Cacheta rules: how to play

How do you play cacheta?

Cacheta is a Brazilian rummy game. Each player gets 9 cards and one card is turned face up: the vira. Cards one rank above the vira are wild that round. On your turn you draw from the stock or the discard pile and discard. The first player to arrange all nine cards into three melds wins the round.

Object of the game

The goal is to be the first to arrange the nine cards in your hand into three melds of three cards. A meld can be a set or a run.

The player who does this goes out and wins the round. Melds stay hidden in your hand until you go out.

Setup and deal

• Put the two decks together without the jokers and shuffle well.
• Deal 9 cards to each player, face down.
• Place the rest of the cards face down in the middle of the table. This is the stock.
• Turn one card from the stock face up and leave it next to the stock. This card is the turn-up card, called the vira.
• The vira sets the wild card for the round: every card one rank above the vira is wild. Vira 5, wild card 6. Vira king, wild card ace. Vira ace, wild card 2.
• A wild card can stand for any card in a set or in a run.
• The discard pile starts empty. The player next to the dealer goes first, and play always moves in the same direction.

How to play

1. Look at your nine cards and find the start of melds: pairs of the same rank and neighboring cards of the same suit.
2. A set is a meld of three cards of the same rank, in different suits. Example: 9 of hearts, 9 of clubs and 9 of diamonds.
3. A run is a meld of three cards in a row of the same suit. Example: 4, 5 and 6 of spades.
4. The ace works at both ends of a run: before the 2 (ace, 2, 3) or after the king (queen, king, ace). Going around the corner with king, ace, 2 is not allowed.
5. On your turn, draw a card. You choose: the top card of the stock, face down, or the top card of the discard pile, which is the one the previous player has just discarded.
6. Then discard one card face up on the discard pile. You always end your turn with nine cards in hand.
7. The turn passes to the next player, and the game goes on like this: draw one, discard one.
8. Use a wild card to finish a meld that is missing a card. With the 7 and 9 of clubs and a wild card, the run is done. The custom is to use only one wild card in each meld.
9. When the card you draw completes your three melds, you go out. Show the nine arranged cards on the table and discard the tenth.
10. If all ten cards fit, in two melds of three and one meld of four, you go out with all ten and discard nothing.
11. The other players check the melds. If everything is right, the round is yours.
12. If the stock runs out before anyone goes out, shuffle the discard pile to make a new stock.

Card values and scoring

• In cacheta, cards have no point value. What counts is who goes out.
• Simplest way to score: the player who goes out earns 1 point. Agree beforehand on how many points win the game.
• Traditional way: everybody starts with the same number of points, such as 7 or 10. When a player goes out, each of the others loses 1 point. A player with no points left is out of the game.
• Going out with all ten cards counts double: each of the others loses 2 points.
• Play for points written on paper. This is a family game.

End of the game

After each round, the cards are shuffled, another player deals and a new vira sets a new wild card.

With simple scoring, the first player to reach the agreed points wins. With traditional scoring, the last player who still has points wins.

Common variations

• Wild card of the same suit: in some rule sets, only the card one rank above the vira and of the same suit is wild. In others, cards of the same color are wild. Agree on this before you start.
• With jokers: some tables keep the jokers in the deck. They are wild, along with the cards set by the vira.
• Ten-card cacheta: each player gets 10 cards and must arrange all of them into melds to go out.
• Discard only for a meld: at some tables, you may take the top discard only if you are going to use it in a meld.
• Going out of turn: at some tables, a player who needs one card to go out may take the top discard even out of turn and go out right away.
• Wrong call: a player who goes out without three melds picks the cards up and stays in the round. From then on, that player may only go out with a card drawn from the stock.
• Pife: the same game with no vira and no wild card.

Tips to play better

• Keep cards that work for two melds. A 7 of hearts next to another 7 and to an 8 of hearts can become a set or a run.
• Prefer waiting for two cards instead of one. With the 5 and 6 of clubs, the 4 and the 7 both fit. With the 5 and 7, only the 6 fits.
• Do not discard a wild card. It finishes any meld.
• Watch what the next player takes from the discard pile. If that player took a jack, avoid discarding jacks and neighboring cards of the same suit.
• Remember the cards that have gone to the discard pile. If the card you are waiting for has already come out twice, change your plan.
• Taking a discard shows your hand to the table. If a card from the stock may do the same job, draw from the stock.

Frequently asked questions