How many players can play Escoba?

Escoba is most often played by two players, but it also works well with three or four. With four players it is usually played in two partnerships, with partners sitting opposite each other and pooling their captured cards for scoring.

What is the rule of 15 in Escoba?

Every capture in Escoba must add up to exactly fifteen. The card you play from your hand combines with one or more cards on the table, and if their values total 15, you capture all of them. Unlike Scopa, there is no separate rule for matching a card of equal value; it is always a sum to fifteen.

What exactly is an escoba (sweep)?

An escoba, meaning broom or sweep, is when the card you play captures every remaining card on the table, leaving it empty. Each escoba is worth one point. However, clearing the table on the final play of a deal does not count as an escoba.

What are the card values in Escoba?

Aces count as 1, the number cards 2 through 7 are worth their face value, the Jack (Sota) is 8, the Knight or Horse (Caballo) is 9, and the King (Rey) is 10. On a standard 40-card deck, remove the 8s, 9s, and 10s so the values line up.

How do you win at Escoba?

You score points after each round for capturing the most cards, the most coins, the seven of coins, the best prime (setenta), and each escoba you made. Hands are played until a player or team reaches 21 or more points at the end of a hand, and the highest total wins.

Can I play Escoba online for free?

Yes. You can play Escoba free in your browser at lovecardgames.com with no download and no signup. Practice against smart bots or play live multiplayer against other people.

How to Play Escoba: Capturing to 15, Sweeps, and Scoring

Escoba (full name Escoba de Quince, "the broom of fifteen") is one of Spain's best-loved card games, a fast and tactical capturing game played with a 40-card Spanish deck. The hook is simple: every capture must add up to exactly 15, and clearing the whole table earns you a bonus point called an escoba, or "sweep." It takes five minutes to learn but rewards sharp arithmetic and forward planning. This guide covers the full rules, scoring, and strategy, then you can put it into practice free on lovecardgames.com.

What Is Escoba?

Escoba is a traditional Spanish "fishing" card game for two to four players. On each turn you play one card from your hand and try to capture cards from the table by making the values add up to fifteen. You collect valuable cards, chase the prized seven of coins, and score the occasional escoba, a clean sweep of every card on the table. It is a close cousin of the Italian Scopa, and if you enjoy capturing games you will likely also enjoy Cassino and Conquián.

The Escoba Deck and Card Values

Escoba uses a 40-card Spanish deck with four suits: coins (oros), cups (copas), swords (espadas), and clubs/batons (bastos). If you only have a standard international deck, remove the 8s, 9s, and 10s, leaving four suits of ten cards each. The numeric value of each card for capturing is:

Ace (As) = 1
2 through 7 = their face value
Jack (Sota) = 8
Knight/Horse (Caballo) = 9
King (Rey) = 10

On a standard deck, coins map to diamonds, which matters because the coins suit and the seven of coins carry scoring weight.

Setting Up the Game

Choose a dealer. The dealer shuffles, the opponent cuts, and then each player receives three cards face-down. The dealer also places four cards face-up in the center of the table. The rest of the deck stays in a face-down stack. When everyone has played all three cards, the dealer deals three more to each player (but does not add new cards to the table). This repeats until the deck is exhausted.

Special opening rule: if those first four table cards happen to total exactly 15, the dealer captures all of them at once and scores an immediate escoba. If they total 30, that counts as two escobas.

How to Capture: The Rule of 15

This is the heart of the game. On your turn you play exactly one card from your hand. That card combines with one or more cards on the table, and if the played card plus the chosen table cards add up to exactly 15, you capture all of them.

Play a 7, and the table shows an 8: 7 + 8 = 15, so you capture the 8.
Play a King (10), and the table shows a 4 and an Ace: 10 + 4 + 1 = 15, so you take both.
Play a 6, and the table shows a 9: 6 + 9 = 15, capture it.

Unlike Scopa, there is no "match a card of equal value" shortcut. In Escoba every capture is a sum to fifteen. If your played card creates a valid capture, you may take it (and where a capture exists, it must be made). If no combination including your card reaches 15, your card simply stays face-up on the table, adding to the pool for future turns. Captured cards go face-down into your scoring pile.

Scoring an Escoba (Sweep)

An escoba, or sweep, happens when your capture clears every remaining card off the table, leaving it empty for the next player. Each escoba is worth one point and is tracked by setting one captured card face-up in your pile. This is the signature scoring move of the game, hence the name "broom."

Important: capturing the very last cards on the final play of a deal does not count as an escoba. When the deck runs out, any cards still face-up on the table go to whoever made the most recent capture, but this does not score a sweep.

End-of-Round Scoring

Capturing the most cards is not enough on its own. After each round, players or partnerships compare piles and award points for:

Cartas (most cards): 1 point to whoever captured the most of the 40 cards.
Oros (most coins): 1 point for the most cards in the coins/diamonds suit.
Seven of coins (el siete bello): 1 point for capturing the 7 of coins, the single most prized card.
Setenta (the prime): 1 point for the best prime. Take your highest card in each suit, ranked sevens, sixes, aces, fives, fours, threes, twos, then court cards, and compare.
Escobas: 1 point for every sweep you scored during the round.

Add your escoba points to the four category points. Hands are played and points accumulated until a player or team reaches 21 points or more at the end of a hand, and the highest total wins.

Escoba Strategy Tips

Memorize the partners of 15. Fast recognition of which two values sum to 15 (7+8, 9+6, 10+5, and so on) is the whole game.
Chase the coins and the seven. Three of the five categories revolve around the coins suit and sevens, so prioritize capturing the 7 of coins and any oros.
Watch the table total. Avoid leaving the table at a value an opponent can easily reach with a single card, or you hand them a sweep.
Set up your own escobas. Leaving the table summing to 15 minus a card you hold lets you sweep on your next turn.
Think one deal ahead. New hands are dealt without refreshing the table, so the cards you leave become the next opening position.

If you like the capture-and-count rhythm, you may also enjoy the Italian classics Scopa and Briscola, the Indian fishing game Seep (which also captures to a target sum), or trick-taking favorites like Spades and Hearts.

Play now

Ready to sweep the table? Play Escoba free on lovecardgames.com, right in your browser, with smart bots and online multiplayer, no download and no signup required. Deal yourself in and start hunting for fifteen.