Spizzichino

Welcome to Spizzichino, a card game designed for two players. The objective is simple: be the first to accumulate 51 points and claim victory.

Getting Started

To begin, we need to decide who will be the dealer. This can be done by a simple random selection. Once the dealer is chosen, the players will take turns dealing the cards.

The dealer will shuffle the deck thoroughly and then deal 8 piles of 5 cards each, face down.

After the piles have been dealt, the opponent gets to pick four of the piles without looking at the cards. Out of these four piles, they will choose two to add to their hand, while the other two will be placed face up, revealing only the top card. Once the opponent has made their selection, it is now the dealer’s turn to do the same, selecting two piles for their hand and revealing the top card of the other two.

At this point, each player will have a hand of 10 cards and two stacks of face-up cards in front of them.

Card Rankings and Points

The ranking starts with 3 (the highest), followed by 2, then 1. After that, it’s Re, Cavallo, and Fante, in descending order. The remaining cards, from 7 to 4, have progressively lower ranks. Each card has a specific point value assigned to it, listed as follows. 3s and 2s are worth 1/3 of a point each, 1s are worth 1 point, and Re, Cavallos, and Fantes are each worth 1/3 of a point. All other cards have no point value.

The last trick, the 20th trick in a round, is worth 1 point. In total, there are 11 and 2/3 points available each round, but all points are rounded down to the nearest whole number.

GAMEPLAY

The round begins with the non-dealer starting. They can play any card from their hand or either of the top two revealed cards. The next player must play a card of the same suit if they have one, but if they don’t, they can play any card. The winner of the trick is the player who plays the highest card of the suit that was led. They collect the trick and lead the next one. There are a total of 20 tricks in a round.

When I play a card from a pile to a trick, I can also play the card below it to the next trick. But what if the top card is a 3, 2, or 1? Well, I have a choice. I can take that card into my hand and reveal the card below it. That gives me more options for my next move!

Now, there’s something interesting about certain combinations of cards. If I have those combinations in my hand, I can make a declaration. But here’s the catch: the top cards of the piles don’t count for these declarations. If I have the right cards or if I take the top card from a pile to complete a combination, I have to declare it right away. Oh, and here’s an important rule: I can only declare a combination once. So, even if I later draw a card that adds to a combination I’ve already declared, I can’t make another declaration for it.

In the game, there are different kinds of declarations that you can make. One option is to declare four of a kind with either 3s, 2s, or 1s. These declarations are worth 4 points. Another option is to declare three of a kind with 3s, 2s, or 1s, which are worth 3 points. The final declaration is called a Napoletana, which consists of a 3, 2, and 1 of the same suit. Napoletanas are also worth 3 points.

SCORING

After all 20 tricks have been played, it’s time for scoring. Each player counts the total value of the cards they won in tricks and adds them to any declarations they made. Additionally, the winner of the last trick gets an extra point. These totals are rounded down to the nearest whole number and become the players’ game scores.

The game continues until one or both players reach or exceed 51 points at the end of a round.

END OF GAME

The game ends when a player reaches or exceeds 51 points first. If both players reach 51 in the same round, the player with the higher score wins.