What Is Briscola?
Briscola is one of Italy’s most beloved card games and among the simplest trick-taking games to learn. Players win tricks to capture card-point values — but only certain cards are worth points. The key mechanic: trump cards (called Briscola) beat everything else. In partnership games, partners cannot speak or signal — communication is forbidden.
What You Need
- A 40-card Italian deck (or standard 52-card deck with 8s, 9s, and 10s removed)
- 2, 3, or 4 players (4 play in 2 partnerships)
Card Rankings and Values
In EVERY suit, the ranking from highest to lowest is: Ace (highest), 3, King, Queen (or Maid), Jack (or Knave), 7, 6, 5, 4, 2 (lowest). Only 5 card types score points:
- Ace: 11 points
- 3: 10 points
- King: 4 points
- Queen (Maid): 3 points
- Jack (Knave): 2 points
- All others: 0 points
Setup
- Deal 3 cards to each player.
- Place the remaining deck face-down. Flip the bottom card face-up and slide it partially under the deck — this card’s suit is Briscola (trump).
- The trump card itself is the last card drawn from the deck.
How to Play — Step by Step
- Player left of dealer leads any card.
- Other players each play one card — any card at all (there is NO requirement to follow suit in Briscola).
- The highest Briscola (trump) card wins the trick. If no Briscola was played, the highest card of the suit that was led wins.
- Trick winner leads the next trick.
- After each trick, each player draws one card from the stock (in order: trick winner draws first).
- Once the stock is exhausted, play out remaining cards without drawing.
Scoring
After all tricks, count the point cards in your pile: A=11, 3=10, K=4, Q=3, J=2. Maximum possible = 120. In two-player games, whoever scores more than 60 wins. In partnerships, the team scoring over 60 wins.
Winning
Win the hand by scoring more than 60 points. Play multiple rounds — first to an agreed number of hand wins wins the match.
Strategy Tips
- You never have to follow suit — save trump for when it matters, not just to win any trick.
- The Ace and 3 are the biggest prizes — 11 and 10 points each. Target them.
- In partnerships, communicate through card choices — playing an Ace when you don’t need the trick is a signal that you have a strong trump hand.