 The most popular card game among the Empordanese people, and unquestionably the one that has caused most conflicts between them, is botifarra (not to be confused with the sausage!)
The game uses the Spanish pack of 48 cards and is played by all, men and women, young and old. It is played by two pairs of players, with partners sitting opposite each other. The team scoring most points wins. It is a game of thought and strategy, with very complex rules, and to be a good player requires a great deal of observation, memory and experience. The pairs of players tend to be fixed, because knowing each other’s style of play is a great advantage. Even so, shouts of protest or outrage between partners are frequent, and in any case there will always be someone standing behind you ready to tell you you’ve made a mistake and that he would have done it differently, or simply better.
If you walk into a bar and see four people sitting around a table with a playing mat and a pack of cards, and other people watching them, they’re sure to be playing botifarra. While play is going on not a word is spoken, but when a hand finishes, everyone, including the onlookers, makes their particular comments, and not always amiably ... and the fact is that botifarra has provoked severe rifts between many people in the Empordŕ and caused them not to exchange a word for a long time, although fortunately the disputes do not usually go beyond that.
We also have several other very popular card games: canari (for money), cinquillo, brisca ... as you can see, we love playing cards!
If you’d like to learn more, visit http://www.pagat.com/manille/botifar.html(in English)
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