Card game "Macau"

How many players play?

"Macau can play from 2 to 10 players.

Instruments needed for the game

The most common game is played with a regular 52-card firewood. 

The aim of the game

Get rid of all your cards as soon as possible. Play continues until only one player is left with at least one card.

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How to play?

Each player is dealt 5 cards and then the firewood is moved. The top card is considered the first card to start the game, and the player dealing and sitting to the left is the first to make a move.

The other card should be either of the same rank or of the same family. For example, you have discarded a seven of clubs, so the next player on top can discard a seven of clubs, seven of hearts, seven of diamonds or any seven of clubs. If cards from the same family are played, their rank becomes irrelevant. If a player does not have any cards of the same rank or family, he takes 1 card from the deck.

Special Rules and Action Cards

• If a two of a kind card is dealt on the table - the other player must take 2 cards from the deck, unless they have the same card, i.e. a deuce. The player throws it on top and the next player must take 4 cards from the deck. If the last player has a deuce, he or she discards again and the game continues until a player has no deuce.
• If a triac is assisted - the next player takes 3 cards or another three on top. Imagine, if you pass the three of a kind on to the next player, one of them could have to take as many as 12 cards!
• If a four-legged stoat is assisted, the other player must skip the turn, unless he also has a four in his hand. In that case, if the latter player throws the ketturak, the next player already misses two moves.

• Valet is a special card

Once discarded, it can be used to request a card of a certain rank. This card must be "ordinary" - without any special powers, such as a five, eight, etc. If the player does not have the required card, he must draw cards from the drawer until the card appears, or he may also discard the jack and the right to request a card of a certain rank passes to him. It is important to note that the rank can be left unspecified and the opponent can ask for any card by saying "Any card!" 

• If the player discards the King of Spades, the player who made the move before it must take as many as 5 cards from the wood unless he has the King of Hearts or Queen of Hearts. If the latter places any of these cards, the player before him must take 10 cards from the wood. 
• If the player discards the King of Hearts, the player following him must take 5 cards from the wood unless he has the King of Spades or Queen of Hearts. If the latter player lays down either of these cards, the player following him must draw 10 cards from the wood. 
• If a joker is thrown on the game tableto change the direction of the cards. For example, if the game was played clockwise, the wheel is reversed and the game is now played anti-clockwise.
• Jif the player helps the ace, he has the right to ask another player to lay down a card from a particular family. Importantly, the card must be of a different family than the ace dealt. Families can be left unspecified and again shouted "Any one!"

Deuces, threes, fours and kings can be discarded a few at a time to force the other player to take as many cards as possible from the firewood. For example, if three threes are dealt, the other player must take nine cards instead of three.

Important! If a player is down to his last card, he must call "Macau!" If a player forgets and the other players notice, the latter must take 1 card from the deck.

Variants of "Macao"

Different countries and cultures play different versions of the game. Some of the most interesting ones are:

"Romanian Macao"

As in the classic "In Macau, deuces and threes mean the same thing - when they are discarded, the next game picks up the specified number of cards, or passes the turn to the next player, discarding a deuce or a three themselves. 

Kings and jacks are considered to be ordinary cards. 

Jokers in this variant are special cards that can be discarded regardless of rank or card type. They are strong cards. Typically, a black Joker requires the player on the left to draw 5 cards, while a coloured Joker requires as many as 10 cards to be drawn from the deck.

Aces, four of a kind and sevens are often debated, as the meanings of the cards vary from region to region. To avoid unnecessary discussion or even anger, it is a good idea to agree on exactly what each card means before playing. In Bucharest, the consensus is:

Seven-legged or not used at all or used as "the "cancel" card to avoid additional card draws. For example, if the preceding player has discarded a Three of a Kind or a Joker, you have the right to put a Seven on top and skip the turn. These are open cards and can be used regardless of rank or card type. Here, the next player must already discard a card of the same family as the discarded seven.

Aces are considered wild cards and are used to change the type of cards. For example, the game was played with wines and you have the Ace of Hearts and many other hearts, so you can discard it to make the game easier for yourself.

With four legs, you go around the circle and you get back to walking. 

"Tel Aviv" or "London" option

If there are 2 players, they are dealt 7 cards each, if more than one player, 5 cards each. The player to the left of the dealer starts the game. 

As in normal play, the other card must be either of the same rank or from the same family. Queens and aces are also played, but jesters are not included in this game. Again, cards are discarded until the player has no cards to discard and takes one card from the deck. The first player to draw all the cards wins.

In the case of the King of Hearts, Deuces and Three of a Kind, players must take the specified number of cards, unless they throw a card of the same rank to the next player.

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Special cards:

Aces and Queens can be discarded at any time. With a queen, you can change the type of family to that of the queen, and with an ace, you can change the type of family to whatever you want, regardless of the type of ace. 

A player may only throw 1 card per round, except if he/she is holding a five of a kind. If a five of a kind is held and discarded, the player has the option of discarding one more card. With as many as four fives, the player has 5 turns - it is possible to discard almost all cards at once! However, it is important to note that once the fives have been discarded, only cards of the same family can be placed on top of the fives - kings, queens, aces etc. If a player does not have a card, he/she must take a card from the table. 

The other special cards are the same as in the regular "Macao". If a two of a kind card is discarded on the table, the other player must take 2 cards from the deck, unless they have the same card, i.e. a two of a kind. The player throws it on top and the next player must take 4 cards from the deck. The same is true for threes.

If the King of Hearts is discarded, the next player must take 5 cards. 

With one card remaining, players must spell "Macau", and if they forget, take 2 cards from the deck. An interesting situation occurs when the last two cards are a five. In this case "It is not necessary to say "Macao". If the Five of Diamonds is the last card, the player must draw a card from the deck.

This Macau variant counts points. Usually up to 500 points are played, and whoever scores them first loses. 

4-9-blind cards are worth 5 points

10-Acres and Poms are worth 10 points

2-eyes worth 20

3-eyes worth 30

Aces worth 50

The King of Hearts is worth 150 points

Macao' version

This version is different because players can "go to war" to increase the number of cards they can take from their opponent. The war is waged with deuces, trumps, kings of wines and hearts. It is important to note that the family and value of a card become irrelevant when waging war.

For example, if your opponent throws a King of Wines, you can throw a Deuce or a Three on top, and the turn passes to the player to your left. In a war, a playmate may even have to take 20 cards! For example, deuce-three-queen-king of clubs-king of hearts. Also, interestingly, Queens have special powers when fighting. Queens are treated as ordinary cards outside of war.

The Queen of Hearts stops the war and prevents the player from drawing additional cards.

The Queen of Wines changes the direction of the game in war.

The Queen of Clubs allows the player to choose which player will make the next move (cannot choose themselves).

The drum queen skips the next player in the war.

Also in this variant, two or more cards of the same value can be discarded together. 

There are also jokers, which replace any card.

Aces can change the family of any card and Jacks can change the value of any card. The difference is that Jacks ignore families and can be placed on any Ace, while Aces, for their part, ignore value and can be placed on any Jack.

If a four is discarded, the next player must skip the turn unless he has a four. If the next player after him does not have a tetrahedron either, the turn goes back to his friend on his left. If no one else has a four, the player with the four may repeat the move up to 4 times.

Another nuance to make the game more interesting is to play with face-up cards. This way, players can see each other's cards and strategise and make plans to discard all their cards faster to win the game. All variants of Macau can be played face-up.