Instructions

How many Players?

ChessBriscola is played with a deck of 40 cards + 7 helper cards.

Your goal in ChessBriscola is to rack up the highest score and claim victory!

Deck contents:

• ♟ Five Pawn Cards for each colour - 0 points.
  
• ♞ Four Knight Cards - 2 points.
  
• ♝ Four Bishop Cards - 3 points.
  
• ♜ Four Rook Cards - 4 points.
  
• ♛ Four Queen Cards - 10 points.
  
• ♚ Four King Cards - 11 points.
  

Helper cards:

• Three White and Black Team cards for 4 or 6 players game.
  
• A Dealer card.
  

Version 2 Players

Getting Set Up:

• Separate Helper Cards: Separate the 7 helper cards from the main deck of 47 cards. Set aside the main deck for now.
• Shuffle Helper Cards: Shuffle the 7 helper cards thoroughly.
• Pick a Helper card: Each player takes turns picking one card from the shuffled helper cards. Continue this process until one of the players picks the dealer card.
• Determine the Dealer: The player who picks the dealer card becomes the dealer for the game. Set aside the remaining helper cards; they will not be used in the game.
• Deal cards: The dealer then takes the main deck and deals 3 cards face down to each player.
• Reveal the ChessBriscola card: The dealer flips over the top card of the remaining deck to reveal the ChessBriscola card. The colour of this card determines the trump colour for the entirety of the game.

Let's Play - Starting the Action:

• The player right to the dealer goes first, showing a card to set the colour for the round.
  The other player can try to beat it with a higher-point card of the same colour or a ChessBriscola card, any card can be played.
  In the event both players play Pawn cards of the same colour, the player who played it first claims the trick.
  When a ChessBriscola card is played, they win the round unless the opponent plays a higher points ChessBriscola card.
  The winner keeps the cards aside for scoring later.

Continuation:

• Round Play: Each round starts with the player who won the previous round. This player draws a card from the deck first, followed by the other player.
• Winning a Round: The round is played out with both players playing one card each. The player whose card matches the chosen colour or play a ChessBriscola card and has the highest value wins the round.
• Special Rule for the Last Round: If it's the last round, the player who lost the previous round must take the Chessbriscola card from the main central deck. This Chessbriscola card is added to the current round, giving the losing player an additional opportunity to influence the outcome of the round.
• Ending the Game: Players continue drawing, playing, and winning rounds until all cards from the deck are used up and neither player has any cards left.

Claiming Victory:

• At the end of the game, each player counts the points of the cards they have collected.
  The player who scores 61 points wins the game. If both players have 60 points each, the game is a draw.

Version 3 Players

• One Red Pawn card is removed from the deck. It’s played with 39 cards.
  The player right to the dealer goes first, showing a card to set the colour for the round.
  The game is played with three players facing off against each other, following the same rules as the 2-player version of the game.

Version 4 Players - Teams

• Players form two teams to collectively achieve the highest score. The rules remain consistent with the 2-players version.
  Each player takes turns picking one card from the shuffled helper cards with 4 Team cards (2 White Team, 2 Black Team).
  Players are seated alternately with their team members and may discreetly communicate with them during rounds.
  The player right to the dealer goes first, showing a card to set the colour for the round.
  Before the final round begins, players within the same team exchange their cards to view them.

Version 5 Players

• Each player competes against every other player.
  The player right to the dealer goes first, showing a card to set the colour for the round.
  following the rules of the 2-players game using all 40 cards.

Version 6 Players - Teams

• One Pawn card of each colour is removed from the deck, resulting in a total of 36 cards being played.
  
  Each player takes turns picking one card from the shuffled helper cards with 6 Team cards.
  Players form two teams of 3 players each to collectively aim for the highest score. The rules remain consistent with the 2-players version.
  Players are seated alternately with their team members and may subtly communicate with them during rounds.
  The player right to the dealer goes first, showing a card to set the colour for the round.
  Before the final round begins, players within the same team exchange their cards to view them.