How to play Sueca
Sueca is Portugal's national card game — the four-player partnership battle played in every café from Lisbon to Luanda. You and Rakel (sitting opposite) face Matthías and Þorsteinn: ten cards each, one trump suit, and 120 points on the table every hand.
Just want the rules? Read the complete Sueca rulebook.
- The order is the game - ace highest, then the 7 (the manilha!), king, jack, queen, 6 down to 2. Yes, the 7 beats the king.
- The points - ace 11, seven 10, king 4, jack 3, queen 2. Take more than 60 of the 120 and your team wins the hand.
- Trump from the deal - the dealer's last card is shown and fixes trump; it stays in their hand, so you always know one enemy (or partner) card.
- Follow suit - you must follow the led suit when you can. Void? Play anything — trumping is never forced.
- The rubber - over 60 = 1 game, 91+ = 2, all ten tricks = 4 and instant victory. First team to 4 games takes the rubber.
Strategy tips from the café table
- Count to 120. Every hand has exactly 120 points. If your team has 45 and the last tricks hold 20, you know precisely what you need — good Sueca players count constantly.
- Lead aces early, keep the manilha. An ace flushes out the suit while everyone still has to follow; the 7 behind it then rules the suit's second round.
- Feed your partner (“engordar”). When your partner is winning a trick, throw them your fat aces and 7s of other suits instead of wasting winners.
- Remember the turned card. Everyone knows one card of the dealer's hand. Play around a known trump ace — or punish a known low trump.
- Save trumps for fat tricks. You never have to trump. Let cheap tricks go and spend trumps where the aces and 7s are.
Frequently asked questions
What are the rules of Sueca?
Sueca is a four-player partnership game with 40 cards (the 8s, 9s and 10s are removed). Each player gets ten cards; the dealer's last card is turned face up and fixes the trump suit. Cards rank ace, 7, king, jack, queen, 6 down to 2 — and score 11, 10, 4, 3, 2 points respectively, 120 in the deck. You must follow the led suit if you can; with a void you may play anything, trump included. The highest trump wins the trick, otherwise the highest card of the led suit. The team taking more than 60 points wins the hand.
Why does the 7 beat the king in Sueca?
The 7 — called the manilha or bisca in the Portuguese family of games — is the second-highest card by tradition, inherited from the old ace-ten games where the ace and the "ten-worth" card outrank everything. Ace first, 7 second, then king, jack, queen. It surprises everyone once, and never again.
How does scoring work in Sueca?
A hand is worth "games": more than 60 card points scores one game, 91 or more scores two (a risca), and taking all ten tricks — a bandeira — scores four and wins the match outright. A 60-60 tie scores nothing, but the next decided hand is worth an extra game. First team to four games wins the rubber.
Do you have to play a trump if you cannot follow suit?
No — and this is the key difference from many trick games. When you are void in the led suit you may play ANY card. Trumping is a choice, not an obligation, so saving your trumps (or sneakily discarding a fat ace onto your partner's winning trick) is where the skill lives.
Is Sueca the same as Bisca or Briscola?
They are relatives in the same ace-ten family, but different games. Briscola (and two-player Bisca) has no obligation to follow suit and is usually played with three-card hands; Sueca deals the whole deck, requires you to follow suit, and is a fixed-partnership team game — which is why it is the café and family game of Portugal, Brazil and Angola.
How is the trump suit decided in Sueca?
The dealer's final card — the bottom card of the deck — is shown to the table and its suit becomes trump for the whole hand. The card then simply stays in the dealer's hand, so everyone knows one of the dealer's cards and exactly which suit rules. Here the badge above the table reminds you who holds the turned card.
More free card games
Enjoy partnership trick play? Try Belote, the bidding battle Spades, or the Italian cousin Briscola.