Loba♠

01 /

Choose the Argentine negative game

Loba names several Latin American rummy games, not a single universal ruleset. In Argentina, Loba de Menos penalizes cards left in hand; Loba de Más rewards exposed combinations and uses different wild-card rules. Central American Loba can instead mean a contract game. We explain Argentine Loba de Menos, with no paid re-entry in this session. Its exact inventor is not established.

02 /

Nine cards and a shared table

For 2–5 players use 2 standard packs and 4 jokers: 108 cards. Highest cut chooses the first dealer; deal and play clockwise, dealer rotating left each hand. Deal 9 singly to each player. Expose the next as the discard and stack the rest face down. With 4 players there are 36 hand cards, 1 discard and 71 stock. Start at dealer’s left. Begin cumulative scores at 0; play individually, without partners.

03 /

Piernas use exactly three suits

A pierna starts with 3 equal ranks in different suits. You may add duplicates from those same 3 suits, but never introduce the fourth suit. Thus 4♠ 4♥ 4♣ can accept another 4♠ but not 4♦. An escalera has at least 3 consecutive cards of one suit. Ace may be low or high, not both in the same run; K A 2 is invalid. Twos are ordinary cards here. Exposed combinations cannot be broken apart or rearranged into new ones.

04 /

Use a taken discard immediately

Draw the top stock card or the top discard. Taking the discard is legal only if you immediately meld that exact card or add it legally to a table combination. You cannot save it. You may expose your own valid combinations and, after opening one, add to anyone’s combinations, including during that turn. Finish with a discard unless all cards have legally left your hand. There is no minimum opening point threshold and no out-of-turn buying.

05 /

Jokers only belong in runs

An escalera may contain at most 1 joker; a pierna cannot contain one. A joker at a run’s end may move to its other end when a natural card extends the run. An internal joker is fixed: it cannot be replaced and taken back, nor may its represented card be inserted beside it. You normally cannot discard a joker. The exception is a sole remaining joker after all your other cards are down: discard it to go out.

06 /

Reach the limit and leave

An empty hand ends the deal. The winner scores 0; opponents add remaining numeral values, with A J Q K and jokers worth 10 each. A winner who exposed everything in a single turn without an earlier opening reduces the cumulative score by 10 instead. At 101 or more you are eliminated; this session has no re-entry. Last remaining player wins. Shuffle discards except the exposed top to replenish stock. If replenishment is impossible, our stated fallback ends the hand with everyone counting leftovers and no winner bonus.

07 /

A discard opens a run

With 6♦ and 7♦ in hand, you may take discard 8♦ by immediately exposing 6♦ 7♦ 8♦. This is your opening, so you may now add to other table melds too; keeping 8♦ for later would be illegal. Separately, a hand left with 9♠ A♥ and a joker costs 9 + 10 + 10 = 29. From an earlier total of 74 that becomes 103 and eliminates the player. Do not use the different positive-Loba scoring table.

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Common questions