Today’s quote:
Il faut pas chanter juste, il faut juste chanter.
Casino (or “Cassino”) is a two- to four-player card game. I’ve never played the four-person version. It’s a go-to option when there are only two of you. There’s a particularly fun 21-point variation that I’ll share with you today.
Game Setup
- Deck: Standard 52-card deck.
- Dealing: Deal 6 cards face down to each player for the first hand.
- Objective: Be the first to reach 21 points or more by collecting captured cards, or have the most points when the deck runs out.
Gameplay
- Player 1 plays one card from their hand face up to the table.
- Player 2 plays one card from their hand face up to the table with the following capture options:
- Add: Play a card that adds up to a card on the table (e.g., 3 + 4 = 7).
- Pair: Play a card that matches one already on the table (e.g., a 7 with a 7).
- Build: Play a card to start a “build,” then another card to reach a total (e.g., play a 3, then a 4 to make 7).
- Trail: Play a card that doesn’t capture anything; it stays face up.
- Collect: If you capture, take your played card and all captured cards into your pile (face down).
- Next Player: Play passes to the other player.
- Dealing New Hands: After all players play the cards in their first hand, deal 5 new cards to each player at the beginning of each subsequent hand until all cards have been used.
- Each round of Casino will consist of 5 hands. When the dealer is dealing the last hand in a round, they should announce “Cards” to signify to the other player that it is the final hand in the round.
Scoring
- Points for 21: The first player to reach 21 in their captured total wins. There are 11 points available each round.
- Specific Cards:
- 2 of Spades: 1 point.
- Aces: 1 point each.
- 10 of Diamonds: 2 points.
- Majorities:
- Most Spades: 1 point.
- Most Cards Captured: 3 points. If you each end the round with 26 captured cards, neither player receives the 3 points.
I seem to always lose, but I still love Casino. It’s one of those types of games.
Riddle:
What has a bottom at the top?
A+
Ça vous dit quelque chose ? 
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