Briscola

The rules, in full

Briscola is played with an Italian pack of 40 cards: four suits — cups, coins, swords and batons — each with an Ace, the cards from 2 to 7 and three court cards, the Jack, the Knight and the King. Here it is played by two, you against the computer.

Each player gets three cards. The next card is turned face up: that is the briscola, the trump card, and its suit is trumps for the whole hand. It goes under the deck, crosswise, so it stays in sight and is the last card anyone draws.

• The leader plays any card, and the other player answers with any card. There is no need to follow suit, which is the rule that players who know other trick-taking games get wrong first.
• The trick goes to the highest card of the suit led, unless a trump was played: then the highest trump takes it.
• A card of another suit that is not a trump never wins, however high it is. An Ace of cups on a 2 of swords loses, unless cups are trumps.
• Whoever takes the trick draws first, then the other player, and the winner leads the next trick. Whoever loses the last trick before the deck runs out draws the briscola.
• When the deck is empty the last three cards each are played out under the same rules.

The order of the cards and what they are worth

Within a suit the cards do not rank by number, and the Three comes straight after the Ace:

There are 120 points in the pack. At the end of the hand each player counts the cards they took: 61 wins, and 60 all is a draw. Italians call the Ace and the Three the carichi, the loaded cards; the cards worth nothing are lisci.

The game does not show the score during the hand, as at a real table: keeping count of what has gone is part of playing. The total comes at the end.

Against the computer: three levels

Tap the level button to move to the next one, or press L. Changing level deals a new hand, and the game remembers your choice.

• Easy plays quickly and often at random, and wastes its trumps. Good for learning the rules.
• Normal plays like a sensible player: it takes the loaded cards when it can, throws away the worthless ones and saves its trumps for when they buy something. It does not count cards.
• Hard counts. It knows what has gone, imagines the ways the cards it cannot see might be split, and picks the card that does best on average. Once the deck is empty nothing is hidden any more, and it plays the last three cards without a mistake.

The computer never sees your cards or the order of the deck: it plays with what you would see in its seat. Briscola has a lot of luck in it, and even the hard level loses a hand now and then.

Neapolitan or Piacentine cards

The button beside the level (D on a keyboard) changes the cards at any moment, without interrupting the hand:

• Neapolitan: full-length court figures, head to foot, and a blue back;
• Piacentine: double-ended court figures, cut at the waist and mirrored, a thin frame and a red back.

They are our own drawings, inspired by the two regional packs without copying their figures. They carry a small number in the corner, which traditional Italian cards usually do not: on a phone, a 6 and a 7 of swords a centimetre wide are nearly the same picture. The court cards carry 8, 9 and 10.

Strategy that actually helps

Do not lead a loaded card. Leading gives the other player the choice. An Ace played first can be taken by any trump, and that is 11 points given away. Lead a worthless card of a suit that is not trumps.

Do not spend trumps on worthless tricks. A trump used to take two cards worth nothing is a trump you will not have when the other player puts down an Ace. Keep your trumps for the tricks that pay.

Take loaded cards with the same suit when you can. If the other player leads the Three of cups and you hold the Ace of cups, you take it without spending a trump and score 21 points at once. Italians call it strozzare, to strangle.

Count the Aces and the Threes. Those eight cards are worth 84 of the 120 points. Knowing whether the Ace of trumps has gone changes everything: while it is still out, no Three of trumps you hold is safe.

Watch the briscola under the deck. Whoever loses the last trick before the deck runs out takes it. If it is a loaded card, that last trick may be worth losing.

The last three cards are played open. Once the deck is empty you can know exactly what the other player holds, by counting what has gone. It is where a close hand is decided.

Controls

• Touch or mouse: tap a card in your hand to play it.
• Keyboard: 1 to 3 play the first, second or third card; the arrows choose and Enter plays; N deals a new hand; L changes the level; D changes the cards.

At the end of a hand, tap the screen for a rematch. The lead alternates from one hand to the next, as it does at a table.

A little history

Briscola is one of the most played card games in Italy, and with Scopa and Tressette it is the one you find in every bar and every home. The name probably comes from the French brisque. It is played by two, by four in pairs, and by five as briscola chiamata; this is the two-player game, the easiest to learn and the base of all the others. If you would rather play on your own with a French pack, try Klondike.

Common questions

Is it free? Yes. It runs in your browser, with no signup and nothing to download.

Can I play Briscola against the computer? Yes, it is the only way in this version: three levels, from Easy to Hard. There is no play against other people.

How many points do you need to win at Briscola? 61 out of 120. At 60 each the hand is a draw.

Do you have to follow suit? No. In Briscola you may always play any card, which is one of the main differences from Tressette.

Why is the Three worth more than the King? Because in Briscola the order is Ace, Three, King, Knight, Jack, then 7 down to 2. The Three is worth 10 points and takes the King.

Can you swap the 2 or the 7 of trumps for the briscola? Not here. In some parts of Italy players may swap the card under the deck for the 2 or the 7 of trumps, but it is a local rule and this version does not use it.

Does it work on a phone? Yes, upright or on its side. Your own cards are the largest thing on the screen, because they are the only thing you touch.