Escoba

♠Objective

Capture valuable cards over successive deals to score points, first to 21 wins.

♥Setup

1. 1Deal three cards to each player, then four cards face up to the table.
2. 2Place the remaining cards face down as the stock for later deals.
3. 3If the four opening table cards total exactly 15, the dealer captures them as an escoba (two escobas if they total 30).

♣How to play

• On your turn, play one card face up to the table.
• If your card plus any set of table cards totals exactly 15, you capture all of them (played card included), storing them face down like a trick.
• You choose which valid combination to take when more than one exists; if your played card makes a capture you must take it.
• If it captures nothing, the card simply stays on the table.
• When all hands are empty, the dealer deals three fresh cards to each player (none to the table) and play continues until the deck is exhausted.
• Any cards left on the table at the very end go to the last player who made a capture (this is not an escoba).

♦Scoring

Scored in points · play to 21

♛Winning

The first player or team with 21 or more points at the end of a hand wins; ties are broken by playing further hands.