Ligurian:
# Cirolla: zeugo ligure pe 2-4 zugoei

A cirolla (in zeneise _cirolla_ ò _acciappachinze_), o l’é un zeugo de carte tradiçionale ligure pe doî, trei ò quattro zugoei. A l’é unna variante da sgobba, conosciua pe-a seu vivessa e o ritmo lesto de partie.

# Contegnui

Noçioin de base

Masso e zugoei

Distribuçion

Execuçion

Zeugo da man

Preisa

Sgobbe

Boñe

Ponti

Ponti de masso

Sgobbe

Scæ

Boñe

Stöia

# Noçioin de base

## Masso e zugoei

Pe zugâ s’addeuvia un masso zeneise da 40 carte, fæto de 1 (ò asso), 2, …, 7, sbiro (S), dònna (D), òmmo (Ò) inte quattro merse de coppe ♥, dinæ ♦, scioî ♣ e spoæ ♠.

Ciascheduña carta a l’à unna varsciua de preisa (fâ preisa o l’é o mecaniximo a-a base da cirolla) e unna varsciua de primmea :

Se peu zugâ inta doî, inta trei ò inta quattro (into quæ caxo i zugoei assettæ de fronte zeugan in cobbia).

O zeugo o l’é fæto de un numero de moen , che en e fase de zeugo che terminan quande finisce e carte do masso. Unna partia a l’é fæta de un numero variabile de moen, quante ghe n’é beseugno pe arrivâ a-o limite di ponti stabilio, ch’o l’é pe-o sòlito 51.

## Distribuçion

Pe-a primma man, o massê o l’é çernuo à caxo. Pe quelle apreuvo, o ròllo do massê o va a-i atri zugoei into senso conträio a-e ragge do releuio. O massê o remescia e carte e o ê pòrze à l’avversäio in sciâ seu manciña pe coppâle. Dapeu o massê o dà træ carte pe zugou e o ne mette quattro descoverte in sciâ töa. E carte s’an da dà a-i zugoei uña pe vòtta, con partî da-o zugou in sciâ drita do massê e into senso conträio a-e ragge do releuio.[^1]

Se inte quattro carte misse in töa da-o massê gh’é doî asci ò ciù tanti, a man a va a-o muggio: o massê o se piggia torna tutte e carte, o ê remescia, o ê fa coppâ, e o ê dà torna.

Quande i zugoei an finio e seu træ carte, o massê o dà torna træ carte pe zugou. Stæte finie tutte e carte do masso, a man a termina e se conta i ponti.

# Execuçion

## Man

A fin da cirolla a l’é de fâ i ciù tanti ponti che se peu, de mòddo da razzonze pe-o primmo o limite di ponti stabilio. Un pe vòtta, con partî da-o zugou in sciâ manciña do massê (o primmo de man) e dapeu into senso conträio a-e ragge do releuio, i zugoei callan unna carta descoverta in sciâ töa. À segonda da carta callâ e de carte in sciâ töa, inte çerti caxi che saian descriti da basso, i zugoei peuan fâ preisa (saieiva à dî cattuâ de carte). Tutte e vòtte che i zugoei finiscian e carte che aivan inte moen, o massê o ne dà torna træ pe zugou, e o zugou in sciâ manciña do massê o repiggia à zugâ. O zeugo o va avanti à sta mainea fin à quande o masso o finisce.

Se, co-a carta ch’o l’à deçiso de callâ, un zugou o no peu fâ nisciuña preisa (ò se no gh’é de carte in sciâ töa), aloa sta carta a l’é lasciâ descoverta in sciâ töa, insemme a-e atre carte che maniman gh’ean za. Se, in cangio, co-a carta callâ se peu fâ preisa, o zugou o l’é obrigou à fâla.

## Preisa

E carte in sciâ töa se peuan piggiâ à træ mainee:

Preisa sencia. Unna carta callâ a peu piggiâ unn’atra carta in sciâ töa da mæxima varsciua, ò un gruppo de carte a quæ somma a l’é pægia à sta varsciua. Donca, se in sciâ töa gh’é un sbiro (varsciua de preisa 8), un 5 e un 3, un zugou con un atro sbiro o peu acciappâ segge o sbiro segge a cobbia 5 e 3.

Preisa pe chinze. Unna carta callâ a peu piggiâ uña ò ciù carte in sciâ töa quande a somma de tutte ste carte a l’é pægia à chinze. Pe exempio, se in sciâ töa ghé un 3 e un 4, un zugou con un sbiro peu piggiâli (dæto che 3+4+S=15).

Preisa d’asso. Quande un zugou o calla un asso, o piggia tutte e carte in sciâ töa, à condiçion che no ghe segge za un atro asso in sciâ töa. Inte st’urtimo caxo, l’asso callou o peu piggiâ solo che l’asso ch’o l’é za in sciâ töa.

A preisa de carte o l’é o mecaniximo de base pe guägnâ i ponti à cirolla. E carte piggiæ, insemme a-e carte ch’an fæto e preise, se mettan coverte inte unna pilla da arente a-o zugou ch’o l’à fæto a preisa, dita muggetto de preise . Pe commun, into zeugo à cobbie, un di doî zugoei da squaddra o tëgne tutte e carte piggiæ da-a squaddra. A-a fin da man, i muggetti de preise s’addeuvian pe calcola i ponti de ciaschedun zugou (ò squaddra).

Quande finisce a man, se l’arresta de carte in sciâ töa, ste chì van a-o zugou ch’o l’à fæto l’urtima preisa, comme s’o l’aise piggiæ.

## Sgobbe

Quande un zugou o piggia tutte e carte in sciâ töa, o guägna unna sgobba. A sgobba a se marca con giâ a-o conträio e pe traverso, into muggetto de preise, a carta ch’a l’à fæto a preisa. A-a fin da man, ciascheduña sgobba a vâ un ponto.

L’urtima carta callâ da man a no peu fâ sgobba, ascì ben che con callâla o zugou o piggia tutte e carte in sciâ töa. De mainea pægia, quande l’arresta de carte in sciâ töa a-a fin da man e van a-o zugou ch’o l’à fæto l’urtima preisa, no van comme sgobba.

# Boñe

Quande i zugoei s’attreuvan inte moen çertiduñe combinaçioin de carte, dite boñe, an a poscibilitæ de guägnâ di ponti in azzonta con deciarâle:

Barsega ò boña da trei. Un zugou ch’o l’à inte moen træ carte a somma da quæ varsciua o l’é neuve ò ciù pöco, o guägna trei ponti. Sti ponti en marcæ pe-o sòlito comme se fïsan træ sgobbe, con giâ træ carte inta pilla de preise. Unna barsega sensa asci a l’é dita _boña di misci_.

Barsegon, boña da dexe ò dëxin. Un zugou ch’o l’à inte moen træ carte da mæxima varsciua o guägna dexe ponti.[^2] Pe commun sti ponti no en marcæ comme sgobbe, ma en arregordæ.

Se un zugou o l’à uña de ste boñe e o veu deciarâla, comme l’é o seu turno o l’à da piccâ in sciâ töa e descrovî tutte træ e carte da boña. Dapeu, o va avanti à zugâ comme pe-o sòlito, ma co-e træ carte descoverte.

A-o fin de boñe, o sette de coppe (dito _poncin_ in zeneise e _matta_ in italian) o peu piggiâ o ròllo de chesesegge carta, ma solo se con fâ questo o zugou ch’o l’à inte moen o peu guägna unna boña. Inte sto caxo, o zugou o deciara a varsciua do poncin, e o poncin o conserva sta varsciua pe-a man corrente (ma no quande se conta i ponti, e donca pe-a primmea). Pe exempio, se un zugou o l’à doî asci e o poncin inte moen, o peu deciarâ che o poncin o l’é un asso, e donca guägnâ un barsegon. Dapeu, a-o momento de callâlo, o peu deuviâlo pe fâ unna sgobba comme s’o fïse un asso (pe mezo do mecaniximo da preisa d’asso), ma a-a fin da man quande se conta i ponti, o poncin o vëgne torna à ëse o sette de coppe.

A segonda categoria de boñe a l’é quella de boñe pe-o massê, che s’an da fâ co-e quattro carte ch’o mette in sciâ töa a-o comenso da man:

Boña do chinze. Quande a somma da varsciua de preisa de quattro carte a l’é chinze, o massê o ê piggia tutte e o se marca unna sgobba.

Boña do trenta. Quande a somma da varsciua de preisa de quattro carte a l’é trenta, o massê o ê piggia tutte e o se marca doe sgobbe.

O massê o l’à da deciarâ ste boñe tòsto finia a primma distribuçion da man, avanti che o primmo de man o calle a seu primma carta. Anche pe-e boñe do massê o poncin o peu piggiâ chesesegge varsciua, à condiçion che sta varsciua a permette a-o massê de guägnâ segge a boña do chinze segge quella do trenta.

# Ponti

Stæto finio unna man, se calcola i ponti de ògni persoña (ò, into zeugo à cobbie, de ògni squaddra). I ponti en a somma de: ponti de masso, sgobbe, ponti pe-e scæ e ponti pe-e boñe.

## Ponti de masso

I ponti de masso en:

Carte. A persoña (ò squaddra, into zeugo à cobbie) ch’a l’à piggiou e ciù tante carte a guägna un ponto. In caxo de paritæ, o ponto pe-e carte o no l’é assegnou.

Dinæ. A persoña (ò squaddra) ch’a l’à piggiou e ciù tante carte de dinæ a guägna un ponto. Se unna persoña (ò squaddra) a l’arriësce à piggiâ tutte e carte de dinæ, a guägna a partia in sciô momento (“fâ cappòtto”).

Settebello. A persoña (ò squaddra) ch’a l’à piggiou o sette de dinæ a guägna un ponto.

Primmea. A persoña (ò squaddra) co-a megio primmea a guägna un ponto. In caxo de paritæ, o ponto pe-a primmea o no l’é assegnou.

A primmea a l’é unna combinaçion de quattro carte, uña pe mersa. Ògni persoña (ò squaddra) a forma a seu primmea con çerne a carta a ciù fòrte de ciascheduña mersa, segondo e varsciue de primmea scrite in sciâ töa de d’ato à sta pagina. A squaddra co-a primmea de varsciua ciù erta (calcolâ con azzonze e varsciue de primmea de quattro carte stæte çernue) a guägna o ponto de primmea.

## Sgobbe

Tutte e vòtte che un zugou o piggia tutte e carte in sciâ töa o guägna unna sgobba, marcâ con unna carta giâ a-o conträio into muggetto de preise. Quande se conta i ponti a-a fin de unna man, ògni sgobba a vâ un ponto.

## Scæ

Se unna persoña (ò squaddra) a l’arriësce à piggiâ çertiduñe combinaçioin, a guägna di ponti in azzonta a-a fin da man. E combinaçioin en:

Scâ erta. A persoña (ò squaddra) ch’a l’arriësce à piggiâ o sbiro, a dònna e l’òmmo de dinæ a guägna çinque ponti.

Scâ bassa. Se unna persoña (ò squaddra) a l’arriësce à piggiâ l’asso, o doî e o trei de dinæ a guägna trei ponti. Co-o quattro ascì, a bassa a vâ quattro ponti incangio de trei. Co-o quattro e o çinque ascì, a vâ çinque ponti, e s’a l’arriva fin a-o sëi, a ne vâ sëi.

## Boñe

L’urtima mainea de guägnâ di ponti a l’é pe mezo de boñe, segge quelle de man segge quelle do massê, stæte za descrite de d’ato.

# Stöia

A poula «cirolla» a no s’attreuva inti diçionäi stòrichi do zeneise, ma a l’é in deuvia inti diçionäi do secolo XXI e into zeneise d’ancheu. O Prof. Fiorenzo Toso, autô do _Piccolo dizionario etimologico ligure_, o propoñe unna connescion tra a poula ligure «cirolla» e o termine do spagnòllo de l’America do meridion _chirola_, ch’o l’indica unna monæa de pöca varsciua.[^3] L’é donca poscibile che o nomme o segge un reciammo a-a pòsta de zeugo, portou inderê da di immigræ tornæ in Liguria da l’America do meridion. St’ipòtexi chì a l’é sostegnua da l’existensa, into spagnòllo regionâ de l’Argentiña, do verbo chirolear co-o scignificato de «zugâ pe pöchi dinæ».[^4]

No se sa quande se segge comensou à zugâ a-a cirolla. E regole de base da cirolla en pæge à quelle da sgobba, un zeugo spantegou inte tutta l’Italia, a Spagna, l’Argentiña, o Braxî e ben ben de atri paixi. In azzonta, a cirolla a piggia di elementi da de atre variante da sgobba: da-a sgobba d’asci a piggia a poscibilitæ de piggiâ tutte e carte in töa con un asso, e da-a sgobba à chinze (variante ben ben spantegâ inte l’America do meridion co-o nomme _escoba de quince_ [^5]) a piggia o mecaniximo da preisa pe chinze.

Un di elementi ciù particolæ da cirolla en e boñe. L’é façile che sti mecaniximi seggian stæti ereditæ da l’antigo zeugo de carte italian «bäsiga» ( bazzica in italian), ancheu scentou ma za conosciuo into secolo XVII e çittou ascì inte comedie do Goldoni.[^6] Sto zeugo o preveddeiva de fæti di ponti pe-i zugoei con træ carte a quæ somma a fïse pægia ò sotta à neuve (_bazzica_), ò con træ carte pæge (_bazzicotto_). Ste combinaçioin en pæge à quelle dite «boña da trei» e «boña da dexe» inta cirolla. Pe de ciù, l’é ciæo che o nomme zeneise alternativo pe-a boña da trei, «barsega», o vëgne pròpio da «bazzica».

# Nòtte

[^1]: E quattro carte in sciâ töa se peuan mette segge tutte in sciâ fin, segge uña pe vòtta: uña avanti de dà e carte a-i zugoei, e ciascheduña de atre træ dòppo ògni distribuçion de unna carta pe zugou.

[^2]: Into caxo che un zugou o l’agge trei asci, trei doî ò trei trei, sciben che a somma da varsciua de træ carte a l’é neuve ò ciù pöco, o l’à drito solo che a-a boña da dexe e no ascì à quella da trei.

[^3]: Fiorenzo Toso, _Piccolo dizionario etimologico ligure_, Lavagna (Zena), ed. Zona, 2015.

[^4]: María Delia Gatica de Montiveros, _Diccionario de regionalismos de la provincia de San Luis_, San Luis, Fondo Editorial Sanluiseño, 1995.

[^5]: Juan Capagorry, _El Juego es cosa seria_, Montevideo, Arca, 1979.

[^6]: Carlo Goldoni, _La serva amorosa_, 1752.

English translation:
# Cirulla: a Ligurian game for 2-4 players

Cirulla (in Genoese Ligurian _cirolla_ or _acciappachinze_) is a traditional Ligurian card game for two, three or four players. It is a variant of scopa, well-known for its liveliness and fast pace.

# Contents

Basics

Deck and players

Deal

Gameplay

Hand

Capture

Sweeps

Bonuses

Score

Deck points

Sweeps

Melds

Bonuses

History

# Basics

## Deck and players

A 40-card Genoese deck is used to play, consisting of 1 (or ace), 2, …, 7, jack (J), queen (Q), king (K) in the four suits of hearts ♥, diamonds ♦, clubs ♣ and spades ♠.

Each card has a capture value (capturing is the fundamental mechanic of cirulla) and a prime value :

The game can be played by two, three or four players (in which case the players sitting opposite each other play together).

The game consists of a number of hands , which are the phases of the game that end when the cards in the deck run out. A game consists of a variable number of hands, as many as are necessary to reach the set score limit, which is usually 51.

## Deal

In the first hand, the dealer is chosen at random. For subsequent hands, the role of dealer passes to the other players in a counter-clockwise direction. The dealer shuffles the cards and hands them to the player on their left to cut them. Then the dealer deals three cards per player and places four cards face up on the table. The cards are dealt to the players one at a time, starting with the player to the dealer’s left and continuing counter-clockwise.[^1]

If there are two or more aces in the four cards placed on the table by the dealer, the hand is annulled: the dealer takes all the cards, shuffles them, has them cut, and deals them again.

Once the players have used up the three cards they had in their hands, the dealer deals three more cards per player. When all the cards in the deck have been played, the hand ends and the score is tallied.

# Gameplay

## Hand

The aim of cirulla is to score as many points as possible in order to be the first to reach the set limit score. One at a time, starting with the player to the left of the dealer (the forehand) and then counterclockwise, the players play a card face up on the table. Depending on the card played and the cards that were already on the table, in certain cases that will be described below, players may win tricks (that is, capture cards). Once players have played all three cards in their hands, the dealer deals three more cards per player and the game continues, again starting with the player to the left of the dealer. Play proceeds in this manner until the deck is depleted.

If, with the card that they decided to play, a player cannot capture any of the cards on the table (or if there are no other cards on the table at all), then this card is left face-up on the table. If, on the other hand, it is possible to make a capture, then a capture must be made.

## Capture

Cards on the table can be captured in three ways:

Simple capture. A card that’s been played can take another card on the table of the same value, or a group of cards whose sum is equal to this value. Thus, if there is a jack (capture value 8), a 5 and a 3 on the table, a player with another jack can take either the jack or the 5 and the 3.

15-capture. A card that’s been played can capture one or more cards when the sum of all these cards is equal to 15. For example, if there is a 3 and a 4 on the table, a player with a jack can take them (as 3+4+J=15).

Ace capture. When a player plays an ace, they take all the cards on the table, unless there is already another ace on the table. In this case, the ace can only take the ace that is already on the table.

Card capture is the basic mechanism for scoring points in cirulla. The cards captured, together with the cards used to capture, are placed face down in a pile next to the player who made the capture (but in the four player 2v2 game, usually one of the two players in the team keeps all the captured cards). At the end of the hand, the pile of cards captured by a player (or team) is used to calculate their points.

At the end of the hand, if any cards remain on the table, they go to the player who made the last capture, as if they had actually captured them.

## Sweeps

When a player takes all the cards on the table, they are said to have made a sweep. A sweep is marked by turning the card that made the capture upside down and sideways in the pile of captured cards. At the end of the hand, each sweep is worth one point.

The last played card of the hand cannot achieve a sweep, even if by playing it the player captures all the cards on the table. Similarly, when cards remain on the table at the end of the hand and they are awarded to the player who made the last capture, this does not count as a sweep.

# Bonuses

When players hold certain combinations of cards, called bonuses, they have the opportunity to earn additional points by declaring them:

Barsega or three-point bonus. A player holding three cards whose sum is equal to or less than nine earns three points. These points are usually marked as if they were three sweeps, by turning over three cards in the pile of captured cards. A three-point bonus without aces is called _boña di misci_.

Barsegon, ten-point bonus or tenner. A player holding three cards of the same value earns ten points.[^2] Usually these points are not marked as if they were sweeps, but are simply remembered.

If a player holds one of these bonus combinations in their hand, they must knock on the table to declare it and uncover all three cards before playing their first card of the hand. They then continue to play as usual, but with their hand uncovered.

For the purposes of bonuses, the seven of hearts (called _poncin_ in Ligurian and _matta_ in Italian) can play the role of any other card, but only if by doing so the player who has it can get a bonus. In this case, the player declares the value of the seven of hearts, and it will retain this value for the duration of the hand (but not when counting points, and thus for the prime). For example, if a player has two aces and the seven of hearts in their hand, they can declare that the seven of hearts is an ace, which will allow them to score a ten-point bonus. Then, when playing it, they can use it to get a sweep as if it really were an ace (i.e., they can perform an ace capture with it), but at the end of the hand when the score is being tallied, it reverts to being the seven of hearts.

The second type of bonuses are dealer’s bonuses. They are formed with the four cards that are put on the table at the beginning of the hand by the dealer:

Fifteen. If the sum of the capture value of the four cards is 15, the dealer captures them all and marks one sweep.

Thirty. If the sum of the capture value of the four cards is 30, the dealer captures them all and marks two sweeps.

The dealer must announce these bonuses immediately after the first deal of the hand, before forehand has played their first card. For these bonuses too, the seven of hearts can take on any capture value, provided that this value allows the dealer to obtain either of the above bonuses.

# Score

At the end of the hand, the points of each player (or, in a four-player game, of each team) are tallied. Points are the sum of: deck points, sweeps, meld points and bonus points.

## Deck points

The deck points are:

Cards. The person (or team, in a four-player game) who has captured the most cards gets one point. In the event of a tie, the point for the cards is not awarded.

Diamonds. The person (or team) who has taken the most diamonds gets one point. If one person (or team) manages to take all the diamond cards, they win the entire game immediately (“shutout rule”).

Settebello. The person (or team) who takes the seven of diamonds gets one point.

Prime. The person (or team) with the best prime gets one point. In the event of a tie, the prime point is not awarded.

The prime is a combination of four cards, one of each suit. Each person (or team) forms their own prime by choosing the strongest card of each suit, according to the prime values given in the table at the top of the page. The person (or team) with the highest prime value (calculated by adding up the prime values of the four chosen cards) is awarded the prime point.

## Sweeps

Each time a player captures all the cards on the table, they get a sweep, marked by turning a card upside down in the capture pile. When counting points at the end of the hand, each sweep is worth one point.

## Melds

If a person (or team) is able to capture certain combinations of cards, they get additional points at the end of the hand. The combinations are:

High meld. The person (or team) that manages to take the jack, queen and king of diamonds wins five points.

Low meld. The person (or team) that manages to take, ace, two and three of diamonds wins three points. With the four too, this meld is worth four points instead of three. With four and five, it is worth five points, and if it goes all the way to six, it is worth six points.

## Bonuses

The last way to earn points is via bonuses, both hand bonuses and dealer bonuses, as previously described.

# History

The term “cirulla” is not present in historical dictionaries of Ligurian, but can be found in the 21st century dictionaries and is in use in contemporary Ligurian. Prof. Fiorenzo Toso, author of the etymological dictionary _Piccolo dizionario etimologico ligure_, has proposed a connection between the Ligurian word “cirolla” and the South American Spanish term _chirola_, which denotes a coin of little value.[^3] It is therefore possible that the name is a reference to gambling stakes, brought back by immigrants returning to Liguria from South America. This hypothesis is supported by the existence, in the regional Spanish of Argentina, of the verb chirolear with the meaning of “to play for low stakes”.[^4]

It is not known when people started playing cirulla. The basic rules of cirulla are similar to those of scopa, a game popular throughout Italy, Spain, Argentina, Brazil and many other countries. In addition, cirulla borrows elements from other variants of scopa: from scopa d’assi it takes the possibility of capturing all the cards on the table with an ace, and from scopa a quindici (a variant popular in South America, where it is called _escoba de quince_ [^5]) it takes the mechanic of capturing cards whose values add up to 15.

One of the most peculiar elements of cirulla is the bonuses. It is likely that this mechanic was inherited from the ancient Italian card game “bazzica”, that has now disappeared but which was already known in the 17th century and is also mentioned in Goldoni’s plays.[^6] Indeed, this game awarded points to players with three cards whose sum was equal to or less than nine (_bazzica_), or with three equal cards (_bazzicotto_). These combinations are identical to those called “three-point bonus” and “ten-point bonus” in cirulla. Moreover, it is clear that the Ligurian term “barsega”, which denotes the three-point bonus, comes from “bazzica”.

# Footnotes

[^1]: The four cards on the table can be dealt either all together at the end, or one at a time: one before the cards are dealt to the players, and each of the other three after every distribution of one card per player.

[^2]: In the event that a player has three aces, three twos or three threes, even though the sum of their value is equal to or less than nine, they will still only be entitled to the ten-point bonus, and not also to the three-point bonus.

[^3]: Fiorenzo Toso, _Piccolo dizionario etimologico ligure_, Lavagna (Genoa), Zona, 2015.

[^4]: María Delia Gatica de Montiveros, _Diccionario de regionalismos de la provincia de San Luis_, San Luis, Fondo Editorial Sanluiseño, 1995.

[^5]: Juan Capagorry, _El Juego es cosa seria_, Montevideo, Arca, 1979.

[^6]: Carlo Goldoni, _La serva amorosa_, 1752.