Brisca

Before you start playing

The basics

Our recommendation depending on the number of players:

• 2 players: for a 1-on-1 challenge, play with a 40-card deck. If you have a 48-card one, remove the 8s and 9s.
• 3 players: use a 40-card deck and remove one card — usually a 2 — so that the total number of cards in play is a multiple of 3 (13×3=39). Instead of removing one, you can also leave the last card undrawn. In that case it may happen that the unplayed card is a value card in Brisca, which some see as reinforcing that touch of chance and excitement typical of Brisca, and others as a nuisance because you can’t plan elaborate strategies in the final tricks. To each their own.
• 4 players: play with a 40-card deck. You can play individually or in pairs. In the latter case, the pair sits face to face and adds up the points of the tricks they win.
• 5 players: play with a 48-card deck, because with a 40-card one the game will be very short. In this case, for the same reason explained for 3 players, you must remove three cards so that 45 remain (9×5=45) or leave the last three cards undrawn.
• 6 players: use a 48-card Spanish deck. You can play individually, in pairs, or in two teams of three with the players seated alternately.

Trick = a trick is a contest in which each player plays a card and whoever lays down «the strongest» takes them all and racks up points.

Round = after each trick the players draw a card from the deck (traditionally called the baceta) and then another trick is played. This mechanic repeats until no cards are left in the baceta. At that point one round is complete.

A game of Brisca is made up of several rounds in which a certain number of tricks are played.

Decisions you need to make

1. By cumulative score: you play until a player or team reaches a set number of total points, for example 500 points.
2. By number of rounds: the winner is whoever wins the most rounds after playing a set number of rounds. It can range from 3 rounds for short games up to 7 rounds for longer ones.
3. By time limit: a cut-off time or a set playing time is fixed. In this case, when time is up, the winner is whoever has accumulated the most points by then.

Whatever goal you choose, make it perfectly clear and make sure everyone agrees before the first deal. So that nobody later comes out with an «I didn’t understand it that way», followed by suspicious looks, mutual accusations and after-dinner dramas.

Here’s how to play a round of Brisca

The ritual of the deal

1. Shuffle: shuffle all the cards WELL. None of that two half-hearted swishes, or suspicions will follow.
2. Cut: offer the deck to the player on your left so they can cut it, that is, split it roughly in half and place the bottom part on top of the upper one, thereby altering the order of the cards. This gesture is meant to stop the dealer from cheating, and it’s a mandatory ritual according to the canons and good manners of the card world. Don’t skip it!
3. Deal: deal 3 cards to each player one at a time, face down and in turn, that is, handing out one card at a time, starting with the player on your right and rotating counter-clockwise, until everyone has 3 cards.
4. Trump card: when everyone has three cards, turn over the next card of the deck, leave it face up in the centre of the table and place the rest of the deck — the baceta from now on — like this:

That card marking the trump suit is sometimes called the «muestra» or «pinta». To avoid complicating things with more «fancy words», we’ll simply call it «the card that marks the trump suit».

The tricks

Now the good part begins.

1. The first card is played by the player who won the previous trick. If it’s the first trick of the round, the player to the dealer’s right begins. That first card marks the leading suit and is just as important as the trump suit in determining who wins that trick.
2. Next is the player to their right, that is, the turn passes counter-clockwise, until everyone has played a card, one by one.
3. There’s no obligation to follow the leading suit, to play a trump, or to beat what was laid before. That freedom is pure strategy: if you see the trick doesn’t interest you, you drop a worthless card and keep the good stuff. If it smells of points, you bring out the artillery. You decide.

Value and scoring of the cards in Brisca

At this point you’re probably wondering: but by what logic do you decide to play one card or another? Which cards win? Which give points? We’ll explain right away.

In every suit (coins, cups, swords and clubs) the cards rank in this order:

But not all of them give points. Here’s how many points each card is worth:

Card	Points
Ace	11
Three	10
King	4
Knight	3
Jack	2
7, 6, 5, 4, 2	0

• The ace, the three, the king, the knight and the jack are the value cards in Brisca.
• The other five don’t add a single point and are called empty cards. Even so, they’re not useless, because they help you take tricks and, with them, the value cards inside.
• Note a detail that throws beginners off: the three is the second strongest card, just below the ace. And the king comes behind the ace and the three, which are «the real kings» of Brisca.
• A value card being of the trump suit doesn’t give more points. For example, the four aces are worth 11 points each. So what’s the trump suit for? I’ll explain right away.

Now you know the value of holding trump cards, even small ones. A two of trumps beats the ace or the 3 of any other suit!

No, the rule of the 7 may NOT be used WHILE a trick is being played.

• When there are no more cards to draw, each player keeps their last three cards in hand and the final three tricks are played without drawing.
• 🔥 Here the pretending ends: this is usually the moment when the aces and threes everyone was hoarding come crashing down 🔥

Counting and winner of the round

A trick to avoid counting twice: if you play two-handed or in pairs, count only the smaller pile. Since the maximum score adding up all the value cards is 120 points, subtract the small pile’s points from 120 and you get the other side’s.

End of the game. Who wins?

Sources consulted

To write these rules we drew not only on our experience and on the wisdom of veteran players who’ve been playing for half a lifetime, but also read and carefully studied the best books on card games. With all that on the table, we can say — without taking ourselves too seriously — that these rules are as close as it gets to official Brisca rules:

Carobene, B. (1979). El gran libro de los juegos de cartas. Barcelona: Editorial De Vecchi. ISBN 84-315-5155-0.

Fournier, H. (1995). Juegos de naipes españoles (22nd ed.). Vitoria: Editorial Fournier. ISBN 84-85074-01-7.

Núñez Elvira, J. L. (1990). El gran libro de los juegos de cartas. Barcelona: Ediciones Martínez Roca. ISBN 84-270-1408-2.

Pibernat, J. L. (1998). Naipes. El fascinante mundo de los juegos de cartas. Barcelona: Editorial Aldaya. ISBN 84-487-0460-6.

Botín, A. (2011). Todos los juegos de cartas. Barcelona: Ediciones Robinbook. ISBN 978-84-96746-58-9.

www.pagat.com. Consulted as a comparative reference for the game's international variants

Brisca in pairs: the game of signals

The four-player version, two against two, is the queen of Brisca. Each one sits across from their partner and the pair’s points are added together.

It is forbidden to show your partner what’s in your hand, or to tell them by speaking, whispering or silently mouthing the words.

What is allowed, if you decide so, is to give signals. Small, discreet gestures that reveal which trumps or value cards you have, without the opponent noticing.

These are the time-honoured signals, but we encourage you to change them. Each pair can come up with their own signals!

Signal	Meaning
Raise your eyes	Ace of trumps
Wink one eye	Three of trumps
Push your lips forward (pout)	King of trumps
Twist your lips to the right	Knight of trumps
Stick your tongue out a little	Jack of trumps
Tilt your head to one side	Briscas (aces and threes of another suit)
Close your eyes for a moment	I have no trumps
Blow a little	Play a value card that’s neither a brisca nor a trump
Stare at your partner	What cards do you have?

A small vocabulary note: in Brisca, the ace or the three of any suit other than the trump suit is called a «brisca». Hence the name of the game, and hence the «tilt your head» signal warns that you hold aces or threes outside trumps.

Tips for playing Brisca well

Brisca is very easy to learn, but not so easy to master. These tips give you, in advance, the experience of half a dozen games.

Brisca variants

Brisca in reverse

You play by turning everything on its head: whoever scores the fewest points wins. Now it pays to hand the opponent aces, threes and other fat cards, and keep the empty ones. Same rules, reversed goal and a few guaranteed laughs when someone wins a trick by accident. A variant that makes sense when all the players master the game and just want a laugh.

Brisca blind

Pure fun: you play without looking at your cards, tossing out whatever comes at random. No strategy holds, just luck and laughter. Perfect for one last silly game before packing up.

No Spanish deck?

You’ll find decks of higher or lower quality in any shop or games store.

Trust FOURNIER decks if you want a traditional, quality deck. They’re the best.

If you want to support LOODENS in our fight for a world with fewer screens, social media and enslaving notifications, and more real life spending quality time with family and friends, you can click the link below and, as Amazon affiliates, if you buy the deck we’ll receive a small commission. That helps us cover the costs of this project and keep working to bring you new games.

And that’s all, which is no small thing.

We wish you many hours of fun playing Brisca, with plenty of aces and threes 😉

Thanks for reading. Have a good day, and an even better night.