everyone can see its suit. The non-dealer leads the first trick. Keep your three-card hand secret, and place captured tricks in a face-down pile in front of you.
How to play
- Lead a card. The non-dealer chooses any one card from their hand and places it face up. The suit of this first card is the led suit.
- Answer with any card. The other player may play any card. Unlike games that require following suit, Briscola never forces you to match the led suit or play a trump.
- Decide who wins. If both cards have the same suit, the higher card in the Briscola ranking wins. If the suits differ and neither card is trump, the player who led wins. If one card is trump and the other is not, the trump card wins. If both cards are trump, the higher trump wins.
- Collect the trick. The winner takes both played cards and places them face down in their own captured pile. Do not mix the cards back into the draw pile.
- Draw new cards. The trick winner draws the top card of the face-down pile first. The other player draws next. Try to keep three cards in your hand while cards remain in the pile.
- Lead again. The player who won the trick leads the next one. This means a clever win gives you control over which suit starts the following trick.
- Finish the draw pile. After the last face-down card is drawn, the player who would draw next takes the face-up briscola card. In the usual two-player sequence, the loser of the final trick played with a face-down card takes it. After that, play continues without drawing until every card has been used.
- Count the captured cards. Turn over each player's captured pile and total the points. Keep the scores separate from the number of tricks: a player can win several tricks but still lose if the other player captured more valuable cards.
How you win
Add 11 points for each ace, 10 for each three, 4 for each king, 3 for each queen, and 2 for each jack. The other cards score zero. The player with at least 61 points wins the hand. If the totals are 60–60, nobody wins that hand. For a longer match, play an odd number of hands, such as three, and alternate the dealer. The player who wins more hands takes the match. You can also simply play one hand while learning.
Easy first-game tips
Remember that the 3 is almost as strong as the ace, even though many people expect it to be a low card. Keep track of the briscola suit from the beginning; a small trump can defeat a powerful non-trump card. Before playing an ace or three, notice whether the other player has already used likely trumps.
Do not spend a trump automatically. A zero-point card can be a useful lead when you want to test the other player's hand. On the other hand, if a trick contains an ace, three, or picture card, a trump may be worth using. Watch who leads next, too: winning a low-value trick can be useful because it lets you choose the next lead.
Quick questions
Do I have to follow the first suit played?
No. You may play any card, including a trump, a different suit, or a card from the led suit.
Is the face-up card part of the game?
Yes. It shows the trump suit and is usually drawn by the player who draws last from the stock. It is then played during the final cards of the hand.