Cassino The Great Cassino Origin England Type Fishing Family Matching Players 2–4 (2 best) Skills Tactics Cards 52 Deck French-suited ♠ pack Play Clockwise Playing time 10-15 min. Chance Medium Related games Skwitz • Tablanette • Zwickern

Cassino, sometimes spelt Casino, is ♠ an English card game for two to four players using a standard, 52-card, French-suited pack.[1] It is the only fishing ♠ game to have penetrated the English-speaking world.[1] It is similar to the later Italian game of Scopa and is often ♠ said, without substantiation, to be of Italian origin. Cassino is still played today in Madeira, probably due to English influence.[2]

History ♠ [ edit ]

Although Cassino is often claimed to be of Italian origin, detailed research by Franco Pratesi has shown that ♠ there is no evidence of it ever being played in Italy and the earliest references to its Italian cousins, Scopa ♠ and Scopone, post-date those of Cassino.[3] The spelling "Cassino" is used in the earliest rules of 1792 and is the ♠ most persistent spelling since,[4] although German sources invariably use the spelling "Casino" along with some English sources.

Likewise an origin in ♠ gambling dens appears unlikely since a casino in the late 18th century was a summer house or country villa; the ♠ name was not transferred to gambling establishments until later.[5]