ALL CARD GAMES
INTRODUCTION
Match cards together to make pairs. This game is easy to play and involves bluffing.
HOW TO PLAY CAMBIO
7 cards are dealt to each player. Players arrange them into suits. In round one, the top card of the deck is turned face up to decide trumps e.g. 7♥️ makes hearts trumps.
Player one plays a card from their hand to start a pile e.g. 5♦️. The next player(s) takes it in turn to play a card. 2 is low, A is high. High card wins.
Players must follow the suit of the first card played if they can, e.g. 9♦️ has to be played by player two. The winner of the hand takes the cards and puts them to the side.
If a player does not have the same suit as the first player, they can play a trump card. A trump card is always higher than the leading suit e.g. 2♥️ beats K♣️.
After the first round of seven cards has finished, each player counts the number of hands they've won. Any player who didn't win a hand is out of the game.
The next round starts with six cards being dealt. The player with the most hands won in the previous round decides trumps for the next round.
Each round has one less card dealt. The dealer is the player to the left of the last dealer.
The winner of the game is the player who wins all the hands in one round. This could happen in any round.
THE DEAL
Deal four cards to each player face down in a square. Each player can look at the two cards closest to them, but only once. Players should try to memorize the cards. Deal one card face up from the deck to start the pile.
THE PLAY
Player one takes one card either from the pile or deck and looks at it, e.g. 6. Players have different options depending on if the card is a trump, see Trump Cards. The 6 is not a trump and must be swapped for a player’s own face down card.
HOW TO WIN
The player to play all of their cards or the one with the lowest score wins the round. Score the lowest points overall to win the game.
SWAPPING CARDS
Player one takes the 6 and places it face down under one of their four cards. The card above the 6 is then turned face up and placed on the pile e.g. 4. Players must turn it away from them so opponents see it first. The next player(s) then follow the same process.
TRAMP CARDS
When a trump card is picked up from the deck it can be played straight onto the pile without swapping it. The player then completes the action for that card, see below. Cards not picked up from the deck do not have a trump action.
MATCHING PAIRS
If players have memorized a face down card that matches the top card in the pile e.g. 4 and 4, they can pick up the card and put it onto the pile. The card can be from their cards or an opponents. If it’s from their cards they play with
one less card.
EXTRA CARD
If a player matches a pair by using an opponent’s card then they give that opponent one of their face down cards. Neither player looks at the face down card being passed.
PENALTY
If two players match a card, the second player to match the card must take theirs back. If a player attempts to match a card but they are not a match, they get a one card penalty. The card is placed face down to the side of their other cards.
CAMBIO
If a player thinks they have the lowest points score they can call “cambio” on their turn. They do not get to take another card. All other players then get one more turn. The color of the king defines the points, for all other cards both colors have the same value.
POINTS PER CARD
COUNTING POINTS
Cards are then turned over and points counted. If the player who called cambio has the same score or higher than another player then they score thirty three points. If a player has no cards they score zero.
THE WINNER
The game continues with new rounds until one player has at least fifty points. The player with the lowest score is the winner. If there is a draw, another round is played by all players.
VIDEO OF HOW TO PLAY CAMBIO
MORE
At the start of the game, players cannot match the first card turned face up on the pile.
STRATEGY
Players should try to memorize their opponent’s cards whenever they get the chance to see them.
EXTRAS
The position of face down cards cannot be changed. This is so that other players can remember the positions of their opponent’s cards.
SIMILAR GAMES
- Yaniv
- Golf
- Truco
FAQ
The most common questions will be added here. Scroll to the bottom of the page to add a question or comment about this game.
