Casino

About this board game

Casino is a 2–4 player card game played with a standard 52-card deck, with games lasting around 30 minutes. Based on the traditional Italian game Scopa, it challenges players to capture cards from the table and collect the most valuable haul.

Each player begins with four cards, while four cards are placed on the table. On a turn, play a card from your hand to capture a table card of the same value or several cards whose values add up to it. For example, a ten can capture a 10 or a combination such as a 2 and an 8. Face cards are captured by the matching face card.

You can also create a build by stacking cards together. A build may be captured on the next turn only by a player holding the required card, but an opponent may take it first. This creates a risk-reward choice: a successful capture can claim several cards at once, while an exposed build may benefit another player.

If there is nothing to capture, a card must be played to the table, a move called trailing. Captured cards are kept in a separate pile. When all hands are empty, four new cards are dealt to each player; the table is dealt only at the start of the deck. After the deck is exhausted, any cards left on the table go to the last player who made a capture.

The most common scoring variant awards 11 points per deck:

• Most cards: 3 points
• Most spades: 1 point
• 10 of Diamonds, the “Big Casino”: 2 points
• 2 of Spades, the “Little Casino”: 1 point
• Each Ace: 1 point

The Ace of Spades also counts toward most spades. After scoring, the deck is shuffled again and play continues toward 21 points. Casino combines simple card handling with careful timing, contested captures, and tempting builds.