Fishing card game
Cassino The Great Cassino Origin England Type Fishing Family Matching Players 2–4 (2 best) Skills Tactics Cards 52 0️⃣ Deck French-suited pack Play Clockwise Playing time 10-15 min. Chance Medium Related games Skwitz • Tablanette • Zwickern
Cassino, sometimes spelt 0️⃣ Casino, is an English card game for two to four players using a standard, 52-card, French-suited pack.[1] It is the 0️⃣ only fishing game to have penetrated the English-speaking world.[1] It is similar to the later Italian game of Scopa and 0️⃣ is often said, without substantiation, to be of Italian origin. Cassino is still played today in Madeira, probably due to 0️⃣ English influence.[2]
History [ edit ]
Although Cassino is often claimed to be of Italian origin, detailed research by Franco Pratesi has 0️⃣ shown that there is no evidence of it ever being played in Italy and the earliest references to its Italian 0️⃣ cousins, Scopa and Scopone, post-date those of Cassino.[3] The spelling "Cassino" is used in the earliest rules of 1792 and 0️⃣ is the most persistent spelling since,[4] although German sources invariably use the spelling "Casino" along with some English sources.
Likewise an 0️⃣ origin in gambling dens appears unlikely since a casino in the late 18th century was a summer house or country 0️⃣ villa; the name was not transferred to gambling establishments until later.[5]
In fact, as "Cassino", the game is first recorded in 0️⃣ 1792 in England[4] where it appears to have become something of a fashionable craze,[3] and certainly well known enough for 0️⃣ Mrs. Scatter to declare "I do long for a game of Cassino" in Frederic Reynolds' 1797 comedy, Cheap Living.[6][a] At 0️⃣ that stage, the court cards had no numerical value and could only be paired, and there was no building; that 0️⃣ did not appear in English rules until the second half of the century.[7] The counting cards were the Aces and 0️⃣ two special cards known as the 'Great Cassino' (♦10) and 'Little Cassino' (♠2).[4] As the game developed, further counters were 0️⃣ added.
One country to follow hard on English heels was Austria-Hungary where, as early as 1795 in Vienna and Prague, rules 0️⃣ were published that incorporated English terminology such as "sweep" and "lurch."[8] Initially the rules followed those in English sources, but 0️⃣ as early as 1810, a markedly different variant appeared in which the court cards, Aces and Cassinos became far more 0️⃣ potent. The courts were given values of 11, 12 and 13 respectively, the Aces could be valued at 14 as 0️⃣ well as 1, the Great Cassino at 10 or 16 and the Little Cassino at 2 or 15.[9] This elaboration 0️⃣ of the Cassino went unnoticed in its country of origin and across the Atlantic, apart from a fleeting observation in 0️⃣ 1846 by Lady Sarah Nicolas in 1846 who recounts that "the game of Cassino is thus played in some parts 0️⃣ of Germany:- Great Cassino takes sixteen. Little Cassino – fifteen. Every Ace – fourteen. King – thirteen. Queen – twelve. 0️⃣ Knave – eleven."[10]
Rules continued to be published in German until at least 1975,[11] but the game seems to have waned 0️⃣ in Germany and Austria towards the end of the 19th century.
However, while the game began to fade away in England, 0️⃣ it was in America that Cassino gained its second wind in the second half of the 19th century, initially due 0️⃣ to new moves such as building and calling and, later, through several interesting new variants that emerged, including what became 0️⃣ Royal Cassino, in which court cards were given a numerical value as in German Cassino such that they could capture 0️⃣ two or more cards, and Spade Cassino, in which players scored for the most Spades, and Diamond Cassino, in which 0️⃣ three cards are dealt instead of four. Royal Cassino is mentioned as early as 1894 when we learn that a 0️⃣ passenger on a line from New York to London played the game with a doctor and his wife[12] but its 0️⃣ rules first appear in English Foster's Complete Hoyle of 1897.[13] Cassino was eventually eclipsed by Gin Rummy.[3]
By the early 20th 0️⃣ century, Cassino itself was obsolete everywhere, but two successors were emerging. Zwickern, a north German variant, introduced up to 6 0️⃣ Jokers as special cards and grew so popular that bespoke packs were made for it. Today the game is still 0️⃣ played in a few villages in Schleswig. Tablanette, another apparent variant in which the Kings, Queens, Knaves and Tens are 0️⃣ also counters, appeared in the late 19th in a German source[14] and later featured in one of Hubert Phillips' games 0️⃣ compendia in 1939. It does not seem to have caught on, although it may have gained more traction in its 0️⃣ various eastern European forms.[15]
English Cassino [ edit ]
These classic rules emerged in 1792 and remained largely unchanged until the mid-19th 0️⃣ century. The following are based on Long:[4]
The game is for two players using a standard pack. The dealer deals four 0️⃣ cards each and four to the table, placing the rest face down as the stock. Non-dealer plays the first card 0️⃣ and aims to capture as many cards from the table as possible that match the card played. For example, if 0️⃣ the table cards are 6–9–3–9–J, by playing a 9, a player may capture the 6 and 3 in combination as 0️⃣ well as two 9s. If a player is able to clear the table (later called a sweep) this scores 1 0️⃣ point. Captured cards are placed in a trick pile, face up, by the player who took them. A player unable 0️⃣ to capture anything must trail (add) a card to the table.
The players play cards alternately and when the first hand 0️⃣ of four is exhausted, the dealer deals four more cards each from the stock, but none to the table this 0️⃣ time. Play continues in this way until the stock is exhausted and the players have played their last hand of 0️⃣ four. Any cards left on the table are claimed by the last player to take a trick, unless the last 0️⃣ card played is a court card in which case its holder claims any remaining cards. In neither case does this 0️⃣ score a point.[b]
At the end of the hand, score as follows:
Feat Points Most cards 3 Great Cassino ( ♦ 10) 0️⃣ 2 Little Cassino ( ♠ 2) 1 Most spades 1 Each Ace 1 Each sweep 1
Thus there are 11 points 0️⃣ in the game plus the bonus points for sweeps. If players tie on cards or spades, no point is awarded. 0️⃣ The lower score is deducted from the higher and the winner scores the difference. Game is 11 points; if the 0️⃣ loser has less than 6, he or she is lurched and loses double.
Three-Handed Cassino [ edit ]
Only the scoring differs. 0️⃣ After totalling their points the two lower scores are combined and deducted from the highest score e.g. if A score 0️⃣ 8, B 2 and C 1, A scores 8 - (2 + 1) = 5 game points; but if A 0️⃣ has 5, B 4 and C 2, A scores nothing.
Four-Handed Cassino [ edit ]
There are two teams of two and 0️⃣ they follow Whist rules for cutting for places, dealing and scoring the games singly or double. They play a rubber 0️⃣ i.e. the best of 3 games.
American Cassino [ edit ]
In 1864, William Brisbane Dick, alias "Trumps", published the first rules 0️⃣ that included the feature of "building up", whereby players were allowed to place a card on an existing table card 0️⃣ and, by announcing their combined value, fix the build at that value. In 1867, however, Dick published an even more 0️⃣ elaborate set of rules that included "calling" for the first time. The rules were based on research that included testing 0️⃣ and approval by "the best players in this city".[c] The following is a summary of those rules:[17]
Overview [ edit ]
The 0️⃣ game is played by two, three, four or six players with a 52-card pack. Four play as two pairs.
Deal [ 0️⃣ edit ]
Players cut for deal and the player with the lowest card deals first. Ties 'cut over' and Aces are 0️⃣ low. Dealer gives each player four cards, singly, eldest hand first. Four cards are dealt to the table either regularly 0️⃣ as he deals or in packets of two, three or all four. After the first four hand cards are played, 0️⃣ the dealer deals another four each, singly, but none to the table, and this continues until all cards have been 0️⃣ played out.
Play [ edit ]
Eldest hand leads a card and then each player in turn plays one card which may 0️⃣ be used for:
Capturing. The played card may capture all table cards either by pairing – taking cards of the same 0️⃣ rank – or by combining – taking cards that, in combination, add up to the value of the played card.
Sweeping. 0️⃣ If a player captures all the table cards, this is a sweep and scores 1 point. The next player must 0️⃣ trail a card.
Calling. A player with 2 or more cards in hand of the same rank as one or more 0️⃣ table cards, may play one of them and call their rank e.g. "Fives". An opponent may only capture the card 0️⃣ by pairing, but may not build on that card or capture it as part of a combination.
Building. Simple Build. A 0️⃣ player may build by placing a hand card on a table card and announcing the total, thus fixing the value 0️⃣ of the build, e.g. Andrew holds 5 and 3, and there is a 2 on the table; he places the 0️⃣ 3 on the 2 and calls "Five". The cards of the build cannot now be taken separately but must be 0️⃣ capturing by pairing with a 5 or as part of a combination where the build counts as 5. Multiple Build. 0️⃣ A player may build on an opponent's build provided that player has a hand card matching the new total. Players 0️⃣ may not build on their own build in succession, but only alternately on the same build. Second Build. Players may 0️⃣ make a second build on a different card or make any other legal play before taking up the first build. 0️⃣ Build and Call. A player with more than one card that matches a build may play it onto the build 0️⃣ and call their values e.g. "Eights". This then counts as a call and fixes the value of both build and 0️⃣ played card. The player must then capture both by playing the remaining card on a later turn.
Trailing. A player unwilling 0️⃣ or unable to do any of the above must trail a card i.e. add it to the existing table cards, 0️⃣ face up.
Scoring [ edit ]
Points are scored at the end of each hand as in classic English Cassino, but instead 0️⃣ of game being 11 points, each deal is a complete game and the player or team with the most points 0️⃣ wins.
Variants [ edit ]
Twenty-one Point Cassino [ edit ]
Twenty-one Point Cassino appears for the first time in print in Dick's 0️⃣ 1880 Modern Pocket Hoyle where he says that "Cassino is now very generally played for a fixed number of points 0️⃣ (usually twenty-one)". The first player to the target score wins and the points are scored as soon as made. Sweeps 0️⃣ are not turned down "as in the single deal game" but scored as they are taken. A player who erroneously 0️⃣ claims to have won loses the game.[18]
Royal Cassino [ edit ]
Royal Cassino appears for the first time in Foster's Complete 0️⃣ Hoyle (1897), however the concept of giving values to the court cards was a Austro-German invention of the early 19th 0️⃣ century. The only difference from standard American Cassino is that Jacks are now worth 11, Queens 12 and Kings 13, 0️⃣ so that, for example, a Queen can capture and Ace and a Jack or a 7 and a 5.[19] In 0️⃣ a variation recorded by David Parlett, the Ace is worth 1 or 14 as desired.[20]
Spade Cassino [ edit ]
Also making 0️⃣ its first appearance in 1897 was the "interesting variation" of Spade Cassino in which every spade scored a point except 0️⃣ for the ♠J which scored 2. This replaced the usual score for "most spades" and gave 24 points per hand, 0️⃣ excluding sweeps. Game is 61 and hence it is scored on a cribbage board, all points being pegged as they 0️⃣ are made apart from "most cards" which is pegged at the end.[19]
Diamond Cassino [ edit ]
Diamond Cassino is a recent 0️⃣ variant that has been described as a "cross between Cassino and Scopa". Only 40 cards are used, the courts being 0️⃣ removed. Players are dealt three cards each, and four cards are dealt to the table. Game is 11 up and 0️⃣ players get 1 for most cards, 1 for most diamonds, 1 for the ♦7, 2 for all four 7s, 6s 0️⃣ or As, and 1 for each sweep.[21]
Draw Cassino [ edit ]
In Draw Cassino, first called Royal Draw Cassino,[22] players draw 0️⃣ a replacement card each time they make a play, so that they always have four cards in hand (until the 0️⃣ end), rather than being dealt cards in discrete rounds of four. It is a two-player game.[20]
Related games [ edit ]
There 0️⃣ are a number of other European fishing games in the same family as Cassino.
Callabra [ edit ]
In this "fast and 0️⃣ simple forerunner of Cassino", each player is dealt three cards, and five are dealt to the table. Players may trail 0️⃣ or take cards from the table, if they have cards which match the cards on the table, or if they 0️⃣ have two cards which add up to a card on the table and equal the table card's value. In this 0️⃣ game, Jacks are worth eleven points, Queens are worth twelve points and Kings are worth thirteen points. Game ends when 0️⃣ a player finally clears all the cards from the table.[23]
Tablanette [ edit ]
Tablanette is said to be of Russian provenance. 0️⃣ In this game, each player has six cards, and a player with a jack may use it to clear the 0️⃣ whole table. At the end of a round, players score points for holding the most cards, and extra points if 0️⃣ they are holding picture cards.[24]
Diloti [ edit ]
In this Greek fishing game,[25] players are dealt 6 cards. Matching face cards 0️⃣ must be captured, so that no two face cards of the same value can ever be together in the pool. 0️⃣ The scoring differs most notably in that there is no special suit, and sweeps are very valuable:
Higher number of cards: 0️⃣ 4
10 of diamonds: 2
2 of spades: 1
Each ace: 1
Each sweep (Xeri): 10 (!) extra points
See also [ edit ]
Notes [ 0️⃣ edit ]
^ According to Pratesi, at that stage, sweeps were not part of the rules, but Long admits 1 point 0️⃣ for a clearing the table, although this is not included in his summary table which may explain why Pratesi thought 0️⃣ it was absent. ^ [16] but only hinted at in Long. The rule about a court card played last clearing 0️⃣ the table is explicit in later rules, e.g. Jones (1796)but only hinted at in Long. ^ Presumably New York where 0️⃣ the rules were published.
References [ edit ]
