Basra – Egyptian

Player: 2–4 (four alone or in teams) · Cards: French-suited deck, 52 · Type: Fishing game (rank and sum)

Objective

Collect cards and basra bonuses; be the first to reach 101 points (121 is also common).

Equipment & setup

As in the basic form; jacks and the 7 of diamonds in the layout are replaced.

Card ranking & card values

Ace 1, number cards 2–10 by value. Jack, queen and king have no number value: a queen only takes queens, a king only kings, a jack takes all table cards.

Gameplay

1) The player to the dealer's left starts, then in turn.

2) You play exactly one card and take cards of equal rank and number cards adding up to its value (e.g. a 9 takes 5+4) – or both at once.

3) If there are several options, the player chooses; if you can capture, you must.

4) If nothing fits, the card stays face up on the table.

5) When all hands are empty, everyone gets 4 new cards (no new table cards) until the stock is empty – 6 deals with two, 4 with three, 3 with four players.

Special rules & special cards

The 7 of diamonds takes all table cards; it counts as a basra (10) only if the table holds nothing but number cards totalling at most 10. A jack taking a single jack is a double basra (20); otherwise the jack scores no basra.

Scoring & points

Most cards 30 (if tied they carry over to the next round), each ace and jack 1, 2 of clubs 2, 10 of diamonds 3, basra 10, double basra 20.

End of game & winning

Whoever has at least 101 (or 121) points after a round wins.

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.