KOIRA

Koira is a fun card game that you can play with 3 to 8 players. The goal of the game is to collect cards in the first phase and then get rid of all your cards as quickly as possible in the second phase. The player who is left with cards in hand at the end is the loser.

The game is divided into two phases, and the objective is not to win, but to avoid being the loser.

SETUP

To start the game, one player is randomly chosen to be the dealer. The dealer shuffles the deck and gives each player a hand of 3 cards. The rest of the cards are placed face-down to create a stockpile.

Card Ranking

The cards are ranked in the following order: Ace (highest), King, Queen, Jack, 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, and 2 (lowest).

GAMEPLAY

Let me break down the game for you. There are two parts to it. First, we have phase one, where we collect cards for our hand. Then, we move on to phase two, where we try to get rid of those cards as fast as we can. Sounds simple, right?

Phase One

In the first phase, we get to have some fun and play a few tricks! It doesn’t matter what suit the cards are, and we don’t have to worry about following suit or trying to win tricks. The player on the left of the dealer gets to start the first trick by playing any card they like. Then, all the other players take turns playing a card from their hand. The player who plays the highest-ranked card, no matter the suit, is the winner of the trick. But what happens if there’s a tie? Well, in that case, all the players who tied for the highest card have to play another card until a winner is found. After the trick is over, everyone gets to draw from the stock of cards so that we always have three cards in our hand. The cards from the trick are collected in a pile next to the winner, but they’re turned face down so we can’t see them. And guess what? The winner gets to start the next trick! How exciting!

When playing the game, instead of using cards from my hand, I have the option to reveal the top card of the discard pile and use it for the current trick. This can only be done if there are more than one card left in the stock. Once I reveal a card in this way, I have to play it and cannot add it back to my hand.

If I’m the one who would normally draw the last card from the stock, I reveal it to all players instead. This card determines the trump suit for the second phase of the game, and it remains revealed until the end of the first phase.

The game continues even after the stock is emptied, until all the cards have been played for the trick. If I don’t have any cards left in my hand, I am skipped for that round.

In the event of a tie, if I play my last card and the trick is not resolved, all the cards involved in the tie are taken, shuffled, and evenly dealt to all players.

Now, moving on to Phase Two.

Now that we each have our full deck, it’s time to start playing. Some of us may have more cards than others, depending on how well we did in the first phase. Even if you don’t have any cards left from phase one, called Blue Mattis, you still have to participate in this next phase.

Our goal now is to get rid of all our cards as quickly as possible by playing tricks.

So, the first player to go is the one who won the last trick in phase one. They lead the trick, and everyone else has to follow suit. To beat a card, you have to play one that’s higher in rank and of the same suit, or if you have a trump card, that will beat any regular card.

Now, let’s talk about sequences. You can also play a sequence, which means playing 2 or more cards of the same suit in consecutive order. Keep in mind that in some versions of the game, you may have to play at least 3 cards for a sequence. To beat a sequence, you have to play a higher card or sequence of the same suit, or any card or sequence of the trump suit.

When I’m playing a card game and I don’t have a card or sequence to play, I have to draw the lowest-ranked card or sequence from the current trick. Once I’ve done that, it’s the next player’s turn to play. A trick is done when either the number of cards played equals the number of players who started the trick, or when all the cards from the trick have been drawn by players. Since I don’t have a card to play for the first trick, I always have to draw the lowest-ranked card from that trick.

If the trick ends due to the number of cards, the last player who played in the trick is the winner. They put all the cards used in that trick aside and start the next one. If all the cards are drawn instead, the player to the left of the one who drew the last card begins the next trick.

When you play a card game, like the one we are talking about, it’s important to know how the game works and what the key rules are. So, let’s dive in and explore the fascinating world of this game!

THE END OF THE GAME

First things first, the game only ends when there is just one player left standing. This means that if you run out of cards, you’re out of the game. Exciting, isn’t it? No one wants to be the loser!

VARIATIONS THAT SPICE THINGS UP

Now, let’s talk about some variations that can really shake things up and keep the game interesting!

One cool variation is called “the tiebreaker.” When two or more players tie in the first phase of the game, instead of continuing to the next trick, something different happens. The tied players take back their cards, and the rest of the cards played in that trick are rearranged in ascending order. The last player to play in that trick gets the lowest card, while the remaining cards are divided as equally as possible among the tied players. How’s that for an exciting twist?

Here’s another way to play phase two: if someone plays a trump card to a trick that started with a non-trump card, the trick is over and the person who played the trump card wins the trick.

This variation only allows you to play single cards or sequences that start with a 2.

There’s another variation for phase two that says if you can’t play a card to a trick, you only draw the lowest ranked card. If the lowest ranked card is part of a sequence, you take the first card of the sequence. The sequence counts as one card until all its cards are taken.

I’m Amber (They/Them), a writer from Austin who loves games. I consider myself a gaming expert and I also have a passion for dogs, plants, and D&D.

I’m Amber (They/Them), a writer from Austin who loves games. I consider myself a gaming expert and I also have a passion for dogs, plants, and D&D.