How to Play Bisca
Description
Three cards in hand, a stock to draw from, and a ranking that puts the seven second only to the Ace. Small hands, long memory.
Objective
Be first to reach 61 of the 120 points available, won by capturing valuable cards in tricks.
Setup
Two players most commonly (up to six possible), using a 40-card deck (remove 8s, 9s, and 10s from a standard deck).
Deal three cards to each player, then turn up the next card to set trump — it stays beside the stock and is the very last card drawn.
Rules
Follow suit if you can; if you can't, play anything, including trump.
Cards rank unusually: Ace highest, then 7 (called the manilha, or bisca — the game's namesake card), then King, Jack, Queen, then 6 down to 2.
Highest trump wins the trick — or highest card of the suit led if no trump was played. Winner leads next, and both players draw a fresh card from the stock to keep their hand at three.
Winning
Add up the value of everything you've captured — Aces are worth 11, the manilha (7) worth 10, Kings 4, Jacks 3, Queens 2, everything else nothing.
First to 61 of the 120 points in the deck wins.