How to Play Ronda: Rules of the Moroccan Card Game
Ronda is one of the best-known card games in Morocco. You need a pack of cards and one opponent or partner, and you can learn the basics in a few minutes. The fun comes from watching what your opponent plays and punishing them for it. This guide explains the two-player game, which is the version we built for Lmodire.
There is no single official rulebook. Ronda is passed on by playing it, and details change from one city and family to the next, so check the house rules before you sit down at someone else's table.
The cards
Ronda uses the 40-card Spanish deck, with four suits: coins, cups, swords and clubs. Each suit runs from 1 to 7, then 10, 11 and 12. Those last three are the court cards, called Sota, Caballo and Rey. There are no 8s or 9s, which matters for runs, because a 10 comes straight after a 7.
Suits make no difference to play. Only the number on the card counts. If you only have a normal 52-card pack, remove the 8s, 9s and 10s, and treat the jack, queen and king as 10, 11 and 12.
The aim of the game
You score points by capturing cards and by catching your opponent out. The first player to reach the target wins immediately, even in the middle of a hand. The traditional target is 41, and shorter games to 21 are common.
The deal
Each player gets three cards. Four more cards go face up on the table. These four must all be different and must not include a run, so if a card would make a pair or run with another table card, it goes back into the deck and is replaced.
The player who did not deal goes first. When both players have played their three cards, the dealer deals three more each. No more cards go to the table. In a two-player game, this gives six deals in every hand.
Ronda and Tringa
Look at your cards after every deal.
- Ronda: a pair in your hand scores 1 point.
- Tringa: three of a kind in your hand scores 5 points.
If both players have one, only the best hand scores. A Tringa beats a Ronda, and between two of the same type, the higher card wins. If you each hold a pair of the same rank, nobody scores.
Playing and capturing
On your turn, you play one card from your hand. There are only two things that can happen.
- It matches a table card. You capture the match. You also capture any table cards that continue the run upward from that number, and you must take everything you can.
- It matches nothing. It stays on the table, and either player can capture it later.
Here is an example. The table shows 4, 5, 6, 7, 10 and 12, and you play a 5. You capture the 5, then the 6, the 7 and the 10. The 12 stays, because the run stops at the missing 11. The 4 stays as well, because runs only go upward.
Hits: 1, 5 and 10 points
This is the heart of Ronda. If your opponent plays a card and it stays on the table, and you capture it straight away with a card of the same rank, you score a hit for 1 point.
The matching pair then stays on show for one turn. If your opponent holds the third card of that rank, they can play it to take the pile and score 5 points. If you hold the fourth, you can take it back and score 10. If nobody answers, the cards stay with the player who last took them.
| Card played | Result | Points |
|---|---|---|
| Second card of a rank | Hit | 1 |
| Third card of that rank | Answer | 5 |
| Fourth card of that rank | Final answer | 10 |
A hit can't be carried across a deal. The first card played after a new deal never scores a hit on the last card of the deal before.
The Missa
When one card clears everything from the table, you score a Missa for 1 point. It doesn't count on the very last card of the hand.
Scoring the hand
After the last card is played, any cards left on the table go to whoever made the last capture. Then both players count their cards. The player with more scores 1 point for every card above 20. So a player who holds 25 cards scores 5 points. If it is 20 each, nobody scores.
Tips for your first games
- Think before you put down a lone card. It is an invitation to a hit, so play a rank that has already been seen a few times.
- Use your pairs as bait. If you hold two of a kind and your opponent hits the first, you answer with the second for 5 points.
- Count the ranks. With only four of each rank in the deck, you soon know which cards are still out there.
- Watch the run. Before you put down a card, check whether it joins a run that your opponent could sweep up.
Play it for fun
You can practise against the computer on our Ronda page. It is free and played for points only, with no stakes of any kind.
