Buraco — free online Card game
Brazil's favourite rummy: two decks, wild 2s, the morto and canastras — lay down sequences and go out first.
Buraco is free to play in your browser: the rummy game Brazilians play at every family table, one-on-one against the computer with two decks of cards. Each turn you draw a card from the deck or take the whole discard pile (o lixo), lay down sequences of three or more cards of one suit, add to your sequences on the table and discard one card. The 2s are wild — one per sequence — and seven or more cards in a row make a canastra, worth 200 points clean (limpa) or 100 with a wild card (suja). Each player has a morto, a spare hand of 11 cards you pick up the first time you run out; empty your hand again with a canastra on the table to go out (bater) for 100 more. Cards on the table score, cards left in your hand count against you. Play to 1500 or 3000 points against three computer levels. No download, no sign-up.
Quick start
- Press Start. Tap the deck to draw one card, or the discard pile to take all of it.
- Select three or more cards in a row of one suit and press MELD. Select cards and tap one of your sequences to add them.
- Finish your turn by selecting one card and pressing DISCARD.
- Run out of cards to pick up your morto, then go out with a canastra on the table.
How to play Buraco
- Buraco uses two 52-card decks. Each player gets 11 cards, and two more hands of 11 — the mortos — are put aside.
- On your turn, first draw: one card from the deck, or the whole discard pile.
- Then you may lay down new sequences — three or more consecutive cards of one suit (A-2-3 up to Q-K-A) — and add cards to your sequences already on the table.
- A 2 is wild and can stand in for any missing card, but only one wild per sequence. A 2 in its own place (A-2-3 of its suit) is a normal card.
- End your turn by discarding one card. You may not end up without cards unless you can pick up your morto or go out.
- The first time your hand is empty you pick up your morto and keep playing. Once you have your morto and at least one canastra, emptying your hand again ends the hand: you go out (bater).
- If the deck runs out, an unclaimed morto becomes the new deck; otherwise the hand ends. Scores are added up and the first to the target wins.
Scoring
- Ace15
- 2 (wild)10
- 8, 9, 10, J, Q, K10
- 3 to 75
- Clean canastra (limpa)+200
- Seven or more in a row without a wild card.
- Dirty canastra (suja)+100
- Seven or more with a wild 2.
- Going out (bater)+100
- Morto not taken−100
- Cards left in hand−
- Their points count against you.
Controls
- Tap the deck or the discard pile to draw
- Tap cards to select them; MELD lays them down as a new sequence
- Tap one of your sequences to add the selected cards to it
- DISCARD throws the one selected card and ends your turn
- Enter or Space lets the computer play the current step for you; Esc clears the selection
Tips
- Take a big discard pile when several of its cards go straight onto your sequences.
- Save your 2s: a clean canastra is worth twice a dirty one.
- Don't discard a card that extends one of the rival's sequences — they will take the whole pile.
- Go for the morto early: an untaken morto costs 100 points.
Frequently asked questions
Can I lay down three of a kind?
No. This version plays the common Brazilian rule: only sequences of one suit.
Do I need a clean canastra to go out?
Any canastra, clean or dirty, lets you go out once you have taken your morto.
Is this the same as Canasta?
Buraco is Canasta's Brazilian cousin: sequences instead of sets, and the extra hand called the morto.
Is Buraco free?
Yes, completely free in your browser, with no download and no account.