How to play Burro (Donkey) with a Spanish deck

Burro (Donkey) is a lively game where each player tries to collect four cards of the same rank by quickly passing one card at a time to the player on their right. The first to collect a set puts their hand in the centre of the table, and the last to react gets a letter from the word ‘burro’.

What you need

A Spanish deck and as many sets of four cards of the same rank as there are players. If there are five of you, for example, keep the ases (aces), doses (twos), treses (threes), cuatros (fours) and cincos (fives).

How to play

• Deal four cards to each player.
• Someone sets the rhythm (‘one, two, three... go!’) and everyone passes one card face down at the same time.
• When someone collects four of a kind, they put their hand in the centre, either quietly or with a slap on the table.
• The last person to put their hand in loses the round and gets a letter.

Tricks at the table

The fun is in being sneaky. Some players slip their hand into the centre slowly so nobody notices, while others make fake moves to catch someone out. It’s a brilliant game for teaching children to recognise cards, and for livening up a games night at home.