Today we have a simple card game that has great depth: Briscola. This game comes all the way from Italy. It’s for two people but there are variations for 4 players and 6 players.
Briscola joins our growing list of card games that come from around the world—The Ugly card game (Australia), Conquian (Mexico) and Hola (Ukraine). It’s fast and easy to play but has strategy that will make you stop and think “do I want to do that?”
In this post, we’ll cover how to paly, the rules, the 2 player game, the 4 player and 6 player variations and how to win. As with many card games that have been around a long time there are endless rules changes and variations but in this post, we’ll cover the basic game. Let’s get into it!
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What Do I need for the Briscola Card Game?
You will need an Italian deck of cards. You can get one here; Canadians here. Or you can make your own by removing the 8s, 9s, and 10s from a regular deck of cards.
How Do I Play the Briscola Card Game?
To start, we’ll cover the two player game. You will deal three cards to each player. Next, flip over the next card in the deck. Now place this card under the deck at a 90 degree angle so that you can see it. This card is now the Briscola suit, or the trump suit for the round.
Before we start, you need to know the point values for the cards.
Aces are high and are worth 11 points. The kings are next and are worth 4 points followed by the queen at 3 points and the jacks at 2 points. Last the 3s are worth 10 points each. The 2, 4, 5 ,6 and 7s have no point values.
The goal is to get the most points.
The first player will choose a card to play and the second player will then choose a card to play.
You do not need to follow suit.
The player who has played the highest card if it’s the same suit wins the trick.
If a player has played a trump card they win the trick.
If the suits don’t match and there are no trump cards, then the player who played first wins the suit.
The player who won the trick now takes the top card of the deck and the second player gets the next card.
Play continues until there are only two cards remaining in the draw pile. When this happens, the player who wins the trick gets the face down card and the second player gets the face up card.
Winning Briscola
When all the cards have been played, then you add up your points. Here’s a reminder of the points.
Ace = 11 points
Threes = 10 points
Kings = 4 points
Queens = 3 points
Jacks = 2 points
The player with the most points is the winner.
There are 120 points to be had. So, if you have 61 or more points you win. You can play the best of three game or the best of five games if you like.
Briscola Variations
There is a variation where you collect points until someone reaches a certain point count like 120 or 150 points. This makes it a longer game.
Can I play Briscola with Four Players?
To play Briscola with 4 players, you play the same as above with the rule change of when you get to only four cards left in the draw pile, the player who won the trick gets the top card then the next player gets the turned up card. Players play clockwise starting with the player on the dealer’s left.
Can I play Briscola with Six Players?
When you have six players, you will play in two teams of three. The play is the same as with two players.
Shuffle in the Fun
As you can see, the Briscola card game is a fast game that at first seems very simple to play but has some hidden strategy that might drive you a bit crazy if you’re a competitive person. Get the printable rules here.
Other card games that you will want to check out:
Be sure to visit the Family Game Shelf shop for tons of fun with gams like our Whacky Putt the mini golf dice game, Sticks card game and so much more! Visit today!
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