Bura card game rules

What Bura is

Bura is a card game played with three cards in hand. You win tricks, and each trick holds cards that are worth points. Aces and tens are worth the most, so the game is mostly about taking tricks that contain them.

You can play free in Telegram: open our bot, tap Play and pick Bura. Every player plays for themselves, even at a table of four.

Players and cards

Two to four players use a 36-card deck, from six to ace. Everyone gets 3 cards. The bottom card of the deck lies face up, its suit is the trump suit, and it is drawn last.

The full order from weakest to strongest is 6, 7, 8, 9, jack, queen, king, 10, ace. The ten ranks above the king. A trump beats any card of another suit, and a trump can only be beaten by a higher trump. You have 20 seconds for each move.

The goal

Reach 31 points or more. The first player to do it wins at once, without playing the game out. The whole deck holds 120 points, so a game rarely goes to the last card. If all cards are played and nobody has 31, the player with the most points wins. If the best scores are equal, it is a draw.

Two hands win immediately: three trumps in your hand (Bura) and three aces in your hand (Moscow). Both are rare. They are checked after the deal and after every refill.

How a game works, step by step

1. 1DealEveryone gets 3 cards. The face-up bottom card of the deck sets the trump suit.
2. 2LeadThe first player at the table starts. To lead means to put down one, two or three cards, all of one suit. You cannot lead more cards than the shortest hand at the table holds.
3. 3Answer with the same numberEach other player in turn puts down the same number of cards as the leader.
4. 4Option one: beatTo beat means that each of your cards beats one card of the set that is winning right now. A card beats another card of the same suit if it is higher, and any trump beats a card that is not a trump. Beating is never required.
5. 5Option two: discardIf you cannot or do not want to beat, you put down the same number of any cards, face down. The suit does not matter. Nobody sees them, but they go to whoever takes the trick, together with their points.
6. 6Take the trickThe owner of the strongest set takes all the cards of the trick and leads next.
7. 7RefillEveryone draws back up to three cards, one at a time, starting with the player who took the trick.
8. 8Count pointsYour own points are shown to you, and your opponents' scores stay hidden until the end. As soon as a player reaches 31, the game is over. Bura and Moscow end it at once.

A worked example

Strategy tips for beginners

1. Discard your sixes and sevens. Face-down cards go to whoever takes the trick, so an ace or a ten in a discard gives away 10 or 11 points.
2. Do not spend a trump on a trick with no points. Trumps are more useful later, when an ace or a ten is at stake.
3. Keep the trump ace for a good moment. Nothing beats it, so it always takes the trick, but it is wasted on an empty trick.
4. Lead two or three cards only when they are strong. If your opponent beats the set, the points of every card go to them.
5. Remember which aces and tens have been played. They carry most of the points, and 31 comes quickly.
6. Track your own score and your lead. Close to 31, a single trick with an ace and a ten can end the game.
7. Do not wait for Bura or Moscow. Either one is a rare event, so plan to win with ordinary tricks.

Common mistakes

• Discarding an ace or a ten, which hands those points to the opponent.
• Forgetting that the ten is stronger than the king.
• Trying to lead cards of two different suits: a lead is always one suit.
• Answering with a different number of cards than the leader put down.
• Beating a small trick with a high trump and having no trump when it matters.