Step by step
Learn Brisca
Eight short lessons, each with a question to check you've got it. By the end you'll know everything you need to sit down and play a full game.
Prefer it all on one page? Read the full rules
1. Meet the Spanish deck
Brisca uses the 40-card Spanish deck. It has four suits: Oros (coins), Copas (cups), Espadas (swords) and Bastos (clubs).
Each suit runs 1 to 7, then three court cards: the Sota (10), the Caballo (11) and the Rey (12). There are no 8s or 9s.
Try it yourself
Here's a card from the deck.
2. The card order
Rule A: Within a suit, the cards rank: As (1), Tres (3), Rey (12), Caballo (11), Sota (10), then 7, 6, 5, 4, 2.
Example: The 3 of Copas beats the King of Copas, because the Tres ranks above the Rey.
Try it yourself
No trump has been played.
Player 1 leads the Rey de Copas.
Player 2 plays the 3 de Copas.
3. Trump beats everything
At the start, one card is turned face up. Its suit is the trump (triunfo) for the whole game.
Rule B: Trump beats every other suit, even with a weak card.
Example: If Oros is trump, a 2 of Oros beats an Ace of Copas.
Try it yourself
Trump is Oros (coins).
Player 1 plays the 3 de Copas.
Player 2 plays the 2 de Oros.
4. Off-suit cards can't win
If nobody plays a trump, only cards of the suit that was led can win. A card from any other suit loses, no matter how high it is.
Try it yourself
Trump is Bastos.
Player 1 leads the 4 de Espadas.
Player 2 plays the As de Copas.
5. Counting points
Only five ranks are worth points: As 11, Tres 10, Rey 4, Caballo 3, Sota 2. Everything else is a blank worth 0. The whole deck is worth 120.
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At the end of the game, these are some of the cards in your pile.
One last distinction: The points tell you how valuable a card is when it's captured. The ranking and the trump suit decide which card actually wins the trick.
6. Drawing and leading
You always hold 3 cards. After each trick, the winner draws first from the stock, then the other players. The winner also leads the next trick.
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You just won a trick.
There are still cards in the stock.
7. Winning the game
When every card has been played, everyone counts their pile. More than 60 of the 120 points wins. 60–60 is a tie.
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The game is over.
You counted 59 points. Your opponent counted 61.
8. Your first strategy
The best Brisca players don't win every trick — they win the right tricks. If a trick has no points in it, let it go and save your good cards.
Try it yourself
Trump is Oros.
Your opponent leads the 7 de Copas (worth 0).
You hold the As de Oros, the 2 de Copas and the Rey de Espadas.
Answer all 8 to finish
Next: try a full sample hand, or print the cheat sheet for the table.