Step right up and join the circle,
the peleja's about to start:
twelve numbers, three of each,
face down — learn them by heart.
Where the names come from: cordel is the Brazilian folk poetry printed in small booklets and hung on strings at street markets, and a peleja is a duel between two improvising poets, each answering the other around a mote, the theme they have to sing about.
The goal
Collect three matching cards: a triple. Win by completing 3 triples, or just one: the triple of your mote, the secret number you pick at the start.
The cards
There are 36 cards: the numbers 1 to 12, 3 of each. No card is worth more than another; what matters is each player's mote.
Everyone gets a hand and the rest go face down in the middle of the table. Your hand is always sorted from lowest to highest.
| Players | In each hand | In the middle |
|---|---|---|
| 3 | 9 | 9 |
| 4 | 7 | 8 |
| 5 | 6 | 6 |
| 6 | 5 | 6 |
Your turn
Reveal one card at a time. For each one, you choose:
- ask someone for their lowest or highest card, even yourself: that player shows the card at that end of their hand;
- or flip a card in the middle, any one that's face down.
- your lowest
- your highest
- Zé's lowest
- Zé's highest
Nobody sees anyone else's hand, but everyone knows it's in order. Asking for Zé's lowest shows the card on the left end; asking again shows the next one.
Same number as the card before? Keep going. With two matching cards on the table, the third one is a must.
- flips from the middle
- asks for Ana's lowest
- asks for their own highest
Three of a kind: a triple. The three cards leave play and stay with you, in plain sight. The turn passes (unless the triple wins the game).
- flips from the middle
- asks for Zé's highest
- flips from the middle: miss
Different number: a miss. The cards stay face up for a moment and go back (the ones from the middle face down again; the ones from hands back to their owners). The turn passes. Anyone paying attention now knows where two 8s live.
Each turn has 45 seconds. When time runs out, the cards go back and the turn passes. A player with no cards left in hand keeps playing, asking the middle and the others.
The mote
After seeing their hand, each player draws 2 cards from the mote deck and secretly keeps one. The other stays hidden: nobody sees it. Two players can have the same mote without knowing.
- stays with you
- the other stays hidden
The 4 is an inner mote and comes with the +1 badge: in Classic, its triple is worth 3 points.
- Completed the triple of your mote? You win the round on the spot.
- Completed the triple of someone else's mote? For you it's a regular triple, and their mote dies: from then on they can only win with 3 triples. Suspect someone's mote? Complete it yourself.
- In a room with visible motes (the creator's choice), everyone sees the mote each player picked.
The mote deck changes with the table size (3 cards of each number):
| Players | Motes | Inner mote |
|---|---|---|
| 3 | 3, 4, 9 and 10 | 4 and 9 |
| 4 | 4, 5, 8 and 9 | 5 and 8 |
| 5 | 5, 6, 7 and 8 | none |
| 6 | 5, 6, 7 and 8 | none |
Quick and Classic
Quick is a single round: whoever wins the round wins. If the cards run out with no winner, the players with the most triples tie.
Classic is 3 rounds for points, with new hands and motes each round, and the first player moves around the table. Each round:
- each triple
- 1 point
- your mote's triple
- 2 points
- an inner mote's triple
- 3 points
- winning the round
- nothing extra
Inner motes only exist with 3 and 4 players (4 and 9 with 3; 5 and 8 with 4). They're harder to complete than the outer ones, so they're worth more. With 5 or 6 players (5 to 8) there's no inner mote. Winning the round just ends it early.
Whoever scores the most points takes the peleja. On a tie, the tiebreak goes to whoever completed more mote triples; then to whoever scored more in the last round; and finally to whoever completed the last triple.
At the table
- Play now puts you at a Classic table of 4 with whoever is arriving. The table waits up to 60 seconds; it can start earlier if everyone at the table asks, and empty seats become bots.
- Create room gives you a code and a link to invite friends. The creator picks the mode, visible motes and each seat: an open seat for someone to join, or an easy, medium or hard bot.
- Lost your connection? A bot takes your seat, with the same hand and mote, and the match goes on. Open the same link to come back.
Quick questions
Is it free? Do I need to download anything?
It's free, with no ads. The game runs in your browser, on a computer or a phone: nothing to download or install.
How many people can play?
3 to 6. Invite friends to a room with a code or join Play now; empty seats are filled by bots.
Can I ask for my own card?
Yes, your lowest or your highest. It's no surprise to you, but everyone sees what you're holding.
I have two matching cards and don't know where the third is. Can I stop?
No. With two matching cards on the table, the third one is a must: go where your memory tells you.
Someone completed my mote's triple. Now what?
Your mote is dead this round: you can only win with 3 triples. In Classic, the next round brings a new mote.
Can I find out the others' motes?
Only in a room with visible motes. Otherwise, each mote is revealed at the end of the round. Watch who keeps chasing the same number.
What happens if my turn's time runs out?
You lose the turn: the cards you already showed go back, like a miss.
I left by accident. Can I get back into the same match?
If your connection dropped, yes: open the same link and take your seat back from the bot. If you tap Leave, you can't rejoin that match.
Do I need an account?
No. Just a nickname.
A card that's flipped and then returned
leaves a trail across the floor;
whoever knows where it lives
takes the triple and the score.