Biriba
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Biriba (Greek: Μπιρίμπα, sometimes also Mpirimpa) is a Greek card game which can be played with either two people, or any number of pairs of people. When played with two people or two pairs, then two decks of cards are used. If played with three pairs, then three decks are used and so on. Sometimes, Biriba can also be played with three people (no pairs), and two decks. However, the most common way is playing with two pairs.
Contents |
[edit] Basics
While there are many variations of Biriba, depending on how people play, the basic rules and objective are all the same. The direction of the game moves clockwise and one person cuts the deck, while another (sitting behind or to the right of the person who cuts the deck) deals the cards. Eleven cards are dealt to each player and then two sets of 11 cards are also dealt and put to the side. These cards are called the Biribakia (Greek for "small Biriba"). The objective of the game is to create suited sets (for example A-2-3-4-5 or 10-J-Q-K-A) in order to obtain points (see below), and to rid yourself of all your cards. After you have completed your first set of cards, you can then go on to the next set, which is the Biribakia. When playing with pairs, only one person from each pair can "close" and move on the Biribakia, while the other has to continue with his original cards.nikos
[edit] Sets
Below are the following sets you can have in Biriba. All sets are arranged the way a straight flush is arranged in Poker.
Biriba: seven consecutive (suited) cards. This is worth 400 points if there are no jokers (kathari, which is Greek for "clean") and worth 200 points if there is a joker or a wild two (vromiki, which is Greek for "dirty").
Hiliara: A hiliara (Greek for "thousand") consists of every suited consecutive card from Ace to King (or Ace to Two if the Ace is placed after the King). This set is worth 1,000 points. However if there is a joker then it is considered a Pentakosara (Greek for "five hundred") and it is worth 500 points.
[edit] Wild Cards
Biriba is played with 4 Jokers, where the joker is used as a wild card. In addition, every two in used in the game can also be used as a wild card or a two. When it is used as a wild though, the value of the set is halved. Therefore, if you have a biriba with a wild card (either a joker or a two that is not used as a two) then instead of 400 points, the biriba is 200
[edit] Card Points
After all the points from the sets are added (and subtracted if necessary), the points of each individual cards are added to the total score. Each card is assigned a numerical point as follows. (However, biriba has so many variations that even the point system varies by a factor of 10. Below the non-decimal points are used as they are deemed more convenient.)
Joker: 25
2: 20
A: 15
K, Q, J, 10, 9, 8: 10
7, 6, 5, 4, 3: 5
(Suits have no effect on the point value of each card)
