Is a game for two players, one deck of playing cards is used (52 cards, excluding the two jokers). Players can take some or all of the cards from the table under certain conditions.
Dealing
Each player gets 4 playing cards, four cards are faced up on the board between the players, if one of the cards on the board is a jack or a 7 Diamonds then it should be returned to the deck and replaced with another.
Game Play
The player who did not deal starts the game by playing one card on the board, a player can collect some or all of the cards under certain conditions. In “Basra”, the turn shifts between the two players and there is no option to pass.
Cards Collecting Conditions
- If a player plays a card which matches another one of the same denomination -no matter what suit- the player collects them both.
- If a player plays a card which matches the numeral value of several cards combined, the player collects them all.
- If a player plays a card which fulfills the two conditions mentioned above (a card of the same denomination no matter what suit, and several cards that equal the same numeral value when combined) the player collects all of these cards.
- There is no numeral value to the (Q) and (K) cards, therefore these cards only fish the cards that are similar to them.
- Both the 7 diamonds and the Jack, regardless what suit, are considered the most powerful cards in the game, since they can collect all the cards on the board.
Basra Conditions
If a player fulfills the following 3 conditions, he/she will be awarded a Basra:
- If a player collected all cards on board using one card (not a 7 Diamonds nor a Jack) he/she is then awarded a “Basra” which means that 10 additional points are added to his/her score in the end of the round.
- A player is also awarded a Basra when he/she uses a 7 diamonds card, only if the number of cards is 10 or more, and none of them is a (Q) or a (K).
- The last player who collected from the board collects the cards left on the board.
Scoring
- The player who collected 27+ plus cards gets 30 points.
- Each player gets an extra point for each (J) card or (A) card collected
- The player who collected the 2 clubs gets two extra points
- The player who collected 10 Diamonds gets 3 extra points.
In the case of a tie (in case each player collects 26 cards) points are not counted in this round, and 30 points are added to the following round, or 60 to the next one in case another tie occurs.
The game ends when one of the players scores 121 points and he/she is considered the winner.