Cassino

What is Cassino?

Cassino is one of the great fishing card games: you capture cards from the table with the cards in your hand. It has been played in Britain and America since the late eighteenth century, and its spelling with a double s goes back to the earliest printed rules. Where Italy's Scopa and Spain's Escoba capture by sums alone, Cassino adds building: you can lay a card on the table to make a total and come back for it a turn later, if your opponent does not get there first.

Here you play two-handed against the computer with the standard 52-card pack. The computer plays at three levels: easy settles it in a single round, medium and hard play to 21. Every day brings new deals, the same for everyone.

How to play

The player who does not deal plays first, and the deal passes after every round.

• The values. Aces count 1 and the 2 to the 10 their number. Jacks, queens and kings have no number: they only capture by pairing.
• The deal. Four cards each and four face up on the table. When both hands are empty, four more each, until the pack is gone: six deals to a round. The table is only dealt once.
• Capturing. The card you play takes every table card of its rank that you pick, and any sets of number cards that add up to it: an 8 can take an 8, a 5 and a 3, and a 6 and a 2 all at once. A jack, queen or king takes just one card of its own rank.
• Building. Lay your card on table cards to make a total you hold another card of: a 3 on a 5 builds 8 when you still hold an 8. On a later turn you capture the whole build with that card. A build can hold several sets of the same total, such as a 5 and 3 with a loose 8.
• Raising. You may raise a single build, yours or the computer's, by adding a card from your hand, if you hold a card for the new total. Table cards never change a build's total, and a build of two sets or more can no longer be raised. Whoever builds or raises last owns the build.
• Trailing. Lay a card face up on the table. You may not trail while you own a build, and you must always keep the card that takes your build.
• The sweep. Capturing every card on the table is a sweep, worth a point.
• The end of a round. Whatever is left on the table goes to whoever captured last.
• The points. Most cards 3, most spades 1, big casino (the ten of diamonds) 2, little casino (the two of spades) 1, each ace 1, each sweep 1. A tie for cards scores for nobody.
• The match. On easy, one round decides it. On medium and hard, the first to 21 wins; if both pass 21 in the same round, the higher total wins, and a tie means another round.
• Score. Ten for every point you take, ten for every point the computer is short of 21, and 100 for winning the match.

Strategy tips

1. Count the big three. Big casino, little casino and the four aces are seven of the eleven points in a round. Do not trail them onto a table where a single card can take them.
2. Build to protect. If the computer could take a valuable card, build on it: a build can only be taken by a card of its total, and you may hold the only one left.
3. Watch what is out. Every captured card is in plain view. When three tens are gone and you hold the fourth, big casino on the table is yours whenever you like.
4. A build tells. When the computer builds 9, it holds a 9. Do not leave it something it can add to.
5. Leave awkward tables. Court cards on the table only pair, and totals above 10 cannot be swept by one card.
6. Think about the end. The cards left at the end go to whoever captured last, so in the final deal a card that can still capture is worth holding back.

FAQ

Is Cassino free to play?

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

Is Cassino a gambling game?

No. The name comes from the casino cards, the ten of diamonds and the two of spades, not from gambling. Nothing here is wagered: it is a card game of captures and points.

Can the computer see my cards?

No. It plays only on what it can see from its seat: its own hand, the table and the cards already captured, just as you do. When you build, it knows you hold a card of that total, because the rules say you must.

Why can I not trail?

You own a build. Until it is captured or raised by the computer, you must capture, build or raise on your turn, and you must keep the card that takes it.

What does the brass chip on a card mean?

It marks the two casino cards and their points: 2 on big casino, the ten of diamonds, and 1 on little casino, the two of spades.

What is the daily deal?

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

How is my score counted?

Ten for every point you take, ten for every point the computer is short of 21, and 100 for winning the match. Higher is better.