Botifarra
Text adapted from Wikipedia, the free encyclopaedia
see: http://ca.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joc_de_cartes
Botifarra is an extremely popular card game in
The basic
rules of Botifarra are as follows:
This version
of Botifarra is played with four players in two pairs who sit opposite one
another.
To play Botifarra
you need a 48-card deck formed by four suits (Fires, sickles, mushrooms and porrons
in the deck of Catalan Playing Cards) with 12 cards each.
example of
Aces in Catalan Playing Cards:
example of Manilles in Catalan Playing Cards:
The aim of
the game is to get 101 points before the other pair.
The value of
each card is as follows:
- Manille (9), 5 points
- Ace (1), 4 points
- King (12), 3 points
- Knight (11), 2 points
- Jack (10), 1 point
- Cards numbered 2 to 8 have no
value.
- One additional point is added
for every trick won.
At the end
of each hand, the points collected by each pair are counted. The pair to have
more than 36 points records the number of points over 36 to their score. If
both pairs have 36 points in their hand, neither records any points.
The value of
points totalled must be multiplied by 2 if the hand has been declared botifarra
(no trumps) or by 2, 4 or 8 where one of the players of the pair to open the
hand has said contro, recontro or Sant Vicenç (2, 3 or 4 in
some regional versions)
Before a
hand is started, the player to be first in dealing the cards and selecting
trumps must be established. Therefore, one of the four players confers a suit
to each player and randomly turns over one card in the deck. The player to have
the suit of the turned over card will be the first to deal the cards.
Now that you
know which player is the first to deal the cards and select trumps, the player
to his/her left must shuffle them and this player’s couple then cut the pack.
The cards
can now be dealt. They must be dealt four by four, starting with the player to
the right of the dealer, followed by the next player and so on until the 48
cards have been dealt, 12 to each player.
Once the cards
have been dealt and before starting the hand, trumps must be selected. In view
of the cards he/she is holding, the player to select trumps must either make
the selection or pass the decision on to his/her partner.
The
corresponding suit must be said out loud to indicate trumps: golden coins,
cups, swords or clubs. The suit to have been selected controls the hand. It is
also possible to say "botifarra". In this case, no trumps control the
hand. If the decision is passed to the partner, he/she must select trumps from
one of the previous options (Fires, sickles, mushrooms and porrons or
Botifarra). If botifarra is
selected, the number of points recorded by the pair winning the hand will be
double.
Contro, recontro and Sant Vicenç
Once trumps
have been chosen, the opposite pair can say contro.
This means that the pair to win that hand will record double the points or four
times if botifarra was selected.
To do this
you must say "contro". If not, you must knock on the table.
Either
player in the pair to have not selected trumps can say contro. This can only be said once for each hand, i.e. if your
partner has already done you, you cannot say contro in that particular hand.
Once contro
has been said, the components of the pair to have dealt and selected trumps can
say recontro. This means that the pair to win will record the points of
the hand multiplied by 4 or by 8 in the case of botifarra. To do so, you must say "recontro". If not, you must knock on the table.
Either of
the players in the pair to have not said contro
can say recontro. This can only
be said once for each hand. Only if recontro
has been said and the botifarra are
not trumps can either of the players in the pair to have said contro say "Sant Vicenç". In
this case, the points are multiplied by 8. If you do not want to say Sant Vicenç, you must knock on the
table.
Once trumps
have been selected you can start playing the cards. The first player to play a
card is the player to the right of the person to have dealt and selected
trumps, who will select one of the cards in his/her hand and leave it facing
upwards on the table in front of him/her.
The
remaining players then play anti-clockwise until the trick is completed. The
pair to have won the trick will collect the cards and save them facing
downwards in a pile. The player to win the trick begins the next one.
Beating (matar) the card starting the trick is
only possible with a card of the same suit of a higher value or a trump card.
Failing (fallar) a suit means that you have no
cards of that suit. Similarly, semifallo
means that you only have one card of that suit.
Scoring points and continuing the
game
Once all the
cards have been played, the points scored by each pair are counted and the pair
to have won the hand will record the corresponding number of points.
Then, the
player to have dealt the pack and selected trumps in the previous hand will be
responsible for shuffling the cards, the person to his/her left for cutting the
pack and the person to his/her right for dealing and selected trumps and so on.
In some
regional versions, the cards are not shuffled at the start of each hand. The
two piles of cards from the previous hand are simply placed on top of each
other and the pack then cut. This means that the cards of the same suit are
distributed relatively evenly among the players, leading to more spectacular
hands.
The game
ends when one of the pairs has obtained more than 100 points.
The rules
below must be followed in order to know which cards to play:
- The first player to play the
trick can play any card. The suit of that card is known as the starting
suit (palo de salida).
- The rules for the remaining
players are as follows:
- If the trick is from his/her
partner (the partner’s card is winning the trick):
- If the player has cards of
the starting suit, he/she must play one of these but does not have to
play a higher card.
- If the player has no cards of
the starting suit, he/she can play any card.
- If the trick is not from his/her
partner (the winning card is from one of the components):
- If the player has cards of
the starting suit, he/she must play one of the cards from this suit and
must beat it, whenever possible.
- If the player has no cards of
the starting suit but has others that win the hand (trumps), he/she must
play a card to win the trick.
- If the player has no cards of
the starting suit or any card that wins the trick, he/she can play any
other card.
In short,
you are only forced to beat the cards of your components and not those of your
partner and you must always (if possible) play cards of the starting suit.
When playing
Botifarra you must also bear in mind that it is forbidden to speak, show you
cards and make signs and comments that may indicate your cards or the good or
bad decision of a hand. Despite this, it is quite normal to make some comments
during the game, which adds to a more entertaining atmosphere.
The cards
played must be placed in a pile facing downwards. Each pair will have its own pile
and can only turn over the last trick of each pile to go over the cards already
played.
Botifarra is
a game of strategy and, as such, before playing a card you must think very hard
about which is the best option, given that once you have played a card you
cannot change your mind.
Breaking any
of these rules means that the breaching pair will incur a revoke that is
penalised by the loss of all the points in play. In other words, the other pair
will record 36 points in the case of a normal hand and 72 in the case of botifarra, etc.
Dealing
cards badly leads to the start of a new hand. This will not be penalised with
any point, but the player to the right of the person have made the mistake will
then deal and select trumps, thus making the initial dealer lose out on the
option of selecting trumps.
If, once the
game is over, you want to begin a new one (if the players and the pairs remain
the same), the same process of the last person to have selected trumps
shuffling and the player to his/her right dealing and selecting trumps is
followed.
- Butinet A site
containing software to play Botifarra either against the PC or online.