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How to Play Briscola

Two or four people can usually play the game with an Italian deck of forty cards. The game can also be played with regular poker cards (French deck) by first discarding 8,9,10 of all four suits.

In the 4-players game, partners face opposite each other. A partita or set is made up of three games. Whoever makes more than 60 points wins the game. The set is won by the team that first wins two games.
The rank and point values (from highest to lowest) of the cards are:

Asso (Ace) = 11 points

Tre (Three) = 10 points

Re (King) = 4 points

Cavallo (Knight) = 3 points

Fante (Foot Soldier) = 2 points

The other cards in rank value (7,6,5,4,2) are not worth any points.

Players using a French deck (poker cards) can agree, before play, to make the Queen equivalent to the Knight (= 3 ponts) and the Jack equivalent to the Foot Soldier (= 2 points)

The dealer deals three cards to each player, then turns over a card and places the deck over it.
The turned card determines the briscola (trump) suit.
The player to the right of the dealer starts the game by putting down one card.
The other players in turn also put down one card.
The hand is won by the highest rank card of the same suit of the first card, or the highest trump (briscola) card. Trump cards always win over non-trump cards.
Players are not obligated to follow suit.
During the first hand, players are not allowed to talk or to give signals to each other.
After the first hand and before resuming play, each player, beginning from the winner of the hand, takes a card from the deck.
The player who won the hand resumes play.
At the last hand, before playing, partners can show each other their cards, and check the points already made.

You too can form a Briscola Chapter in your locality
and join the national briscolaUSA association.
See how it's done -- Click here