A rummy-style game, Samba Card Game involves merging cards to score points. Here is a video tutorial and written explanation of how to play Samba. If you are learning as you play, keep the Samba quick guide close by as a quick reference.

Tutorial for Samba Card Game

It is required

Two to six players; Three 52-card decks and six jokers.

The deal

There are 15 cards dealt to each player, one by one. A draw deck is created from the remaining cards in the middle, and a discard pile is started by flipping the top card face up.

Setup

It is common for players to play with a partner when there are four or six players. The players will play individually when there are two, three, or five of them.

Goal

The goal of the game is to score 10,000 points first. Sets of cards are melded to score points. Three cards start a meld and can be added to throughout the game.

Sets can be groups or sequences. There are three or more cards in the same rank that make up a group. Sequences consist of three to seven cards in the same suit. Canastas are groups of cards with at least seven cards in them. A samba is a sequence of seven cards.

A joker or a two is a wildcard. The number of natural cards must be twice as many as the number of wildcards in a group of cards. There can be no more than two wildcards in a group. Sequences cannot be created with wildcards.

The game play

First to play is the player to the left of the dealer. There are three phases to a player’s turn: drawing, melding, and discarding.

The Draw

It is possible for a player to begin his or her turn by drawing two cards from the draw deck.

If the drawn card can be immediately combined with two natural cards from the player’s hand, or if the drawn card can be added to an already melded sequence, then the player may draw from the discard pile. Taking the rest of the discard pile into their hand after melding the initial card.

Combination

An opponent may choose to make melds after the draw, if it is possible.

The value of each card is as follows:

⦁ Jokers = 50 points
⦁ Aces/2s = 20 points
⦁ Kings to 8s = 10 points
⦁ 7s to 4s = 5 points
⦁ Black 3s = 5 points

A team must start the game by laying melds with a combined card value of 50 points.

The first melds need to have a combined card value of 90 when a team reaches 1500 game points.

Teams need a combined card value of 120 points for the first meld once they reach 3000 game points.

The first meld needs to have a combined card value of 150 points when a team reaches 7000 game points.

There can be multiple melds in a single turn that generate value.

The first meld for a team with negative game points must be at least 15 points.

The Discard

Players’ turns end with discards. The discard pile is blocked if a 3 or wildcard is discarded. A blocked pile cannot be drawn from.

Going Out

If a player melds two canastas, two sambas, or one of each, the round is over.

Once a player has melded or discarded all the cards in their hand, the round ends. If a player wants to go out, they can ask their partner. The partner may want the round to continue depending on what is left in his or her hand.

Scoring

Points are scored in four areas.

1. The points in a meld are calculated by subtracting the points from the cards left in the hands from the values in the meld.
2. Red 3s: A single card can be combined. Having at least two sambas, two canastas, or one of each, allows a team to score 100 points for every red 3. A team that has combined red 3s without the necessary sambas or canastas loses 100 points for each combined red 3. A player with a red 3 in their hand at the end of a round is penalized negative 750 points, regardless of how many red 3s remain. A team or player scores 1000 points if they meld all six red 3.
3. Sambas: Each samba earns a team 1500 points.
4. Canastas: For each pure canasta and each mixed canasta, a team gets 500 points. There is no wild card in a pure canasta, so it is considered a pure canasta. A mixed canasta includes a wild card.
5. Going Out: Each team or player gets 200 points at the end of the round.

The Rules

There is no limit to how many cards can be melded, but the value of the cards added determines how many extra points can be scored.

It is possible to meld black 3s if the player melding them is going out to end the round.