Card games in Brazil

The standard French suited 52 card pack is most wisdespread, sometimes reduced to 40 cards by omitting the 10's, 9's and 8's. The Spanish suited 48-card or 40-card pack is also used for certain games in some regions. The most popular card games include:

• King - a compendium game played with the French 52 card pack in which most of the contracts involve avoiding taking certain cards in tricks.
• Truco - a game of combinations and tricks involving bluff. Several versions of this are played, all using a 40 card pack:
  • Truco Cego (blind truco) is similar to Argentinean Truco and is played in the Rio Grande do Sul with Spanish cards.
  • Truco Paulista is played in São Paulo with French cards. The four cards (Manilhas) of a rank determined at the start of each hand are the highest cards. There is no Flor or Envido, only the play of tricks (Truco), and the game is played to 12 points.
  • Truco Mineiro - the highest cards are the 4, 7, A and 7, followed by 3-2-A-K-J-Q-7-6-5-4. No Flor or Envido.
• Buraco is a rummy game with some slight similaritites to Canasta
• Sueca is an ace-ten game for four players using a 40-card pack; it is also played in Portugal.
• Bisca is an ace-ten game for two players
• Conção is a rummy game equivalent to Conquian
• Sete e Meio is the Brazilian version of the banking game Seven and a Half, played with a 40-card pack.

Further information - in Portuguese - on Brazilian card games can be found on the following web sites:

• Jogos de Cartas (archive copy)
• Regras de Jogos de Baralho
• Baralho: Regras de Jogos de Cartas