08.01 hanging out with friends
la loba—text version

print out and refer to this list of additional notes to learn how to play la loba.

what do you need?
two to four players
two decks of cards and four jokers

deal
shuffle the cards. deal nine cards to each player. place the next card, face up, to create a discard pile. place the rest of the deck face down to create a pile to draw from.

play
begin your turn by drawing a card from either the draw pile or the discard pile.
create piernas and escaleras from the cards in your hand. place them face up on the table. • in la loba, una pierna consists of three cards from different suits with the same value. the cards 5 ♦, 5 ♥, 5 ♣ make una pierna. • in la loba, una escalera consists of a sequence of three or more cards of the same suit. the cards k ♣, q ♣, j ♣ make una escalera. players may play aces high or low: a ♣, k ♣, q ♣ or 3 ♣, 2 ♣, a ♣ . however, they may not play them both high and low in the same escalera.
if you don't have a pierna or escalera, your turn is over, or if you have already laid down a pierna or escalera, you may play on your own or your opponent's combinations.

to end your turn, place one of your cards in the discard pile.
jokers

you can play jokers in escaleras, but not piernas.

you can only play one joker in an escalera.

you can't discard a joker.

if the only card left in your hand is a joker and it can't be played, the game is over.
scoring

the round is over when you or one of your opponents no longer has any cards.

whoever still has cards adds up the penalty points for the remaining cards. the game is over when one of you reaches 200 points. whoever has the lowest number of points at the end of the game wins.

homework

teach a friend or family member how to play la loba.

remember, the more you practice, the better you'll get!

draw pile: if the draw pile runs out, shuffle all the cards except the top card from the discard pile and turn them over to make a new draw pile.

discard pile: you can only draw from the discard pile if you immediately play it on your or your opponent’s pierna or escalera. (see step two.)

pierna: pierna means leg. in la loba, una pierna consists of three cards from different suits with the same value. the cards 5 ♦, 5 ♥, 5 ♣ make una pierna.

escalera: escalera means stairs. in la loba, una escalera consists of a sequence of three or more cards of the same suit. the cards k ♣, q ♣, j ♣ make una escalera. players may play aces high or low: a ♣, k ♣, q ♣ or 3 ♣, 2 ♣, a ♣. however, they may not play them both high and low in the same escalera.

play on: you can add a card from the same three suits to a pierna, but you cannot add a card from the fourth suit. for example, to the pierna 5 ♦, 5 ♥, 5 ♣, and 5 ♣ they can add another 5 ♦, 5♥, and 5♣, but they can’t add a 5 ♠.

penalty points: each card is worth its face value in points. aces, kings, queens, jacks, and jokers are worth 10 points each.
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