Classic

Bisca

The classic Portuguese-Brazilian tricks game: score 61 of the 120 points against the PC.

Bisca is a 40-card trick game in which the trump card and points matter more than the number of cards won. In Deckopedia, you face the computer in Bisca de Três or Bisca de Nove, with three difficulties available.

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1 jogador vs. PC Deck de 40 cartas (sem 8, 9 e 10) Difficulty Medium

Overview

The most popular tricks game in Portugal and Brazil. Here you play alone against the PC: each round both parties play a card, whoever makes the best play takes both, and whoever collects 61 of the 120 points from the deck wins.

Preparation

Deck of 40 cards: the common deck without the 8, 9 and 10.
Each player receives 3 cards (in Bisca de Três, the standard version). Whoever doesn't deal — you — opens the first trick.
The next card is turned face up: its suit is the trump card. It is under the pile, in plain view, and is the last card to be drawn.

Cards and points

From strongest to weakest: Ace, 7, King, Jack, Queen, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2.
Only the first five are worth points: Ace 11, 7 is worth 10 (the "bisca"), King 4, Jack 3, Queen 2. The rest are worth 0.
Each suit adds 30 points, so there are 120 in the entire deck.

How to play

Whoever opens the trick plays a card; the other responds with a card. It is not mandatory to follow the suit or try to win (in Bisca de Três).
Same suit: the strongest card takes the trick.
Different suits, no trump: whoever opened wins.
Trump: any trump card beats a non-trump card; between two trump cards, the stronger one wins.

Whoever took the trick keeps the two cards (the points stay with him) and opens the next one.
After each trick, the winner draws first a card from the pile and the other draws next. When the pile runs out, the loser of the trick takes the trump card that was turned up, and the last rounds are played without drawing.

After the trick — the purchase

Winner buys first

Stock31 cards

Whoever took the trick draws the top card from the pile; the other buys the next one. Each player has 3 cards again.

Victory and draw

When the cards run out, each side adds up the points of the cards they took. Whoever is 61 or more wins.
60 to 60 is a draw.
In Bisca de Nove, the physical game gives more than one game to anyone who has more than 81 points; Here each match is just victory, draw or defeat.

Nine-card Bisca

Choose the variant at the top of the table (only before the first card). Change like this:

Each player receives 9 cards, and the trump card is the 19th card in the deck; the pile has 21 cards.
While the stock still has cards, the same free rule as Bisca de Três applies.
After the stack and trump card are over: if your opponent opens with a trump card, you are obliged to respond with a trump card, if you have one. With a card of another suit in the opening, you play whatever you want.

Playing against the PC

Difficulty (at the top of the table, can change at any time):
Easy — the PC plays cards at random, without thinking.
Medium — follows good pocket rules: take tricks with points using the smallest card you win, and don't waste trumps for nothing.
Hard — count the cards that have already been drawn, imagine what you might have in your hand and test many possible games before each turn; at the end it calculates the best sequence. It never sees your hand or the order of the stock.
The Hint button suggests the card that the stronger PC would play in your place.
There is no "Undo" in this game: going back a move would let you peek at the PC's response.
This version follows the Bisca de Três and Bisca de Nove described by Pagat. Regional variations, such as Bisca Capixaba (extra points, exchange of trump cards for 2, doubles game), are not included.

Here there are individual matches, without a series of matches or a comb. Source: Bisca portuguesa, Pagat.

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