Bolivia Rules

Bolivia (or "Bolivian Canasta") is a variation of Samba (which is itself derived from Canasta).

Bolivia plays just like Samba except for the following:

  • Wild cards may be melded as a set of their own (three or more).

  • There is no distinction between jokers and twos; both are wild, and may be mixed freely.

  • A canasta of seven wildcards is a "bolivia", and earns a 2500-point bonus.

  • No additional cards may be added to a bolivia.

  • When the top card of the discard pile is a wildcard, it may not be taken.

  • A game-winning score is 15000 points in Bolivia.

  • The minimum meld remains at 150 points from 7000 points up.

  • At least one of the two canastas required to go out must be a sequence canasta (in Bolivia this is referred to as a escalera).

  • If you're caught with any black threes in your hand when someone goes out, they each count 100 points against you.


Additional Information