How to Play Escoba

Escoba is a classic Spanish/Italian card game played with a 40-card Spanish deck. The goal is to capture cards from the table by making combinations that sum to 15.

The Deck

The Spanish deck has 4 suits: Coins (gold), Cups (red), Swords (blue), and Clubs (green). Each suit has 10 cards: numbered 1-7, plus three face cards — Sota (Jack, value 8), Caballo (Knight, value 9), and Rey (King, value 10).

Gameplay

Each player is dealt 3 cards, and 4 cards are placed face-up on the table. On your turn, play one card from your hand. If your card plus any combination of table cards equals 15, you capture those cards. If no capture is possible, your card is placed on the table. When all hands are empty, 3 more cards are dealt to each player (no new table cards). The round ends when the deck runs out.

Escoba

If you capture all the cards on the table (leaving it empty), that's an Escoba — worth a bonus point! The last player to make a capture collects any remaining table cards at round end.

Scoring

At the end of each round, points are awarded for: Most cards captured (1 point), Most coins captured (1 point), 7 of Coins (1 point), Most 7s captured (1 point), and each Escoba (1 point each). Ties award no points. The first player to reach 15 points wins!