Birimba
Louise Pike
card game called Birimba. Thanks
Landsrgame
<< Can anyone please post us the rules and method of scoring for a greek card
game called Birimba. Thanks >>
There's this brief explanation at:
http://www.pagat.com/national/greece.html
Biriba - a two pack rummy game in which the aim is to make "biribas", which are
sets of at least seven cards of the same rank or seven cards in sequence in
suit.
Hope that helps.
Harvey
Athanasios Tsakonas
(as played in Greece)
Sorry for my poor English, translating from Greek:
Players: 2 or 4, can played by 3 or 6 as well. If 2 or 3 players play,
each one plays on its own. in other case, players play in
pertnerships, partners sitting opposite.
Decks: 2 standard decks of 52 cards plaus 4 jokers (108 cards) for
2,3,4 persons. If 6 players play, one more deck + 2 jokers more.
Aim: To reach first 3,030 points and win the game.
Points: From 3 to 7, 5 points each. From 8 to King, 10 points each.
Every Ace counts 15, every 2 (which is an additional joker) counts 10,
and every joker counts 20.
Deal: Player at left to the dealer "cuts" the deck. Dealer deals 11
cards to each player, in ones or in twos starting from her right. The
player at left to the dealer prepares two "biribakia" (small biribas),
that is two packets of 11 cards which stay at the table (face down).
Play: Dealer opens a card on the table and the color of this paper is
trump. If this card is joker, the first who plays takes it into his
hand and declares which color wants as trump. Each player is trying to
make as much biribas as she can. Each Biriba is composed by at least 7
same cards (f.ex. fours, sevens, jacks etc.) or by a sequence of cards
of same color (3-9 cups, 8-A spades etc.) in which it can be contained
only one Joker or 2 (which is an additional joker), which can be moved
in another place or the meld if we put in the meld the card that
represents.
Note: we may use both a Two and a Joker, but then, the Two must
represent its actual rank and color: f.ex. the following is valid:
1-2-3-joker-4 (all cards in diamonds), or even: 1-2-3-4-2-5-6 in
clubs, where the first Two must be in clubs.
The player at the right to the dealer has the following options:
- to take the card that the dealer has put in the center or a card
from the deck and then discard one from her hand.
- she may also, before discarding a card, lay out a meld (3 cards,
four cards etc.) by same cards or card sequence (afterwards she MUST
discard a card).
Note: We may lay out melds independently from the points of the meld.
But if we are above 1,030 points, we need at least 75 points to lay
out a meld. (Variation: in order to lay out, we have to lay out a full
biriba)
- In order to take the card or the cards in the pile (in thecenter of
the table) we don't have to have same cards in our hand, nor to have
laid out a meld (significant difference to Canasta). We may take a
card or cards as we like.
Next players act the same way, and they can add cards to the laid
melds of their partner in order to achieve 7-card sequence (biribas).
The game is continued this way until one "closes". This is done when a
player after having done one biriba, is able to lay all her cards as
3-card melds, 4-card melds etc.
Note: The "closing" can be done in two ways:
- Either discarding the last card in the discard pile, in which case
the player gets in her hand the first "biribaki" (11 cards) and waits
her turn to play again.
- Or laying out all her cards, in which case she takes the first
"biribaki" and continues playing. In this case, there is the
possibility for the player to close for a second time. But for the
second "closing", the player must discard a card.
The game ends after the second closing, points added to the total
score, until some team goes above 3.030 points when it wins the game.
Technique:
- We must lay melds as quick as we can in order to help our partner to
add as much cards as she can to those we have laid, in order to
achieve biribas.
- When opponents need 75 points to lay out cards, we avoid discarding
cards with many points, which help them to lay out melds.
- If we are to lay out a meld and we may use Twos as jokers, and we
may choose among Twos, we put Twos of the same suit (if possible), in
order to put them in the right position later and achieve biriba.
- We must remember that for the second (and final) "closing" we must
discard a card.
Note:
- It is allowed to see in the discard pile in order to decide whether
we take them or not. If these cards are ok, we take them all.
- The player who holds one card and is ready to "close", cannot take
from the discard pile on the table in case that there is only one
card, with which the player can close.
Counting of the Points:
When a hand ends, the cards are counted. We write initially the
biribas of the opponents.
- simple biribas (with joker) count 100 points.
- pure biribas (no joker) count 200 points
- trump simple biribas count 200 points
- trump pure biribas count e 500 points
- biribas starting and ending to Ace (without joker) count 500 points.
- trump biribas starting and ending to Ace (without joker) count 1000
points.
- biribas consisted only by Twos (without jokers) count 2,000 points
Then, we count the cards that are counted in biribas and in 3-card
melds, 4-card melds etc. that are on table. The counting is as stated
above.
On the other hand, we subtract the points of the cards that have
remained on the hands at the time of the "closing".
Finally, the one who "closes", take a bonus of 100 points. A team
that did not take its "biribaki" loses 100 points, independently of
the card points of the biribaki (which is not counted in this case)
If the score ends to a 5, it is rounded to 10 adding 5 more.
3-PLAYER biriba:
Same game, with the following differences:
- the first biribaki is consisted of 18 cards, the second of 11.
- The one who "closes" first (and takes the first biribaki), has the
other two players as a team against him from this time on (for the
hand). The two other players share equally their points.
6-PLAYER biriba
Same game, three teams partners sitting opposite.