Briscola

What is Briscola?

Briscola is Italy's favourite card game, played for generations in bars, kitchens and on beaches from the Alps to Sicily. Here you play it two-handed, against the computer. It uses the 40-card Italian pack in four suits, cups, coins, swords and clubs, and each player holds only three cards. The card turned face up under the stock is the briscola: its suit is trumps for the whole hand.

The aim is to take at least 61 of the 120 card points in the tricks you win. A match is the best of three hands, the computer comes in three strengths, and every day brings new deals, the same for everyone.

How to play

The player who did not deal leads to the first trick; the deal passes from one side to the other after every hand.

• The cards. Each suit ranks ace, three, king, knight, jack, then 7, 6, 5, 4 and 2. As on every Italian pack, the corners are numbered 1 to 10, so the jack shows 8, the knight 9 and the king 10.
• The points. Ace 11, three 10, king 4, knight 3, jack 2, every other card nothing: 120 in the pack. Each card shows its points in a gold disc.
• The tricks. Play any card: you never have to follow suit. The higher trump wins the trick; with no trump in it, the higher card of the suit led wins, and a card of another suit always loses.
• Drawing. The winner of a trick draws first from the stock, then the loser, and the winner leads the next trick. Whoever loses the trick when one card is left in the stock takes the turned briscola; the last three tricks are then played without drawing.
• Winning a hand. At the end, 61 points or more wins the hand. 60 each is a draw, which counts for nobody.
• Winning the match. The first to win two hands wins the match.
• Score. 50 for every hand you win, 50 for every hand the computer is short of two, 100 for the match, and every card point above 60 in the hands you win.

Strategy tips

1. Lead small cards. Open tricks with a 2, a 4 or a 5 of a plain suit: a card without points costs nothing if it is taken.
2. Save your trumps for points. Use a small trump to take an ace or a three, not a card that is worth nothing.
3. Cash your aces and threes. When a small card is led, the ace or the three of its suit takes it at no risk: nobody plays after you.
4. Count the aces and threes. Remember which have gone: a three is safe once its ace is out, and once the stock is empty you know exactly what the computer holds.
5. Watch the last draw. When one card is left in the stock, the loser of the trick takes the briscola: if it is a high trump, losing that trick can be the better play.

FAQ

Is Briscola free to play?

Yes. Like every game on Play, it runs free in your browser, with no download and no account needed.

Can the computer see my cards?

No. It plays only on what it can see from its seat: its own hand, the turned briscola, the cards already played, and the briscola if you drew it. Once the stock is empty it knows your last cards, as anyone who counts the cards does.

Why does the king show a 10?

Italian packs number their court cards too: the jack is 8, the knight 9 and the king 10. The number only names the card; what counts is its rank and the points in its gold disc.

What happens at 60 all?

The hand is a draw and counts for nobody; the deal passes on and the match carries on until someone has won two hands.

What is the daily deal?

Every day everyone gets the same deals against the same computer, so scores compare directly on the leaderboard.