How to Play Cassino

By Jaques of London · Est. 1795 · Updated 2026-08-17

Cassino is a capturing card game for 2 to 4 players in which a layout of face-up cards is placed on the table and players take turns playing from their hand to claim those cards by matching or combining their numerical values. It rewards memory and forward planning in equal measure and plays at a satisfying pace whether you are teaching a child or sitting down with experienced card players.

The game is typically played at home or in casual club settings and scales neatly from a focused two-player contest to a four-player partnership game. Its blend of arithmetic and bluff makes it genuinely replayable, and a full session of several rounds can comfortably fill an evening.

A little history

Cassino is traditionally associated with Italy, and its name is likely derived from the Italian word for a small country house or social club. It appears in European card-game literature from at least the late eighteenth century and was well documented in British and American game compendiums throughout the nineteenth century. Beyond that broad outline, its precise origins are unclear, and claims connecting it to any single region or inventor are not reliably supported by the historical record.

Setting up

1. Agree on the number of rounds to play, typically until one player reaches or exceeds 21 points.
2. Choose a dealer. In a two-player game, deal alternately; in a four-player partnership game, partners sit opposite each other.
3. The dealer deals four cards face-down to each player, two at a time, dealing to each player then to the table.
4. After dealing to the players, place four cards face-up in the centre of the table to form the opening layout. These are the trail cards available for capture.
5. The remaining cards form the stock, set face-down beside the dealer.
6. Once all players have played their four cards, the dealer deals a further four cards each (never to the table again) until the stock is exhausted.
7. In a four-player game, deal two cards to each player, then two to the table, repeating until each player holds four cards.

How to play

1. Play passes clockwise. On your turn you must play exactly one card from your hand. You have three possible actions: capture, build, or trail.
2. CAPTURE BY MATCHING: Play a card that matches the face value of one or more layout cards. Take your played card and all matching layout cards, placing them face-down in your capture pile.
3. CAPTURE BY COMBINING: Play a card whose value equals the sum of two or more layout cards taken together. For example, a 9 captures a 5 and a 4 on the table. You may capture multiple combinations simultaneously with a single card if all cards involved equal the same target value.
4. CAPTURE BY MATCHING AND COMBINING TOGETHER: A single played card may capture both matching cards and combining groups at the same time, provided the played card's value equals the value of every group captured.
5. NUMBER CARDS: Cards 2 through 10 are worth their pip value. Aces are worth 1.
6. FACE CARDS: Jacks, Queens, and Kings have no numerical value for combining purposes. A face card captures only an identical face card from the layout. A Jack captures a Jack, a Queen a Queen, and a King a King. You cannot combine face cards.
7. BUILDING: Instead of capturing, you may announce a build by placing your hand card onto a layout card and stating the total. For example, place a 3 on a layout 5 and say 'building 8', intending to capture both with an 8 from your hand on a later turn. A build stays on the table with the announced value.
8. You may only make a build if you hold in your hand the card needed to capture that build. You cannot build and then lose the capturing card before you take the build.
9. An opponent may capture your build with a card of the build's value before you can take it, or may add to it to increase the value (provided they also hold a card that captures the new total).
10. You may also add to your own build on a later turn to increase its value, again only if you hold the new capturing card.
11. MULTIPLE BUILDS: If the layout contains cards that all equal the same value (for example, two separate 7-builds or loose 7s), you may consolidate them into a single multiple build and announce the value. A multiple build cannot be increased; it can only be captured.
12. TRAILING: If you cannot or choose not to capture or build, you must trail: place one card from your hand face-up onto the layout. You may never trail if you are able to capture a build you yourself have made.
13. TABLE SWEEP: If your capture removes every card from the layout, leaving it empty, that is a sweep. Turn one of your captured cards face-up in your pile as a marker. Each sweep scores 1 point at the end of the round.
14. END OF DEAL: When all cards in the stock have been dealt and all players have played their final hands, any cards remaining in the layout go to the last player who made a capture. This does not count as a sweep.
15. SCORING: Count points from your capture pile at the end of each deal (see Winning section). Continue dealing new hands until one player or team reaches the agreed target.

Winning and scoring

Points are scored at the end of each deal from captured cards. The scoring values are fixed: the player or team with the most cards overall scores 3 points; if tied, neither scores. The player or team with the most Spades scores 1 point; if tied, neither scores. The 10 of Diamonds (Big Cassino) scores 2 points. The 2 of Spades (Little Cassino) scores 1 point. Each Ace scores 1 point (four available). Each sweep scores 1 point. The maximum available in a deal is therefore 11 points plus sweeps. The first player or partnership to reach or exceed 21 points wins the game. If two players pass 21 in the same deal, the player with the higher total wins; if still tied, play another deal.

The fine points

The most common dispute concerns builds: a player who has placed a build must capture it on their next available turn and cannot trail instead. If a player trails while a build they own is on the table, they must take back the trailed card and capture the build instead. Regarding capture scope, a played card must capture every group on the table whose value equals the played card if those groups are specified and not optional; however, the player generally chooses which eligible groups to take when multiple independent groups of the same value exist. Always agree this before play begins to avoid argument mid-round.

A second area of dispute concerns the end-of-hand card allocation. Cards remaining in the layout after the final play go to the last player to have made any legal capture, not the last player to have taken a turn. If no capture was made during the entire final hand (rare but possible), the cards go to the last player who captured in any previous hand of that deal. Sweeps from the end-of-hand allocation are not awarded even if the layout is thereby cleared.

How to win more often

• Track the 10 of Diamonds and 2 of Spades from the start. Allowing an opponent to take either uncontested is costly; prioritise capturing them or building on them when the chance arises.
• Count Spades continuously. One point may seem small, but the Spade majority often swings a close round. Keep a mental tally of which Spades have been captured and by whom.
• Use builds to set up future sweeps rather than just to protect a card for one turn. A well-constructed build that clears the table scores an extra point and leaves your opponent with nothing to capture.
• Do not trail high-value cards unless you have no choice. A trailed Ace or 10 of Diamonds gives your opponent a free scoring card. Trail low pip cards that are unlikely to combine helpfully.
• In a partnership game, watch which cards your partner builds on and avoid trailing cards that would allow opponents to capture your partner's build before they can take it themselves.

Variations

Royal Cassino

In this variant, face cards are given numerical values for combining purposes: Jacks count as 11, Queens as 12, and Kings as 13. Aces may count as either 1 or 14 at the player's choice. This opens up considerably richer building possibilities and is often preferred by players who find the standard face-card rules restrictive.

Spade Cassino

Each Spade captured scores its pip value in points rather than the standard single-point majority rule. Aces, face cards, and the 2 of Spades and 10 of Diamonds retain their standard bonus scores. This significantly increases the total points available per deal and rewards careful tracking of Spades throughout the hand.

Partnership Cassino

Four players form two teams of two, with partners sitting opposite each other. All rules remain as standard, but each partnership combines their capture piles at the end of the deal for scoring purposes. Communication between partners about builds is not permitted; strategy must be communicated solely through legal plays.

Draw Cassino

Rather than dealing all cards in batches, each player draws a single replacement card from the stock at the end of their turn, keeping a hand of four throughout until the stock runs out. This gives players more consistent information about their options and reduces the abrupt swings that can occur when a new hand of four arrives mid-deal.

Cassino: frequently asked questions