1/17/14

Today, our class played a tournament of Cuarenta.

Cuarenta

Cuarenta is the national card game of Ecuador. Four players play in teams of two, each player diagonal from his teammate. Play moves counter-clockwise (Ecuador is south of the equator), players playing a card. If the card matches in certain ways, the team takes those cards. If a player matches the previous player correctly, they score two points; if they clear the table, they score two points. At the end of a round, the total number of cards you've taken can score you extra points. First team to forty wins. In class, we had a tournament, and my teammate and I won!

The matching mechanic is really interesting. Most card games, unless they are board game like, are trick taking. But this mechanic works well. It's a lot of fun.

I learned the rules yesterday. They were explained terribly, but by today I had gotten the rules right. They were simple, and the game only had a few hiccups.

It's a competitive game with luck as well as skill. Our second game was tied 38-38. My heart was thumping hard in my chest. It was such a relief getting that final two points. Knowing your teammate really helps. My teammate and I nailed the strategy, I think, which enabled us to win the tournament.

In conclusion, a fun game that I think should spread from Ecuador.