How to Play

Botifarra is the most popular traditional card game in Catalonia. 4 players in two partnerships use a 48-card Spanish-suited deck; the dealer declares trump or 'Botifarra' (no trump, which doubles stakes). The opposing side may double further with Contro, Recontro, or Sant Vicenç. First to 100 points wins.

Botifarra is the most popular traditional card game in Catalonia. It is a four-player partnership trick-taking game played with a 48-card Spanish-suited deck (Coins, Cups, Swords, Batons; ranks 1 to 12). A defining feature is the bidding choice: the dealer may declare a trump suit, declare Botifarra (no-trump mode), or pass the choice to their partner. The opposing side may double the stakes by calling Contro, Recontro, or Sant Vicenç. A match runs to an agreed target (commonly 100 points); each hand takes 5 to 10 minutes and a full match about an hour.

Players

4 players in two fixed partnerships; partners sit across the table. The first dealer is chosen by any agreed method; the deal rotates counter-clockwise (the Catalan convention) after each hand. Obligation rules on tricks are strict and applied continuously (see Gameplay).

Card Deck

One 48-card Spanish-suited pack: four suits (Coins (Oros), Cups (Copes), Swords (Espases), Batons (Bastos)), each with ranks 1 (Ace) through 12, omitting the 8s and 9s... in the Botifarra version, which uses 1-12 without omissions (48 cards total). If using a standard 52-card French pack, remove the 2s, 3s, 4s, 5s, 6s... no actually convert differently: use 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8 equivalents as pip cards, and Knave (Sota = 10), Knight (Cavall = 11), King (Rei = 12) as face cards. Rank order from highest to lowest in every suit: 9 (Manilla, highest), 1 (Ace), 12 (King), 11 (Knight), 10 (Knave), 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2. This Manille-family ranking (9 at the top) is unusual and must be internalised before play.

Objective

As the bidding team, capture more than 36 card points of the 72 available per hand (plus an extra 1 point per trick for 12 additional points, yielding 84 total in some score systems). The surplus above 36 is the bidding team's score for that hand. Over the match, the first partnership to reach the agreed target (commonly 100 points) wins.

Setup and Deal

1. Shuffle the 48-card pack thoroughly. The dealer offers a cut to the player on the right.
2. Deal 12 cards to each player, counter-clockwise in batches (commonly 4-4-4 for 4 rounds).
3. Trump declaration by dealer: After looking at their hand, the dealer must do one of: (a) name a trump suit; (b) declare Botifarra (no trump); or (c) pass the decision to their partner. The partner then names a trump suit or declares Botifarra (they cannot pass again).
4. Doubling: Once the trump choice is announced, the opposing partnership may call Contro to double the stakes for the hand. If called, the declaring team may redouble (Recontro, 4x) and the opponents may escalate again (Sant Vicenç, 8x).
5. Misdeal: Void deal for any dealing error; same dealer redeals.

Gameplay

1. Leading the first trick: The player to the dealer's right (because play is counter-clockwise) leads any card. Play continues counter-clockwise.
2. Follow suit obligation: Every player must play a card of the led suit if they hold any. This is strict.
3. Must-win (overbid) obligation: If you cannot follow suit, and a trump is not on the trick yet, you must trump if you hold any trump. If a teammate (partner) is currently winning the trick, you may duck by playing a lower card of any suit, though you still must play trump if void in the led suit and the opponents are winning. This 'must win' obligation over opponents is unique to Botifarra and several related Catalan games.
4. Must-overtrump obligation: If you play a trump but your opponent already played a higher trump, you must play a higher trump if you have one, unless your partner is currently winning. This is rigorously enforced.
5. Winning a trick: If trump is declared, the highest trump card played wins. If no trump is played, the highest card of the led suit wins (using the Manille ranking: 9 high, Ace, King, Knight, Knave, 8, 7, ..., 2). In Botifarra (no-trump) mode, the highest card of the led suit always wins; there is no trump suit to beat it.A♠K♠
6. End of hand: All 12 tricks played. Each team totals card points captured (see Scoring).
7. Renege (revoke): A failure to follow suit, trump, or overtrump when obligated is a renege. Standard penalty: the offending team loses all accumulated points for the hand and the non-offending team scores 36 (or 72 in a Botifarra no-trump hand) as a bonus.

Scoring

• Card point values in tricks: 9 (Manilla) = 5 points; 1 (Ace) = 4 points; 12 (King) = 3 points; 11 (Knight) = 2 points; 10 (Knave) = 1 point; all other pip cards (2-8) = 0 points. 4 suits × (5+4+3+2+1) = 60 points.A♠K♠
• Per-trick bonus: Each trick captured is worth an additional 1 point, giving 12 more points (3 of which always go to the team that wins the last trick as a bonus in some Catalan conventions). The commonly used total is 72 points per hand (60 card points + 12 trick points).
• Scoring the hand: The bidding team scores points captured minus 36 (anything above the halfway mark). If they fall short, the opposing team scores the difference. For example, bidders capturing 42 score 6; opponents score 0. Bidders capturing 30 means opponents score 6 (36 - 30 = 6), bidders score 0.
• Botifarra bonus: When the declarer chose Botifarra (no trump), all points scored for the hand are doubled.
• Contro / Recontro / Sant Vicenç multipliers: Contro doubles the hand score; Recontro quadruples it; Sant Vicenç eight times it. Stack on top of the Botifarra doubling.
• Running total: Score is cumulative across hands; the first team to reach the agreed target (100 is standard) wins.

Winning

• Match winner: The first partnership to reach 100 points cumulative wins.
• Tie-breakers: If both sides cross 100 on the same hand, the bidding side is checked first: if they made their bid (captured 37+ points), they win.
• Renege end: A match can end early if a team's running score drops decisively negative (optional house rule).

Common Variations

• Contro / Recontro / Sant Vicenç (doubling): The opposing side can double (Contro), the declaring side can redouble (Recontro), and the opposing side can triple-double (Sant Vicenç). Doubling multiplies the hand score.
• Delegated Botifarra: The dealer passes the trump decision to their partner. This is a standard option, not a variant.
• Target score 50 or 150: Shorter or longer match.
• Stricter obligation mode: Some groups enforce the must-overtrump rule even when your partner is leading; this makes suit management tighter.
• Bonus for Kanga (Codony): In some regions, declaring a specific card combination before the first trick grants an extra 10-point bonus; varies by locality.

Tips and Strategy

• Internalise the Manille ranking: 9 > 1 > 12 > 11 > 10 > pips. A 9 is effectively your Ace; an Ace is your King. Leading a 9 early is similar to leading an Ace in standard Whist.
• Botifarra (no-trump) doubles the stakes but also doubles your risk. Declare it only with a balanced hand: multiple 9s and Aces across suits, preferably with at least one long suit of 3 to 4 cards.
• The must-follow, must-trump, must-overtrump obligations eliminate many tactical choices and force straightforward play; communication through card-play is about which partner is short or long in a given suit.
• Leading a trump when your partner is long in that suit is safe; leading a trump when opponents are long is usually disastrous.
• Doubling (Contro) is powerful against a weak declaration. If the opposing dealer seems unsure (passes to partner quickly), a Contro often catches a suboptimal trump choice; if they respond with Recontro confidently, they probably have the cards to back it up.

Glossary

• Botifarra: The game's name; also the declaration of 'no trump' for a hand, doubling the hand's score.
• Manilla: The 9 of any suit; the highest-ranking card in Botifarra and worth 5 card points.
• Ace (1): The second-highest card; worth 4 points.A♠
• King (12), Knight (11), Knave (10): Face cards ranked below the Ace in the Manille system; worth 3, 2, 1 points respectively.
• Contro: A doubling call by the opposing team after the trump declaration; doubles the hand score.
• Recontro: A redoubling call by the declaring team; quadruples the hand score.
• Sant Vicenç: A further redoubling by the opposing team; 8x the hand score.
• Must-win / overtrump: The strict Botifarra obligation to play a trump (or higher trump) when you cannot follow suit and opponents are winning.
• Spanish-suited deck: A 40- or 48-card pack with suits Coins, Cups, Swords, Batons; used across Iberia and parts of Latin America.