Play a new game of Escoba!
Introduction
Escoba (or Scopa in Italian) is a classic trick-taking card game where players capture cards from the table by forming combinations that sum to 15. The game uses a 40-card Spanish deck and places special value on certain cards like the seven rank and the coin (diamond in french playing cards) suit. The objective is to score points by making strategic captures, with the first player to reach 21 total points winning the game.
The Deck
Escoba uses a 40-card Spanish deck. The card values for creating combinations are: • Kings = 10 points • Knights = 9 points • Jacks = 8 points • Number cards = their face value (Ace = 1, Two = 2, etc.) Note that the face cards have different numbers on them than they are worth as the 8s and 9s have been removed from the deck. The suits are: • Coins (diamonds) • Cups (hearts) • Batons (clubs) • Swords (spades) The suit of coins (diamonds) is the most valuable, and the seven of coins (diamonds) is the most valuable card in the game.
Gameplay
The game can be played with 2, 3 or 4 players. At the start of the game, the dealer shuffles the deck and deals three cards to each player, one at a time, and places four cards face up in the center of the table. The remaining cards form a single 'draw' pile.
- The player to the dealer's left plays first, either picking a card from their hand along with 1 or more cards from the table that sum up to 15, and capturing those cards, or placing one card from their hand onto the table if no cards sum up to 15. Players must play 1 card from their hand at all times, whether it be discarded or used in a capture.
- If the played card can be combined with one or more face-up cards on the table to sum exactly 15, the player captures those cards and places them face down in their capture pile.
- You are not required to play a card that would make a capture. However, if you choose to play such a card, you must make the capture. You may not discard a card if it could have been used to capture cards from the table.
- An "Escoba" occurs when a player captures all the cards on the table with their play leaving the table empty (sweeping the table). This special capture is worth 1 point at the end of the round. When a player makes an Escoba, they would typically keep one card face-up in their capture pile so the counting of escobas is easier. In this implementation, the trick denoting the Escoba glows with a yellow tint.
- If the player cannot make any capture (no combinations sum to 15), they must place one card face-up on the table, adding to the table cards.
- Play continues clockwise with each player playing one card from their hand per turn, either capturing or discarding.
When all players have played their three cards, the dealer deals three new cards to each player. This continues until the deck is exhausted. The player who made the last capture takes any cards remaining on the table.
If the four initial cards placed on the table by the dealer sum to 15 (or two groups of 15), the dealer captures them and scores one or two Escobas before the first player's turn depending on the sum being 15 or 30.
Scoring
At the end of each round, players count their points based on the cards they captured:
- Each Escoba: 1 point
- Capturing the most cards: 1 point
- Capturing the most coins (diamonds): 1 point
- Capturing all coins (diamonds): 2 points
- Capturing the seven of coins (guindis) (7 of diamonds): 1 point
- Capturing the most sevens: 1 point
- Capturing all four sevens: 3 points (including the point for the seven of coins)
The game is typically played to 21 or 31 points. In this implementation we are playing to 21. Players continue playing rounds and accumulating points until someone reaches 21 points. If there are 2 or more players that end the round with 21 points the game goes on until one of them has a higher score than the other.
Strategy Tips
Keep track of the sevens and coin (diamond) cards, as these are the most valuable for scoring. Try to capture the seven of coins (seven of diamonds) whenever possible, as it's worth a dedicated point. When you can't make a capture, consider which card is safest to leave on the table without setting up your opponents for an Escoba or valuable capture.
And that's it!
Want to play Escoba and put your newfound skills to the test? Play a round at Cardgames.io.
