Card Games

The card games here range from traditional Spanish-deck games to variants played with a standard deck. There are about 50, and most are made for playing against the computer.

Spanish deck

The Spanish deck has 40 cards in four suits (coins, cups, swords and clubs), and these are the games Spaniards play around the table after a meal: Briscas, Tute, Chinchón, Escoba, Cinquillo and Chúpate. In Briscas there's a trump suit and the winner is whoever collects the most points from the cards they capture. In Tute you add up declarations (the king and knight of the same suit) on top of the tricks. Chinchón is about forming sets, three of a kind or runs, with the seven cards in your hand, a bit like rummy; there's a multiplayer version, Chinchón Multijugador. In Escoba you capture table cards that add up to 15. In Cinquillo you lay cards down by suit, and Chúpate is a goofy game you learn on the fly.

Other styles

UNO and Uno Cartas have their own deck, with colors instead of suits. Speed uses a standard deck and is the fastest of the lot: two players with no turns try to get rid of their pile by playing cards one number higher or lower than the one on the table. Buraco is a game of sets and runs, close to rummy, and Stop The Bus, Pit Boss and Devo are lesser-known ones. There are also solitaire variants: FreeCell, Classic Spider Solitaire, Quest Pyramid Solitaire, Tingly Solitaire or Ancient China Solitaire.

Tips

Before you jump in, check whether the game includes the rules, because each version has small differences from the one played at home. In Briscas and Tute, count the trumps that have come out: knowing how many are left is the biggest edge you can have. And in Speed, forget about planning: what matters is how fast your hand is.

If you don't know any of them, start with Escoba or UNO, which you can learn in one game.

Solitaires give you the most time to think: FreeCell and Classic Spider Solitaire have no opponent waiting on your move. In them, before moving, see if you can free a covered card, because that opens up the game more than anything. If you want quick games against the computer, Briscas or Escoba do the job.