Pasur scoring: valuable cards, clubs, and Surs

Use one clear scoring table

The ordinary cards are still useful. A 7♣ has no direct seven-point value, but it counts as one club and may be captured with a 4. A 10♥ is not worth the 10♦ bonus. A Queen or King does not score a direct point merely for being a face card. Look at the exact rank and suit rather than treating red cards or face cards as interchangeable.

Separate capture arithmetic from scoring

Capture value determines whether a number-card move makes 11. Scoring value determines the points earned later from the capture pile. An Ace contributes 1 to a number-card capture and is also worth 1 point, but that matching pair of values is not a general rule. The 10♦ contributes 10 to capture arithmetic and scores 3 points. The 2♣ contributes 2 and scores 2.

Do not add an extra point to every club. The Ace of Clubs earns its Ace point and contributes to the clubs count; the Two of Clubs earns its special two-point bonus and also contributes to that count. Any seven-point clubs award is added once for the category. It is separate from the individual points already earned by those two cards.

Count all 13 clubs before awarding the category

With two individual players, the 13 clubs split unevenly, so one player necessarily has more. In three-player games, the app awards the seven points to the third player when two players tie for the most clubs. In four-player individual games, a tied lead receives no clubs award. The same casual phrase, “most clubs,” therefore needs a little more explanation when the player count changes. [source]

Count the clubs physically before calculating the score. If your counts do not add to 13 at the end of a complete hand, first check capture piles, separately marked Sur cards, and the remaining table collection. Do not alter the seven-point award to hide a missing card. For a manual score, settle the ownership question before submitting the hand.

Check Sur eligibility before adding five

Clearing the entire table earns a Sur only when no exclusion applies. A Jack capture never earns one. Clearing during the final four-card deal of a hand does not earn one. A player whose previously counted cumulative score is 50 or more cannot earn one. Merely gathering the leftover table cards after play finishes is not a Sur either. [source]

The 50-point condition concerns the total already on the scoreboard. Do not add the uncounted points in your current capture pile to decide that you have crossed it. In this app, eligible Surs accumulate independently for each player. [source]

Some physical tables use Sur cancellation instead; agree on that variation rather than silently switching between two scoring methods. [source]

Work through a complete score and reconcile the total

Across a full deck, the four Aces, four Jacks, 10♦, and 2♣ account for 13 direct points. When the seven-point clubs category is awarded, that makes 20 base points across all players. Add five for each Sur counted under your agreed rules. A four-player tied clubs lead can leave the base total at 13, so do not insist on 20 when no clubs bonus was awarded.

A useful checking order is clubs, special cards, Aces and Jacks, then Surs. Check each category once, compare the players’ combined base points, and only then update cumulative totals. When entering a manual score, keep base points and Surs in their separate fields so a five-point bonus is not included twice. The score history should explain the total, not just display an unexplained number.

Common questions