How to play Cuarenta: rules of the Ecuadorian card game

Cuarenta - "forty" - is the national card game of Ecuador. Take the card your opponent just played for a caída, clear the table for a limpia, and race to forty points.

• Players2
• Cards40 cards: ace to 7, J, Q, K
• Hand5 cards, dealt four times a hand
• GoalFirst to 40

The cards and the deal

Forty cards: ace to 7 and J, Q, K of each suit. Five cards each and none to the table. When both players have played their five, five more each, four times a hand. The player who did not deal goes first.

Taking cards

• Match (igual): a card takes the card of its rank.
• Sum (suma): a card from ace to 7 takes two or more cards that add up to it (the ace is 1). J, Q and K never add.
• Run (escalera): whatever you take brings with it the cards running up from your card with no gap: A-2-3-4-5-6-7-J-Q-K.

If your card can take, it must, but you choose how. If not, it stays on the table.

Scoring

• Caída: taking, with its twin, the card your opponent just played: 2. Caída y limpia: 4.
• Limpia: clearing the table: 2.
• Ronda: three of a kind dealt to you: 2 (or 4, as some play it). Not past 30.
• Cartón: at the end of the hand, 20 cards taken are worth 6 and each one more 1, rounded up to even. With nobody at 20 and the cards level, dos por dar: 2 to whoever deals next. A player who took nothing gives dos por falla.

Winning

The first to 40 wins. 38 que no juega: on 38, only a caída wins. Four of a kind in your hand, or four caídas in a row, win at once.

Questions

What is a caída in Cuarenta?

Taking the card your opponent just played with a card of the same rank. It scores 2, or 4 if it also clears the table (caída y limpia).

Why can't you win from 38 in Cuarenta?

"38 que no juega": a player on 38 can only reach 40 with a caída, not with cards counted at the end of the hand.

Can I play Cuarenta online?

Yes, free: against anyone online, a friend with a code, or the computer.