Escova

Escova [is'kovɐ] , too known as escopa is an Italian card game. Very popular in the Brazilian Province Rio Grande do Sul.

The deck

Escova is played with one spanish deck. But, it can too be played with the Anglo-American one. If you decide to play with the Spanish one, you should remove the 8 and the 9. If you decide to play with the Anglo-American one, you should remove the 8, the 9 and the 10. Remember that escova don't have any "coringas" (jokers).

The start

Each player receives 3 cards. And other 4 cards go to the middle of the table, where all players can catch up. The player at the right of the one that shuffled the cards start the game.

The object

The game is played until someone reach 31 points. These points are done by completing some objects. When the deck cards finish, each player count their own points.

*each escova = 1 point
*to have all diamond cards = 2 points
*to have most of diamond cards = 1 point
*to have most of cards = 1 point
*to have the sete belo = 1 point

The "sub-object" of escova is to do escovas and montinhos. To do an escova, you must have a card that match with all of the middle of the table to make 15. Sample: the cards on the table are 3♠ 2♣ 1♥ and 4♦ and you have a 5♠, if you sum 5+3+2+1+4, you will have 15. To do an montinho, you must have a card that match with any card on the middle of the table to do 15.

The diamonds

The diamond (♦)is the "super-suit" of escova. They give you points. So always try to collect most of diamond cards, principally, the sete belo."Diamonds" is called belo (or ouros) in Brazil and sete is "seven". So, sete belo = 7♦. If you have that card, it will give you 1 point.

Interesting things about the diamonds

*belo (diamonds) means "beautiful" in Portuguese
*there's a Brazilian raspberry candy very popular called sete belo
*the suit belo is too known as ouros that means "golds"

The cards on the middle of the table

At the start of the game, they are four. When you don't have any card to do 15, you throw away one of your cards on the middle of the table. When someone do a escova you have to throw away one of your cards. When the cards of all players finish, the shuffler will redistribute them, but he won't redistribute the cards on the table. Probably when the deck ends and no one have cards anymore, there will be some cards on the middle of the table. The owner of them is the last player that did an escova or a montinho.

The value of the cards

Most of cards have the same value of the number. These cards are 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 and 7. The rest of cards have different values:

*A=1
*Q=8
*J=9
*K=10