Cassino
Cards · 1 playCassino
Classic Cassino against Carlo — capture, build and sweep the table on the way to 21 points.
About Cassino
A parlour fishing game that has been played for more than two hundred years, here against Carlo, a sharp computer opponent. You get four cards, four more lie face-up on the table, and each turn you play exactly one. Capture with it — a number card takes every table card of its rank and any group adding up to its value — build table cards into a total you mean to take on a later turn, or simply trail it face-up onto the table. Clear the whole table and it is a sweep. After each round, points go to most cards, most spades, the big cassino (10♦), the little cassino (2♠), every Ace and every sweep. First to 21 wins, and Carlo plays Easy, Normal or Hard. Free to play in your browser — no download, no sign-up.
How to Play
Play one card a turn: capture matching cards or sums, build for a later capture, or trail it onto the table. Face cards only pair with one matching face card. Taking the whole table is a sweep. Round points: most cards 3, most spades 1, 10♦ 2, 2♠ 1, each Ace 1, each sweep 1. The last capturer takes the leftover cards. First to 21 wins.
Tips & Strategy
Count the scoring cards before you count the captures. Most cards is worth 3, but the big cassino (10♦) is worth 2 on its own and the little cassino (2♠) and every Ace are worth 1 each, so a capture that takes one of them is often better than a bigger haul of plain cards. Spades matter too, since most spades is a point. When you have the choice, capture the scoring cards first and leave the plain ones for later.
Build to protect and to plan. A build lets you claim several table cards at once on your next turn — 3 and 5 into an 8, say — but you must keep the capturing card in hand, and while you own a build you may not trail. Carlo can raise a single build by adding a card, so a multiple build (equal groups combined, such as 3+5 with an 8) is safer: it cannot be raised. Think about what you leave behind, too. Trailing a low card next to others can hand Carlo an easy sum, and leaving a single card on an otherwise empty table invites a sweep.
Watch the end of the deck. Cards are dealt four at a time until the 52 run out, and whoever captures last takes every card still on the table, so in the final hand try to save a capturing card for the very end. Keep track of the Aces and the two cassinos as they fall — once you know a 10♦ is still out, holding a 10 to take it is worth more than almost anything else in your hand.