How to play Ronda: rules of the Moroccan card game

Ronda is the card game of Moroccan cafés: quick, loud and full of calls. You take cards by matching them, and the run that follows them up, while calling Ronda for a pair and Tringa for three of a kind.

• Players2
• Cards40-card Spanish deck
• Hand3 cards, dealt again until the stock is gone
• GoalFirst to 41

The cards and the deal

Forty Spanish cards: 1 to 7, then 10, 11 and 12. Three cards each and four face up on the table. When both players have played their three, three more each, until the stock runs out.

Taking cards

You play one card a turn. If the table has a card of the same number, you take it, and every card running up from it with no gap: a 5 played on 5, 6, 7, 10 takes all four (the 10 comes straight after the 7). With no match, your card stays on the table.

What scores

• Ronda: a pair in your hand, 1. Tringa: three of a kind, 5. Only the best at the table scores, and it takes the points for both.
• Bwahed: taking the card your opponent has just played, with its twin: 1.
• Missa: clearing the table: 1 (not with the round's very last card).
• Cards: at the end of the round, each card you have taken over 20 is worth 1. Whatever is left on the table goes to whoever took last.
• The dealer's last card: a 12 that takes is 5 to the dealer; a 1, or a card that takes nothing, is 5 to the other side.

Winning

The first to 41 wins, the moment they reach it. A shorter game goes to 21, or a single round where every card is a point.

Questions

What is Missa in Ronda?

Clearing every card from the table with a capture. It scores 1, except with the very last card of the round.

What is the difference between Ronda and Tringa?

Ronda is a pair dealt to you (1 point), Tringa three of a kind (5 points). Only the best one at the table scores, and it takes the points for both players.

Can I play Ronda online in Arabic or French?

Yes: Manita plays Ronda in Arabic, French, Spanish and English, against anyone online, a friend, or the computer.