Basra – Lebanese

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 100 points.

Equipment & setup

Everyone gets 6 cards, 4 lie face up; jacks in the layout are replaced. Later deals are also 6 each.

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

A basra (10) only counts when at most two cards lie on the table and you clear them with a matching card – typically a single card with an equal card, or two cards with their sum. Clearing a bigger table does not count. The jack scores no basra.

Scoring & points

Each ace 1, each jack 1, 2 of clubs 2, 10 of diamonds 3, most cards 3 (if tied, everyone involved gets 3), each basra 10.

End of game & winning

Whoever has at least 100 points after a round wins. If tied, play on.

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.