Basra – Rules
Play Basra against the computer
1. Overview
| Name | Basra (باصرة), also Bastra |
| Type | Fishing game (taking cards from the table) |
| Players | 2–4, with four each alone or in two teams |
| Recommended age | 8 and up |
| Playing time | one round 5–10 minutes; a game to 100 points 30–60 minutes |
| Material | 52 French cards without jokers, pen and paper |
| Goal | Collect cards and basra bonuses and be first to 100 points. |
| Difficulty | easy |
What is it about? Basra is one of the most popular card games in Egypt and across the Middle East. On your turn you play a card and use it to take matching cards from the table. Clearing the whole table without a jack is a "basra" and scores 10 points. Each country has its own rules – the best known are in section 8 and in the switcher above.
2. Cards and material
- Pack: 52 French cards without jokers.
- Capture values: Ace 1, number cards 2–10 by value.
- Face cards: Jack, queen and king have no number value. A queen only takes queens, a king only kings.
- Special card: The jack takes all table cards.
- Scoring cards:
| Card | Points |
|---|---|
| each ace | 1 |
| each jack | 1 |
| 2 of clubs | 2 |
| 10 of diamonds | 3 |
| most cards | 3 |
| each basra | 10 |
- Face up and face down: hand cards hidden, table cards face up, captured cards face down; basra cards crosswise so they can be counted at the end.
3. Preparation and start
- Deal: Starting to their left, the dealer gives everyone 4 cards one at a time.
- Table: Then they lay 4 cards face up.
- No jack at the start: A jack in the layout goes under the stock and is replaced by the next card.
- Start: The player to the dealer's left begins, then in turn.
- Further deals: When all hands are empty, the dealer gives 4 new cards each – no new table cards. There are 6 deals per round with two, 4 with three and 3 with four players.
Starting example: The middle shows 3, 5, 8 and a king. You hold an 8 – it takes the 8 and also 3 + 5.
4. Goal and winning
- Goal: Whoever has at least 100 points after a round wins.
- Tie above 100: Keep playing until someone is ahead.
5. Play in detail
A turn. You play exactly one card and take whatever it matches:
- Pairing: cards of the same rank – a 6 also takes two 6s.
- Sum: number cards adding up to its value – a 9 takes 5 + 4 or 2 + ace + 6.
- Both at once: table 3, 6, 5, 4, 9 – a 9 takes 3 + 6, 5 + 4 and the 9.
- Jack: takes all table cards.
- Queen and king: only take equal cards.
- Nothing fits: the card stays face up on the table.
All captured cards must be justified by the one card played. If there are several options, you choose. If you can capture, you must.
Basra. If you clear the table completely without using a jack, you score 10 points.
- Table only a 7 – you play a 7: basra.
- Table 3 and 2 – you play a 5: basra.
- Table 5, 4, 2, 7 – you play a 9 and take 5 + 4 and 2 + 7: basra.
Jack on an empty table. It stays face up and can later be taken by another jack – that is not a basra.
Example with Players 1 and 2.
- On the table: 2, 4 and 6. Player 2 plays a 6 and takes the 6 and 2 + 4 – the table is empty: basra, 10 points.
- Player 1 lays a queen. It stays.
- Player 2 lays a 9. It stays as well.
- Player 1 plays a jack and takes the queen and the 9 – no basra, but two more cards.
6. Scoring
Points are counted only at the end of the round:
| Case | Points |
|---|---|
| Each ace | 1 |
| Each jack | 1 |
| 2 of clubs | 2 |
| 10 of diamonds | 3 |
| Most cards | 3 |
| Each basra | 10 |
- Equal number of cards: everyone involved gets 3 points.
- Leftover cards: At the end they go to whoever captured last.
- Keeping score: running totals per player or team.
7. Special rules and situations
- Must capture: If a card fits, you have to take.
- A jack is no basra: It sweeps but scores no 10 points – not even when it takes a single jack.
- Changing dealer: After each round the next player clockwise deals.
- Typical mistakes: leaving the opponent an easy basra; using jacks too early.
8. Variants
Standard in this description: 4 hand cards, 4 table cards, target 100, most cards 3 points.
| Variant | Country | What changes? |
|---|---|---|
| Egyptian | Egypt | The 7 of diamonds takes everything like a jack; it counts as a basra only with number cards totalling at most 10. Most cards 30 (if tied, carried to the next round). Jack takes a single jack: double basra, 20. Target 101 or 121. |
| Yemeni | Yemen | Like Egyptian, but the 7 of diamonds also scores a basra if the table cards split into groups of equal sum – e.g. ace + 8 = 2 + 7 = 9. |
| Palestinian | Palestine | Queens and kings are removed (44 cards). A basra scores twice the value of the capturing card – 14 with a 7. Target 101 or 151. |
| Lebanese | Lebanon | 6 hand cards. A basra only counts with at most two table cards: taking a single card with an equal one, or two cards with their sum. |
All variants can be played on cardgames.zone against the computer and online – pick them in the switcher above or in the settings.
9. Tips for beginners
- Leave little on the table: With only one card left, a basra is looming.
- Save jacks: They clear a full table.
- 10 of diamonds and 2 of clubs: They score – take them on purpose.
- Discard faces: Queens and kings are hard to take – lay them when nothing fits.
- Count: How many jacks have fallen already?
- Collect many cards: The card majority brings extra points.
- Last capture: Whoever takes last gets the leftovers.
10. Summary in 10 steps
- 52 cards, 4 each, 4 face up.
- Replace jacks in the layout.
- Play a card.
- Take equal cards and matching sums.
- Queen and king only take equals.
- Jack takes everything, but no basra.
- Table cleared without a jack: basra, 10 points.
- Deal again until the stock is empty.
- Aces and jacks 1, 2 of clubs 2, 10 of diamonds 3, most cards 3.
- First to 100 points wins.
11. Frequently asked questions
What is a basra?
Clearing the whole table without a jack – 10 points.
Does the jack count as a basra?
No – only in the Egyptian variant, jack on a single jack (20).
Do I have to capture?
Yes, if a card fits.
Can face cards take sums?
No, queen and king only take equal cards.
Who gets the leftover cards?
Whoever captured last.
Which variant should I play?
The basic form is simplest; in Egypt people usually play with the 7 of diamonds and 30 points for most cards.
Origin & history
Basra is a fishing game widespread in the Middle East, probably named after the Iraqi city of Basra. Each country has its own rules – in Egypt, for example, the 7 of diamonds sweeps the whole table like a jack.