Cassino rules

Capture by value, build piles, and fight over the ten of diamonds.

  • 2-4 players
  • Standard deck

The English-language member of the fishing family, and the only one where you build piles as well as capture them. Two to four players.

The deck

A 52-card deck. Aces count 1. Court cards have no numeric value and are captured only by pairing.

The layout

Four cards to each player and four face up on the table.

Your turn — one action only

Capture by pairing: play a card matching the rank of a table card and take both. Court cards are only ever taken this way, and only one at a time. Capture by summing: play a card equal to the total of two or more number cards on the table and take them all. Build: play a card onto a table card to make a pile announcing a total you can capture next turn — put a three on a five and announce eight, and you must hold an eight. Opponents may capture your build, or add to it. Trail: lay a card on the table and do nothing.

Sweep

Capture everything on the table and score a bonus point.

When hands run out, four more are dealt, and the last player to capture takes whatever remains.

Scoring

Most cards: 3 Most spades: 1 The ten of diamonds, big cassino: 2 The two of spades, little cassino: 1 Each ace: 1 Each sweep: 1

That is 11 points a deal, and game is 21.

Building is what raises this above the other fishing games: announcing a build tells the table what you hold, and doing it at the wrong moment gives the pile away.