Buraco is a 4-player (2 teams of 2) card game wildly popular in Brazil. Form melds of 7+ cards (called Buracos) to score big and pick up the 'morto' pile to refill your hand. First team to 3,000 points wins. Play free online at BoardGame Battles.
📖 Rules — How to Play, Step by Step
- Buraco uses two full decks (108 cards, jokers included). It's played by 4 players in 2 teams, or by 2 players individually.
- Each player is dealt 11 cards. Two extra piles of 11 cards are set aside — the 'mortos'.
- On your turn, draw a card (from the stock or the entire discard pile), lay down or extend melds, then discard one card.
- A meld is a run of 3+ cards in the same suit (4-5-6 of hearts) or a set of the same rank.
- A Buraco (canasta) is a meld of 7 or more cards. Clean, with no wildcard, it scores 200; dirty, with a wildcard, 100.
- When a player runs out of cards, they pick up one of the mortos and keep playing with those 11 cards.
- A team can only go out after both mortos have been taken and it holds at least one Buraco. First team to 3,000 points wins.
💡 3 Tips to Win
- Aim for a clean Buraco (no wildcards) — it scores double the points
- Pick up the morto as early as possible to refresh your hand options
- Communicate with your partner through your discards — it's your only legal signal
♟️ Advanced Strategy
The clean Buraco is the heart of the game: it scores double the dirty one. The urge to close a meld quickly by dropping in a wildcard is strong, but it's almost always a bad trade — hold the run open a little longer and hunt the natural card. The wildcard you saved is worth more later.
Taking the morto at the right time swings the match. It isn't a race: go out of cards early with nothing melded and you inherit 11 loose cards and no structure. Ideally you reach the morto with your melds already on the table, so the new cards slot straight in.
The discard pile cuts both ways. Discarding the card the other team needs hands them the whole pile. Before you discard, look at what they have laid down: if there's a diamond run on their table, your 8 of diamonds is the last card that should leave your hand.
Your discards are the only legal way to talk to your partner. Consistently discarding in one suit is a signal — and a good partner reads it.
The calculation that decides buraco isn't about cards, it's about points. A clean Buraco scores 200 and a dirty one 100 — but going out scores 100 too, and every card left in your opponents' hands counts against them. Which means that sometimes going out quickly with a dirty Buraco beats waiting two more rounds for the clean one, if the opposition is holding a full hand.
The discard pile is the most underrated resource in the game. Taking the whole pile can mean ten or fifteen cards at once, and it's the only play capable of turning a lost match around. It's worth holding a card that matches the top of the pile, even with no immediate use, purely to keep that door open.
⚠️ Common Beginner Mistakes
- Spending a wildcard early to close a meld. A dirty Buraco is worth half a clean one.
- Trying to go out before both mortos have been taken — the move isn't even legal, and plenty of players waste turns attempting it.
- Discarding without checking the opponents' melds, and handing them the entire discard pile.
🕰️ History and Origin
Buraco is a Brazilian cousin of canasta, which itself was invented in Montevideo in the 1940s and spread across South America at remarkable speed — by the 1950s canasta was a craze in the United States and Europe. Buraco settled into its own rules in Brazil, with the two 'mortos' and a scoring race to 3,000.
The name comes from the 'buraco' itself: the meld of seven or more cards that closes and scores heavily. Elsewhere in South America the same game appears as 'burako' or 'biriba', with variations in the morto rules and in the value of wildcards.
🔀 Game Variants
Partnership buraco
Four players, two teams, two mortos, 3,000 points. The default mode here.
Individual buraco
Two players, each for themselves, one morto each. Far more tactical and less partner-dependent.
Closed buraco
You can only lay melds down after reaching a minimum score in hand.
Biriba
A variant where the wildcard is locked into the run and cannot be moved.
🌐 How It Works Online
Buraco at BoardGame Battles is played with two decks, two mortos and a race to 3,000 points, both in the 2-player mode and in 4-player partnerships.
In the 4-player mode you play with a partner — human or AI — and communication through discards works exactly as it does at a real table: there is no signalling chat, and it's that restriction that keeps the game honest.
📔 Glossary
- Buraco / Canasta
- A meld of 7 or more cards. Clean scores 200; dirty scores 100.
- Morto
- An 11-card pile picked up by a player who runs out of cards.
- Clean
- A Buraco formed without any wildcard.
- Going out
- Ending the round with no cards left — only allowed once both mortos are taken and a Buraco is made.
❓ Frequently Asked Questions
How do you play Buraco online?
Visit boardgamebattles.app, select Buraco, and join a game instantly. Form melds of matching cards or same-suit sequences, build a Buraco (7+ card meld), and close your hand. No download required.
Is Buraco free to play online?
Yes! Buraco on BoardGame Battles is completely free — no subscription, no hidden fees. Play unlimited games against AI or real players.
What is a Buraco in the card game?
A Buraco is a meld of 7 or more cards of the same rank or same-suit sequence. A 'Clean Buraco' (no wild cards) scores higher than a 'Dirty Buraco' (with wild cards). Having at least one Buraco is required to close your hand.
What are the wild cards in Buraco?
In Buraco, the Twos of all suits and the Jokers act as wild cards, substituting for any card in a meld. Aces can be used in both low sequences (A-2-3) and high sequences (Q-K-A).
How do you close your hand in Buraco?
To close (win the round), you must empty your entire hand AND have at least one Buraco (7+ card meld) on the table. Closing without a Buraco results in a point penalty.
Can you play Buraco in teams?
Yes! Buraco is traditionally played in pairs (2v2). On BoardGame Battles you can play team Buraco online with real-time multiplayer and automatic matchmaking.