Cassino (card game)

Cassino

A set of eight Bergamasche Cards
Origin	Italian
Type	Fishing
Family	Matching
Players	2–4
Skills required	Tactics
Cards	52
Deck	Anglo-American
Play	Clockwise
Playing time	10-15 min.
Random chance	Medium
Related games
Scopa

Cassino, also known as Casino, is an Italian fishing card game for two, three, four (possibly in two partnerships), or even theoretically five players. It is the only one to have penetrated the English-speaking world, via Italian immigrants to America. First recorded in 1797, it seems to have been heavily elaborated in 19th-century American practice. It is mostly played by two with a standard deck of playing cards, the object of the game being to score 21 points by fishing up cards displayed on the table. It is very similar to and probably descended from the Italian game Scopa.

The dealer deals four cards to each player and four cards face up in the center. Traditionally, the deal is in twos: two cards at a time to each player. The remainder of the deck is temporarily put aside. After everyone has played their four cards, another hand of four cards is dealt to each player from the remaining cards (two at a time), but no more cards are dealt to the table after the first deal. After these cards have been played there is another deal, and this continues until all 52 cards have been dealt. The dealer announces "cards" when dealing the last cards. After the last cards have been played, and the hand scored, the deal passes to the left for the next round.

Beginning with the player to the dealer's left, each player plays one card at a time, performing one (or more) of the following actions:

Players may perform two of the above actions only when pairing and combining simultaneously; e.g. a player may take a 3, a 4 and a 7 with his own seven.

Players with builds on the table are limited in the actions they are permitted to make. This is described in more detail below.

Face cards do not have a denomination in Cassino and are not available for building. The face-cards may only be paired one at a time; if there are two queens on the table, only one queen can be paired up. This removes the possibility of a so-called "orphan" face card remaining and preventing further sweeps.

An ace has a numerical value of 1.

Cards are usually left on the table after each player's final hand is exhausted. These cards are given to the last player to take in cards through pairing or combining. It is common for the dealer, if dealt a face-card in the final hand, to hold this until the final play, as they are certain to pair with it.

Under the first type of building, a player may lay one card on top of another if their total equals the total of a card in their hand, and announce that the two cards are built to the total. For example, a player may build a 2 onto a 7 and announce "building nine," provided they have a 9 in their hand. The two cards cannot be split up for pairing or combining and are treated as a single nine.