Briscola

How to play Briscola

Briscola uses the 40-card Italian deck: four suits, Coppe (cups), Denari (coins), Bastoni (batons) and Spade (swords), each running Asso, 2 to 7, Fante, Cavallo and Re. Our cards are drawn in the Napoletane style with corner numbers 1 to 10, so they are easy to read. Play goes counter-clockwise, and the player to the dealer's right starts.

In the two and four player games a hand goes like this:

• Everyone gets three cards.
• The next card is turned face up. Its suit is the briscola, the trump suit, for the whole hand. The card is tucked under the pack, still showing, and it is the very last card anyone draws.
• The first player leads any card. Each player in turn adds one card. There is no obligation to follow suit, so you may play anything you like.
• The highest briscola in the trick wins it. If nobody played a briscola, the highest card of the suit that was led wins. A card of a third suit never wins.
• The winner draws first from the pack, then the others in turn, so everyone is back to three cards. The winner leads the next trick.
• When the pack runs out, the last cards are played without drawing. Then each side counts the points in the tricks it took.

Briscola card ranking: what beats an Ace?

The order of the cards in every suit is unusual, and it is the first thing to learn: Asso, Tre, Re, Cavallo, Fante, 7, 6, 5, 4, 2. The Tre, the three, is the second strongest card, ahead of the king. The Asso is the top card of its suit, so in the suit that was led nothing beats it.

What does beat an Ace is any briscola. If hearts or coins are trumps and someone leads the Asso of another suit, even the 2 of briscola takes it, and with it 11 points.

Briscola scoring: how many points to win

Only five ranks carry points: Asso 11, Tre 10, Re 4, Cavallo 3 and Fante 2. The 7, 6, 5, 4 and 2 are worth nothing. Each suit holds 30 points, so the whole deck holds 120.

To win a hand you need 61 points or more. A 60 to 60 split is a draw and counts for nobody. Players call the point cards carichi (loads), meaning the Assi and Tre, and the blank cards lisci (smooth ones).

For two and four players you choose the match length: One hand, Best of 3 (first to two hands) or Best of 5 (first to three). The results screen after each hand shows both sides' points and the match score. The Show running points option, on by default, keeps a live count for each side. Switch it off to count in your head, the classic way.

Briscola rules for 4 players and partner signals

Briscola a 4 is played in two pairs, with partners sitting opposite each other. Dealing and drawing work as in the two player game, and the points of both partners are added together, so your side still needs 61. Because the pack goes four ways, a hand lasts ten tricks instead of twenty.

In real life, partners in Briscola a 4 are allowed to signal their cards with small faces and gestures, and every family has its own code: a bitten lip, a twisted mouth, a little shrug. Online nobody can see your face, so our game shows the signs for you. With the Partner signals house rule on, which is the default, a help box shows your partner's traditional signs: whether they hold the Asso, Tre or Re of briscola, whether they are a carico (holding an Asso or Tre of another suit) or liscio (no point cards at all). It updates as their hand changes. Computer partners read your signs too, and the eye icon in the header hides or shows the box.

Briscola chiamata: how to play Briscola with 5 players

Briscola chiamata, also called Briscola in cinque, is the five player version, and a favourite at Italian family tables. There is no pack and no turned card: all 40 cards are dealt, eight each, and an auction decides who chooses the briscola and with whom they play.

• Starting to the dealer's right, each player either calls a card rank or passes. A pass is final for that hand.
• Each new call must be a lower card in the order Asso, Tre, Re, Cavallo, Fante, 7, 6, 5, 4, 2. Calling a lower card is a bigger bid, because you are promising to win with a weaker partner card.
• Once someone has called the 2, the auction goes on in points: Due a 62, then 63 and so on up to 120, raising the target the calling side must reach.
• The last bidder left wins the auction. If everyone passes, the cards are dealt again by the next dealer, and the last player cannot pass when nobody has bid.
• The winner names the briscola suit. The called card is the bid rank in that suit, and whoever holds it is the caller's secret partner. Nobody knows who it is until that card is played, then the game marks a P on the partner's seat.
• If the caller holds the called card, they play alone against the other four.
• The calling side needs at least the target, 61 unless the auction raised it.

Briscola chiamata scoring

Each hand of Briscola chiamata moves match points around the table. If the callers win, the caller scores +2, the partner +1 and each of the three defenders -1. If they lose, it is reversed: caller -2, partner -1 and each defender +1. A caller playing alone scores +4 or -4, and the four defenders get -1 or +1 each. A match lasts 5 or 10 hands, and the highest total wins.

Briscola strategy: carichi, lisci and when to trump

Good Briscola players think about points, not tricks. These habits win most hands:

• Lead lisci. A 4 or 5 of a side suit gives your opponent nothing to gain, while leading a Tre invites a cheap briscola to take 10 points.
• Save your trumps for tricks with carichi in them. Spending a briscola to win a trick worth zero is the most common beginner mistake.
• Count the briscole. There are ten. Once the Asso and Tre of briscola have gone, the Re of briscola is a sure winner.
• Count the points. Knowing you are on 52 tells you exactly which trick you need, and when to risk your last Asso.
• Remember the face-up briscola. The player who draws last will get it, so if it is a big card, plan who ends up with it.
• In pairs, play a carico onto a trick your partner is already winning, and keep low cards for when the opponents are on top.
• In chiamata, watch who loads the caller's tricks. The secret partner often gives themselves away long before the called card appears.

Play Briscola online with friends or against the computer

On the setup screen pick the game mode (2 players, 4 in pairs or 5 chiamata), the match length, your name and the computer level, then choose Play vs computer. Easy computers sometimes play loosely. Normal computers count every card and follow sound habits. Hard computers count every card played and look ahead: they simulate many possible deals of the cards they cannot see and play each one out to the end, and in a two player endgame with the pack empty they calculate the result exactly.

To play with people, choose Invite friends to get a room link, a room code and a WhatsApp button. Friends take computer seats as they join, the host can move them to set up the pairs, and computers fill empty seats or take over if someone drops out. A friend with a code types it in the Have a room code box. Quick match, when available, pairs you with other players, and online rooms have emoji chat, short messages and optional voice chat.

House rules and speed sets the pace (relaxed, normal or fast) and the two options above, and the Deck setting swaps in French suits. On a computer, the number keys play your first, second or third card, L shows the last trick and Esc opens the menu. On a phone, tap a card to lift it and tap again to play. Your stats are kept, a match against the computer can be resumed, and signed-in players earn achievements such as Asso pigliatutto (beat Hard computers) and Lone caller (win a chiamata hand alone) and climb the leaderboard.

Can you play Briscola with a normal deck of cards?

Yes. At home, take a standard 52 card deck and remove the 8s, 9s and 10s to leave 40 cards. The Jack plays the Fante, the Queen the Cavallo and the King the Re, and the ranking and points stay the same. In our game the Deck setting switches to French suits for you.

Briscola vs Scopa, Brisca and other cousins

Briscola and Scopa are the two great Italian card games, and they share the 40-card deck, but they play very differently. Briscola is a trick-taking game with a trump suit and card points. Scopa is a fishing game where you capture cards from the table by matching their value, and points come from sweeps, most cards, most coins, the settebello and the primiera. If you enjoy one, the other is worth learning next.

Brisca, played in Spain and Latin America with the Spanish baraja, is a close cousin with almost the same ranking and points, and Briškula in Croatia belongs to the same family. Rung players from Pakistan and India will know the trump idea, but in Briscola you never have to follow suit and points matter more than tricks.

In italiano: gioca a Briscola online gratis

Gioca a Briscola online gratis, direttamente dal browser, sul telefono o sul computer, senza scaricare nulla e senza registrazione. Puoi fare una partita a Briscola a 2 contro il computer, giocare a Briscola a 4 in coppia con il tuo compagno oppure provare la Briscola chiamata in cinque. Il computer ha tre livelli di difficoltà e al livello più alto conta tutte le carte uscite. Per giocare con gli amici crea una stanza e invia il link su WhatsApp, oppure condividi il codice della stanza. Puoi scegliere le carte napoletane o il mazzo francese.