Banakil is a partnership card game: four players in two teams try to lay their cards on the table as legal "melds", and one of them tries to get rid of all his cards. Its signature is the 2, called the "banakla", which stands in for a missing card inside runs.
What you need
- Exactly 4 players in two fixed teams, and your partner always sits opposite you. There is no solo play and no 3-player game.
- 106 cards: two complete standard decks (104 cards) plus two Jokers.
Card point values
| Card | Value |
|---|---|
| 3 to 6 | 0.5 |
| 7 to 10 | 1 |
| J, Q, K and A | 1 each |
| 2 (banakla) | 2 |
| Joker | 4 |
Scores can therefore contain half points, such as 87.5 or 202.5.
How a deal works
1. The deal
Each player receives 18 cards, and the starting player receives 19. The 19-card player acts first, without drawing.
In the first match of a series the room host cuts the deck, which decides the starting player. In later deals the start passes to the next seat counter-clockwise.
2. Your turn
- Draw (except the 19-card starter on his first action).
- Arrange and prepare (optional).
- Meld, add to, or modify the team's melds (optional).
- Discard one card onto the discard pile, and the turn passes to the next player.
You may draw from the closed pile (exactly one card) or from the open discard pile. If you choose a card from inside the discard pile, you must take it together with every card above it. Example: the pile from the top is A, K, 5, 9, 3; if you choose the 5 you take A, K and 5.
A turn lasts 40 seconds; if it runs out, the game acts for you.
3. Types of melds
Every meld needs at least 3 cards:
- Run: three or more consecutive cards of the same suit, such as 5♥ 6♥ 7♥. The Ace counts as 1 (A-2-3) or 14 (Q-K-A), with no wrap-around (K-A-2 is not allowed).
- Set of the same rank: three or four cards of the same rank in different suits, but allowed only for Aces and 3s, such as A♠ A♥ A♣ or 3♠ 3♥ 3♦.
4. The banakla and the Joker
The card of rank 2 is the banakla, and it works inside runs only. Example: in the run 7♥ 8♥ 2♣ 10♥, the 2♣ stands for 9♥. It can be moved to another legal position inside its run.
The Joker is a wild card that works inside runs, and it can also complete a set of Aces or a set of 3s, as long as the set does not exceed 4 cards. A meld holds only one banakla and one Joker, and must contain at least one real card.
5. Team melds
You may add to your own and your partner's melds, never the opponents'. An illegal change is refused.
6. Ending the deal
A deal ends when a player gets rid of all his cards with a legal move, either by melding with no discard or by discarding his last card.
Scoring
Each player is scored separately, then the two scores are added for the team. A player counts as "opened" only if he himself lays down a new legal meld from his hand (3 or more cards); adding to an existing meld does not count as opening.
| Case | Player's score |
|---|---|
| Opened but did not finish | value laid down minus value left in hand |
| Never opened | -20 |
| Opened and finished the deal | value laid down + 20 |
| Finished without opening (adding only) | -20 + 20 = 0 |
Example: laying down 14 and holding 3.5 scores 14 - 3.5 = 10.5. The finisher's partner does not receive the +20.
Winning the match
The target is 202 points. If only one team reaches 202 or more, it wins. If both teams do, the gap decides: greater than 5, and the higher team wins at once; 5 or less, and a tie-break deal is played, repeating until the gap is greater than 5.
Common beginner mistakes
- Delaying your opening: a player who never opened loses 20 points.
- Thinking adding counts as opening: it raises the value you laid down but is not opening.
- Making a same-rank set of any rank: only Aces and 3s are allowed (and no banakla in sets).
- Taking from the discard pile without counting: you take the chosen card and everything above it.
Quick questions
Does the Joker come back to my hand once placed in a run?
A Joker inside a run is "locked" and keeps the rank it represents. It returns to your hand only when you place the exact real card in the same action, provided the meld stays legal.
What if the closed pile runs out?
The discard pile (except its top card) is shuffled into a new draw pile, at most twice per deal. After that the deal is dead and is scored without the +20.
Next step
ERAM CARDS is an online multiplayer card and board game app, starting on Android in Arabic and English. Full rules: full Banakil rules page.