How to Play the Card Game Escoba
The game of Escoba is kind of a trick-taking game where players play cards from their hands in order to capture cards that equal 15. Sound tricky? It shouldn’t. Each player is dealt a hand of 3 cards from which to play and then another 4 cards face up from which to capture. But you needn’t capture your own cards, and you may very well want to capture the table cards of other players. If a card played from your hand plus a card in play on the table equal 15, both cards are yours and you may add them to your pile. However, when your card plus a card (or cards) from the table do not add up to 15, your card stays in play and is now able to be captured by other players. As with almost any game, the team that reaches a set goal of points is the winner, and may be reign supreme until the next time they play.
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Instructions
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1
Reduce the size of your deck by removing the 8, 9 and 10 of each suit. For the game of Escoba, you’ll be using a deck of only 40 cards—A, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, J, Q and K of hearts, diamonds, spades and clubs.
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Decide teams by having partners sit on opposite sides of the table from one another.
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3
Deal out the deck until each player has a total of 3 cards in his hand, followed by another deal, this time face up, of 4 more cards. Each player should have 7 cards at the start of the game—3 face down and 4 face up. The remainder of the deck is set aside and will be used later in the game.
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4
Pick up the 3 cards lying face down on the table. This is the hand from which you will play. Your other 4 cards are considered table cards.
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Play a card from your hand, starting with the player to the left of the dealer. By playing this card, you are attempting to capture other cards from the table. This card plus any one or more table cards will make a trick when they add up to 15 (see Tips section for an example). If the card played from your hand is unable to make a trick, it becomes part of the table cards and is now able to be captured.
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Swipe the trick from the table and place it face down in front of you. Your turn is complete and play continues to the left around the table in a clockwise direction.
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7
Continue to play until each player has played all 3 cards from his hand.
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8
Deal out the remaining deck until each player has another 3 cards. Play commences as already described.
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9
Tabulate your team’s points for the round. The team with the most cards earns 1 point, the team with the most diamonds earns 1 point, the team with the most 7s earns 1 point and the team with the 7 of diamonds earns 1 point. You may also earn an additional point if your team has taken all the 7s for the round (this is over and beyond the points already accrued for the most 7s and the 7 of diamonds). Another 2 point is one if one of the teams clears the board at the end of the game.
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Win the game of Escoba by being the first team to reach 21 or more points.
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Tips & Warnings
To determine the order of play for Escoba, each player will cut the deck in turn. The highest cut will act as first dealer. Play will move to his left in a clockwise direction around the table. Subsequent deals will follow this same path.
An example of play: when a 7 is played from your hand, it could create a trick with an 8 (7 + 8 = 15) or a 5 and a 3 (7 + 3 + 5 = 15) or some other combination that adds up to 15.
