Cassino
ENGLISH FISHING CARD GAME (18th century) using a standard 52-card deck. 2-4 players CAPTURE cards from a central layout by matching or summing values with a card played from hand. Score for CARD COUNT, SPADE COUNT, SWEEPS (clearing the table), + special cards (BIG CASSINO = 10♦, LITTLE CASSINO = 2♠, aces). One of the oldest surviving European fishing games; ancestor of Scopa (Italy), Skwarki (Poland), Casino (Portugal). Popular in UK + Italy + as a family game.
Quick facts
Category
Card Games
Type
Individual
Players
2–4
Duration
~30 min
Where played
indoor
Country of origin
🇬🇧 United Kingdom
Estimated origin
Mid-18th century England; ancestor of many fishing-family games
Olympic
No
Popularity
regional
How it works
Objective
Capture the most cards + specific point cards to reach 21 first.
Rules
Basic rules
Deal 4 cards each + 4 face-up to layout
Standard fishing setup.
Play 1 card per turn: capture matching cards or sum-matching combinations
Core mechanic.
Uncaptured hand-cards are added to layout as trails
Layout grows.
Sweep = clearing entire layout = bonus point
Signature scoring.
Build stacks: declare + defend combined captures
Advanced play.
Scoring
First to 21 points from card count + spades + special cards + sweeps.
| Action | Points |
|---|---|
| Most cards captured | 3 points |
| Most spades captured | 1 point |
| Big Cassino (10♦) | 2 points |
| Little Cassino (2♠) | 1 point |
| Each ace captured | 1 point each (4 total) |
| Each sweep (clearing table) | 1 point |
Win condition · First to 21 points at end of any hand.
Equipment
Standard 52-card deck
No jokers
Score pad
Target 21 points
Terminology
- Sweep
- Clearing the entire layout with a single capture; scores 1 bonus point.
- Build
- Adding to a pile to be captured with a specific card later.
- Big Cassino
- 10 of diamonds; worth 2 points.
- Little Cassino
- 2 of spades; worth 1 point.
Where it is played
Frequently asked
Cassino vs Scopa?+
Both are fishing capture games. CASSINO (English, 18th c) uses a standard 52-card deck; targets 21 points from card count + spades + special cards. SCOPA (Italian, 18th c) uses a 40-card ITALIAN DECK; simpler + faster; targets 11-21 points; sweeps are called 'scope' (broom). Cassino is deeper strategically; Scopa is more elegant + iconic in Italy.
Sources & provenance
- Wikipedia — Cassino— Wikipedia