How to Play Guiñote

Guiñote is Spain's favourite partnership trick-taking game. You and your partner sit opposite each other against two opponents, chasing points across Aces, Threes and cantar declarations. First team to 101 points wins. Learn the rules here, then play free as part of our Spanish 10-in-1 collection.

Overview

Guiñote is Spain's favourite partnership trick-taking game — you and your partner sit opposite each other against two opponents, chasing points across Aces, Threes and a declaration called cantar. Unlike some other Spanish card games, the trump suit is fixed by the deal itself, not by a declaration. First team to 101 cumulative points wins the match.

The Four Suits & Card Values

The Spanish deck has 40 cards across four suits — 10 ranks in each. Only 5 ranks score points, the same values in every suit:

Each hand scores its trick points (120 in the pack) plus a 10-point last-trick bonus, plus any cantar bonuses.

Rank Order — a Surprise for New Players

High to low, same in every suit: As, Tres, Rey, Sota, Caballo, then 7, 6, 5, 4, 2. The Three outranks the King — this catches many new players out. Guiñote also swaps the Jack (Sota) and Knight (Caballo) compared to most other Spanish card games: here the Sota outranks the Caballo.

Winning a Trick

• Same suit, no trump — higher rank wins (As beats 5 of Cups).
• Different suits, no trump played — the led suit wins regardless of rank.
• One card is trump — trump always wins, even the 2 beats the As.
• Both trump — higher rank wins.

Two Phases: De Mano and De Arrastre

De mano (while the stock has cards) is free play — there's no obligation to follow suit or trump at all. This is when you probe with zero-value cards to learn what opponents hold before risking your As or Tres. After each trick, the winner draws first from the stock, then the others follow in turn — winning tricks gives you the draw advantage.

De arrastre begins the moment the stock runs out, and covers the last 6 tricks of the hand under strict rules — this is the phase that gives Guiñote its bite:

• Follow suit if you can — and if you can, you must beat the best card of that suit currently in the trick, if you're able to.
• Void in the led suit? You must play trump — unless your partner is already winning the trick, in which case you're free to discard anything.
• No cantar during de arrastre — declarations are only allowed while the stock still has cards.

Cantar (Declaring)

Right before you lead a trick, you may declare (cantar) if you hold the Rey + Sota of the same suit — but only if your team has already won at least one trick this hand, and only while the stock still has cards. Tap CANTAR before you lead.

Scoring & Match End

At the end of each hand, both teams add up their trick points, cantar bonuses, and the 10-point last-trick bonus ("diez de últimas") to get that hand's total. Each hand's total adds to your team's running match score — first team to 101 points across all hands wins. If both teams pass 101 in the same hand, the higher total wins. Winning every trick in a hand is a "capote," a rare feat flagged at the end of the hand.

Strategy Tips

• Probe during de mano. There's no follow-suit rule yet, so lead zero-value cards to learn what opponents hold before risking your As or Tres.
• Time your cantar. You can only declare right before leading, and only once your team has won a trick — and never once the stock runs out, so don't wait too long.
• Save trump for de arrastre. The last 6 tricks force you to follow suit and beat if you can, so hold back strong trumps instead of burning them early.
• Feed your partner. If your partner is winning a trick, play your highest-value card into it — points won by either of you count the same.
• Protect Kings and Knights. They score points and enable a cantar — sacrificing them to win a 0-point trick is almost never correct.
• Watch the stock count. Once it hits zero, de arrastre begins and the rules tighten immediately.

Frequently Asked Questions

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