How to play Briscola
Just want the rules? Read the complete Briscola rulebook.
Briscola is one of Italy's two national card games - a trick-taker so relaxed about rules that it has almost none, and so sharp about timing that it never gets old. You face Emma with a 40-card deck. Three cards each, one card turned up: its suit is the briscola, the trump for the whole hand. Play one card each to a trick - you never have to follow suit - and the trick winner draws first from the stock. When the last card is gone, count your captures: 61 of the 120 points wins the hand, and two hand wins take the match.
- Card order - Ace (11), Three (10), King (4), Queen (3), Jack (2), then 7-6-5-4-2, worth nothing.
- Trick logic - higher card of the led suit wins, any briscola beats it, an off-suit reply never wins.
- The turned card - waits under the stock; the loser of the trick that empties the stock takes it.
- Click or drag - tap a card or drag it to the middle of the table.
Strategy tips that win more points
- Carichi late, junk early. Your aces and threes (the "carichi") are a third of the deck's points - lead your worthless cards and cash the big ones only into tricks you control.
- Never waste a briscola on an empty trick. Two zero-point cards is not a trick worth trumping; save the briscolas for aces and threes.
- Count to 61. The moment your pile crosses 61 the hand is mathematically over; equally, know when only a capot of the remaining points can save you.
- Watch the drawing order. Winning the second-to-last stock trick means your opponent takes the face-up briscola - sometimes losing that trick on purpose is the play.
- Remember what fell. Ten cards per suit, and every point card that hits the table is one you no longer need to fear. The endgame (last three tricks) is pure counting.
Frequently asked questions
What are the rules of Briscola?
Briscola is an Italian trick-taking game for two players with a 40-card deck. Each player holds three cards; one card is turned face up and its suit is the briscola (trump) for the whole hand. Players play one card each to a trick — there is no obligation to follow suit — and the winner draws a fresh card first. When all 40 cards have been played, whoever captured more than 60 of the 120 card points wins the hand.
What is the card order in Briscola?
Within every suit, from strongest to weakest: Ace (11 points), Three (10), King (4), Queen (3), Jack (2), then 7, 6, 5, 4, 2, which are worth nothing. The three outranking the king surprises everyone at first - together the ace and three of a suit are 21 of the deck's 120 points.
Do you have to follow suit in Briscola?
No, never. The second player may answer with any card at all. A trick is won by the higher card of the suit that was led, unless a briscola (trump) was played - the trump always wins, and an off-suit card that is not a trump always loses. That freedom to hold back your good cards is the heart of the game.
Who gets the turned-up briscola card?
It waits under the draw pile for almost the whole hand. After each trick the winner draws the top stock card and the loser draws the next; when the stock runs out, the loser of that trick takes the face-up briscola itself. Then the last three tricks are played from hand with no drawing.
How do you win a game of Briscola?
Count your captured cards at the end of the hand: 61 or more of the 120 points wins it, and an exact 60-60 split is a draw for neither player. This version plays a match to the best of three - the first player to win two hands takes the match.
What is the best strategy for Briscola?
Lead worthless cards and keep your aces and threes back until you can be sure they win - usually by taking with a briscola or cashing them late. Count the points as they go: there are only 120, so once you have 61 captured, nothing your opponent does can matter. And remember which high briscolas are still unseen before spending your own.
More free card games
Briscola's table-mate is Scopa - Italy's other national game, all about capturing instead of tricks. For more two-player battles try Durak, or step up to the French trump game Belote, which grew from the same ace-ten family.