Escoba
Escoba ("broom" in Spanish) is a classic Spanish card game played with a 40-card Spanish deck. Players take turns playing one card from their hand to capture table cards that sum to exactly 15 together with the played card. Clearing the table completely earns a bonus escoba point — like sweeping the table clean.
Players
2–4 players. With 4 players the game is a partnership: players 1 & 3 form Team 1, players 2 & 4 form Team 2.
Goal
First team (or player) to reach 21 points wins.
Setup
•
Player 1 deals the first hand and the player on the dealer's left plays first; the deal passes to the left after each hand. The first dealer rotates between games: Player 1 deals first in the first game, Player 2 in the next, and so on.
•
The 40-card Spanish baraja is shuffled and dealt: 3 cards to each player and 4 cards face-up to the table.
•
If the 4 initial table cards sum to exactly 15, the dealer immediately captures them for 1 escoba and the table starts empty. If they sum to 30, the dealer scores 2 escobas instead.
On Your Turn
Play exactly one card from your hand:
Capture
Choose a card from your hand and a non-empty subset of table cards so that:
hand card rank + sum of selected table cards = 15
Move all selected table cards and the played card to your capture pile.
Trail
If you cannot (or choose not to) capture, place one card face-up on the table. In the app, choose a card, then press Trail.
Escoba!
If a capture empties the table completely, score 1 escoba (marked in your escoba count for the round).
Re-dealing
When all hands are empty and cards remain in the stock, each player is dealt 3 more cards automatically.
End of Round
When the stock is empty and all hands are empty, leftover table cards go to the last player who made a capture (this does NOT count as an escoba). Then the round is scored.
Scoring
Each category awards 1 point to the winning team:
Team with the most captured cards. Tie → nobody scores.
Team with the most oros-suit cards captured. Tie → nobody scores.
Team that captured the 7 of oros.
Team with the most sevens (any suit). Tie → nobody scores.
1 point per escoba scored during the round.
Card Values (ranks)
Note: Ace (1) + Sota (8) + 6 = 15, for example.
Winning
At the start of each new round, if any team's cumulative score is ≥ 21, the leading team wins. With 4 players, end_game(1, 3) or end_game(2, 4) declares the winning partnership.
Strategy Tips
•
The 7 of oros is the single most valuable card — try to capture it.
•
Hold sevens when possible to contest Setenta.
•
Deliberately clearing the table (escoba) is often worth forcing, especially late in the round.
•
In partnership games, coordinate captures with your partner to maximise card counts and oros.