Mus

How to play Mus

Mus is the king of Spanish card games — a fast, noisy game of betting and bluffing played in pairs across the bars of Spain and the Basque Country. You and your partner (sitting opposite) take on two bots. It is not about taking tricks; it is about who holds the best cards in four separate contests, and who dares to bet on them.

The cards

A 40-card Spanish pack — As, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, Sota, Caballo, Rey. By the universal rule, the 3 counts as a Rey (King) and the 2 counts as an As (Ace), so there are effectively eight high cards and eight low cards. For the Juego count, Kings, Knaves, Knights and 3s are worth 10, Aces and 2s worth 1, and the rest their face value.

Mus or no mus

Everyone gets four cards. Starting from the hand (mano), each player says "mus" (I want to discard) or "no hay mus" (let's play). If all four agree to mus, you each throw away any cards you don't want and draw replacements — then ask again. As soon as one player cuts, the betting begins.

The four lances

• Grande — the highest cards win. Two Kings beat two Knights, and so on.
• Chica — the lowest cards win. A pair of Aces is unbeatable.
• Pares — pairs. Only players with at least a pair take part; duples (two pairs) beat medias (three of a kind), which beat a single par. Pairs pay a bonus too.
• Juego — having 31 or more points. The order of best to worst is 31, 32, 40, 37, 36, 35, 34, 33. If nobody reaches 31, the lance is played as Punto — closest to 30 wins.

Betting

In each lance you may Paso (pass), Envido (bet two or more), raise, or go Órdago — bet the whole game on this one lance. The other side answers Quiero (I accept, the stones are decided at the showdown) or No quiero (I fold, you take the smaller stake now). If both sides pass, the lance is worth one stone to the best hand. Pairs and juego pay their bonus stones on top.

Strategy

Mus rewards nerve as much as cards. Bet your strong lances, bluff a weak Grande when the table is quiet, and remember your partner is fighting the same four battles — a strong hand on your side covers a weak one on theirs. The first team to 30 stones wins. Tap the buttons to act; N starts a new game.