Set up the table
Use a standard 52-card deck. Deal four cards to each player and four face up to the board. Replace any opening Jacks, putting them at the bottom of the deck. The player left of the dealer plays first.
Fishing · 2–4 players
Bastra
Capture equal cards or matching sums. Clear the whole board without a Jack for a ten-point bastra.
Choose your version
Which Bastra will you play?
The choice changes the game, illustrated guide and variant rules shown below.
Changing the variant starts a new match.
B
Bot4 cards · 0 captured
Cards on the boardTap cards to choose a capture
Y
You4 cards · 0 captured
Round complete
Cards counted
01 How to play · base rules
Fish for points.
Clear the board.
Follow the illustrated examples, then use the complete rules below whenever you need to check a detail. This online version is a two-player match against a bot.
Illustrated guide
See how a hand unfolds.
Examples are separate from the live game. The selected variant adds its own steps.
Complete rules
Capture equal cards
Play a card to take any cards of the same rank from the board. A Queen takes Queens; a King takes Kings. A Jack takes the entire board, unless the board is empty, when it simply stays there.
Capture sums
An Ace counts as one; numeral cards count their face value. A 7 can take a 2 and a 5. If several separate groups each total 7, the same 7 can take all of them. Equal cards and sums can be taken together.
Lay a card
If no card in your hand can capture anything, lay one face up on the board. When a capture is available, take at least one valid group. After both hands empty, deal four more cards to each player without adding cards to the board.
Make a bastra
Clearing the entire board with a card other than a Jack scores a 10-point bastra. Capturing the last board cards with a Jack does not earn that bonus. The player who made the last capture takes any board cards left when the deck and hands run out.
Count the cards
Each Ace and Jack earns one point. The 2♣ earns two; the 10♦ earns three. The player with the most collected cards earns three more; if tied, both receive three. Add ten per bastra. Play new rounds until someone reaches 100; the higher score wins.
Selected variant
Use the base rules above, with these changes:
Egyptian Basra
- 7♦: Takes the whole board. It earns a 10-point basra if every board card is numeric and their total is 10 or less. Otherwise it still takes the cards without a basra bonus. On an empty board, it stays there.
- Jack on Jack: A Jack taking a lone Jack earns a double basra worth 20 points. Other Jack sweeps still earn no basra bonus.
- Most cards: Earns 30 points instead of three. If tied, nobody gets the bonus; it carries over and grows by 30 next round.
- Match: Play to 101 points instead of 100.
Ethiopian Basra
- 7♦: Takes the whole board. It earns a 10-point basra if all board cards are numeric and total 10 or less, or can be split into two or more groups with the same total of 10 or less. For example, 10-4-6 forms 10 and 4+6. Picture cards prevent this bonus.
- Lone 7♦: If the 7♦ is the only board card, any card except a Jack can capture it and score a 10-point basra.
- Jacks: A Jack still sweeps the board, but never earns a basra bonus, even when it takes a lone Jack.
- Most cards: Earns three points, as in the base game, but neither player scores this bonus on a tie.
- Match: Play to 52 points instead of 100.
Yemeni Basra
- 7♦: Takes the whole board. It earns a 10-point basra if the numeric cards total less than 10; if the board has only tens, Queens and Kings; or if all its numeric cards split into two or more equal-sum groups, each below 10. For example, A-2-7-8 forms 1+8 and 2+7, each worth 9. Otherwise it still takes the cards without a basra bonus. On an empty board, it stays there.
- Jack on Jack: A Jack taking a lone Jack earns a double basra worth 20 points. Other Jack sweeps still earn no basra bonus.
- Most cards: Earns 30 points instead of three. If tied, nobody gets the bonus; it carries over and grows by 30 next round.
- Match: Play to 101 points instead of 100.
Lebanese Basra
- Deal: Give each player six cards instead of four. Keep four cards on the opening board. After both hands run out, deal another six cards each; there are four deals per round.
- Basra: Score ten points only when you capture the board's lone card with a card of the same rank, or when one card was alone, the next player laid a numeric card, and you capture both with a numeric card equal to their sum. For example, a lone 3, then a laid 4, then a 7 taking both scores ten. Other board clearings do not earn the bonus.
- Jack and 7♦: A Jack taking a lone Jack scores ten points. A Jack sweeping any other board does not score a basra. The 7♦ has no special sweep power; it captures by the ordinary matching and sum rules.
- Most cards: Earns three points, but neither player gets this bonus on a tie.
- Match: Play to 101 points instead of 100.
02 History & variants
Many tables, one fishing idea.
A game across communities
Bastra, also called Basra, is documented in Cyprus and in countries including Egypt, Ethiopia, Yemen and Lebanon. It belongs to the fishing family of card games, in which a played card collects cards already on the table. Its exact history and local names vary by community.
Related forms
Four people may play in partnerships, while some tables play three individually. Egyptian, Ethiopian, Yemeni and Lebanese Basra change scoring, the power of the 7♦, or exactly which clearings count as a basra. The selector above includes these playable versions. Another Lebanese form is called Ashush.