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Hola is a fun trick-taking card game that can be played with 2, 4, or 6 players. When 4 or 6 people play, partners are made, and each player sits between two opponents. The main goal is to win cards that carry points during tricks. To do this, you need to match the rank of the card that was led or use a wild card.
How To Play Hola: Rules, Scoring And Wild Cards
Points to Win
- In 2 or 4 player games, players decide before starting how many points are needed to win. This is usually between 200 and 500.
- In a 6-player game, the winning target is 500 points.
Setup
The dealer is chosen randomly. They shuffle the deck (or two decks for 6 players) and deal 4 cards to each player. The rest of the cards are placed face down in the middle as the stockpile.
Cards and Values
- The cards don’t follow any ranking order, and there is no trump suit.
- The special cards are 2s and 7s, which act as wild cards.
- Only some cards carry points: Aces and 10s, each worth 10 points.
- In 2 or 4 player games, the last trick of a round is also worth 10 points.
How to Play
- The player to the dealer’s left starts by leading any card.
- Other players can play any card, but to win, they must play a card of the same rank as the first card or a wild card.
- When play comes back to the starter, they can either end the trick (and give the win to the last valid card played) or fight for the trick.
If they choose to fight, they lead another card, and the same rules apply again. A trick can be fought up to four times or until players run out of cards. The winner is the last player who played a matching rank or a wild card.
After each trick, the winner collects the cards and leads the next one. Players then draw new cards from the stockpile to refill their hands to four. If not enough cards remain, the remaining cards are shared as evenly as possible, and that round becomes the final one.
Scoring
At the end of the round, teams or players add up their collected points. The winner of the last trick also gets 10 extra points. Scores are carried forward over rounds until someone reaches the target.
- If one team wins every single point in a round, they score 170 points instead of the normal total.
- If the non-dealer’s team scores 50 points or less, the same dealer deals again. Otherwise, dealing moves to the left.
End of the Game
The game ends when a team or player reaches the set winning score. If two or more teams cross the target in the same round, the one with the higher score is declared the winner.
Hola is simple to learn but offers a lot of fun strategy with wild cards and point chasing. It’s a game of balance between luck, timing, and smart choices, making it enjoyable whether you play with friends or family.
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