Casino (Fishing Game)
Quick Pitch
Casino is a card game where you play cards from your hand to capture matching cards from the table — and the Ten of Diamonds, the Two of Spades, and every Ace are worth bonus points.
Hook
Four cards lie face-up on the table. You play one card from your hand: if it matches a table card's value, you capture both. But you can also build — play a card onto a table card to create a sum you can capture later with a higher card in your hand. Capturing the most cards wins you points, but the special scoring cards (especially the Ten of Diamonds, worth 2 points by itself) can swing the game completely.
Equipment Needed
- One standard 52-card deck
- Paper and pencil for score tracking
Setup
- Shuffle and deal 4 cards to each player (2-player deal all 52 cards in rounds)
- Place 4 cards face-up on table as initial layout
- Remaining cards form stock
Rules
Objective
Capture cards from the table that add up to values in your hand. Accumulate high point cards. Highest score wins.
Card Values
- Ace: 1 point
- Number cards (2-10): Face value
- Face cards (J, Q, K): 10 points
Capturing
Single capture: Play a card matching the rank/value of a card on table (capture both)
Building: Create combinations on table:
- Add cards to create sums
- Example: Play 5 and table 2 and 3 on it to create build of 5
- Later capture build with a 5
Combining: Add cards to existing builds:
- Table may have builds; can add cards to match their value
- Example: Build of 5 exists; you can add an Ace and 4 to make it remain captureable as 5
Gameplay
- Play one card: From hand, play to table
- Capture: If card matches layout card or build value, capture cards
- Build: Otherwise, create new build or add to existing build
- Discarding: If unable to capture or build, discard card to layout
- Replenish hand: When all players have played (if 4-player), draw from stock
- All cards dealt: Continue from current layout until stock exhausted
Scoring
Point cards:
- 10♦ (Big Casino): 2 points
- 2♠ (Little Casino): 1 point
- Each Ace: 1 point (4 aces possible)
- Each Spade: 1 point
- Majority of cards: 3 points
Game: First to 21 points wins
Expert Player
Tips
- Card tracking: Remember which cards captured/remain
- Build carefully: Strategic builds force opponents into bad positions
- Casino cards: Prioritize capturing 10♦ and 2♠
- Majority: Track card count toward majority bonus
- Defensive play: Block opponent's likely captures
Variations
- Royal Casino: Face cards worth unique values
- Fishing: Simpler variant with same basic mechanics
- Multiplication: Different point values for combinations
Learn More — History & Origins
History & Origins
Casino (sometimes spelled Cassino) belongs to the fishing game family — a category of card games where the central mechanic is capturing cards from a shared layout, rather than winning tricks in competition. The family is ancient, with fishing games documented in Chinese card game traditions and in European games like Scopa (Italy) and Cuarenta (Ecuador). The specific English and American Casino variant developed in the 19th century and was widely played in North America through the early 20th century, appearing in card game reference books of the era as a standard game alongside Cribbage and Euchre.
The game's point scoring system — which gives extra value to the Ten of Diamonds, the Two of Spades, all four Aces, and bonus points for capturing the majority of cards — distinguishes it from simpler fishing games and rewards card-counting and strategic building over pure capture racing.
Cultural Context
Casino is less commonly played today than in its 19th and early 20th century heyday, but it retains a dedicated following among players who appreciate its combination of mathematical building (creating and capturing sums) with card-tracking and strategic play. The building mechanic — where you can announce a build targeting a specific number and then be committed to capturing it — creates a distinctive form of strategic planning not found in most other card games.
The game is closely related to the Italian game Scopa, which uses a similar fishing mechanic and is one of Italy's most popular card games. Scopa and Casino are likely cousins from a shared fishing-game tradition, evolved in different directions through different cultural contexts.