Basics
While there are many variations of Biriba, the basic rules and objective are the same. The player to the right of the dealer shuffles the cards and his partner cuts the deck (the starting dealer is selected by a random draw, the lowest card winning the privilege to receive cards and play first.) Eleven cards are dealt to each player while two other sets of 11 cards are also dealt by one of the opponents and put face down to the side. These cards (two secondary 11-card hands) are called Paketa ("packages" or "parcels") or Biribakia (Greek for "small Biribas".) The objective of the game is to be the first player or team to surpass a pre-determined point total (commonly 2500 or 3000, based on the number of players.) Points are tabulated at the end of each round of play from the tableau played by each player/team.
Play proceeds counter-clockwise; each player begins their turn by either drawing one single card from the deck, or collecting all of the cards in the discard pile. After drawing, the player may lay cards down in sets of at least three (either suited runs or groups of like-numbered cards.) Jokers and 2s (known as "balladaires") are wild and may substitute for any card in such a set, and even be repositioned within that set. For instance, a player may lay down the four, five, and seven of hearts, with the two of clubs substituting for the six of hearts. If the player later draws the six of hearts, she may lay it in its correct position and move the two of clubs into the position of the three or the eight. Each set (except for sets composed entirely of twos) may only contain one wild card, whether joker or deuce, although an in-suit two in its natural position does not count as wild or dirty. Once played, sets may not be connected or withdrawn back to the hand, and individual cards may not be removed from the table (therefore, any group dirtied with a joker or a non-suited two can never become clean.) The players complete their turns by placing one card from their hand into the discard pile (players can take no action and play no cards when it is not their turn.)
When a player has melded all of the cards from his or her initial hand he then receives the top-most Paketo. If the player did not have to discard to empty their hand, they may continue play with their new cards; otherwise, their turn is complete and they must wait. The next goal is to "close" the round by emptying their second hand. The player who ends the round receives an additional 100 points. However the player must meet three conditions to close out: the player must have played at least one valid biriba, they must be able to discard a card, and if their hand is reduced to one card and the discard pile contains only one card they may not draw that card, connect either the new or held card, and discard. Points are calculated at the end of each round, and if no player or team has won another round is played with dealership and right-to-receive passed to the left. No information (other than score) is retained between rounds; new hands are dealt and a new atout is determined.
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