Briscola

„Briscola” is a popular Italian card game played with a 40-card deck. After shuffling the deck, each player is dealt three cards. The next card is placed face up on the playing surface, and the remaining cards form the draw pile, partially covering the face-up card—sometimes covering just half of it. This face-up card is known as the “Briscola” and indicates the trump suit for the game. Before starting, if a player holds two trump cards, they may choose to “retire” their Briscola, but only at the very beginning of the game or during the first hand. Before the first trick in a four-player game, teammates may reveal their hands to each other. The dealing and gameplay proceed counterclockwise. The player to the right of the dealer begins the first trick by playing a face-up card onto the table. Players then take turns playing one card each in clockwise order, until all have played a card. The winner of each trick is determined as follows: - If any player played a trump (Briscola), the highest trump wins. - If no trumps were played, the highest card of the leading suit wins. Unlike some other trick-taking games with trumps, players are not obliged to follow suit; they may discard any card. Once the trick is won, the winning player collects all played cards and places them face down in a personal pile. Each player keeps their own collection, although in four- and six-player versions, teammates may gather all their won tricks into a shared pile. After each trick, players draw a new card from the remaining deck, starting with the trick winner and proceeding counterclockwise. The last card drawn should be the face-up Briscola card turned face down once the game concludes. When all cards have been played, players tally the points of the cards in their respective piles. The overall ranking is based on total points earned, with no formal registration needed.