Truco score keeper
Keep score the way the table does — matchsticks, malas and buenas.
Tap the points you just won and the pad draws the matchsticks for you. The game lives in your browser, so a locked phone or a stray reload costs you nothing.
Score pad
Us
0of 30
First half
0 points
Second half
0 points
Raises
Bets
Them
0of 30
First half
0 points
Second half
0 points
Raises
Bets
What was scored
Nothing scored yet. Tap a points button and it shows up here.
Everything stays in your browser — nothing is uploaded and there is no account to make.
How to use it
- Pick how many points the game is worth: 30 with malas and buenas, 24, 15, or the Brazilian 12.
- Rename the teams if you like. They start as Us and Them, exactly like the paper pad.
- When a hand ends, tap what was won — hand, truco, retruco or vale cuatro. The envido row underneath handles envido, real envido and falta envido.
- The matchsticks draw themselves: every fifth point closes a square with the diagonal slash. At the halfway mark the count jumps to the buenas column.
- Mis-tapped? Undo and redo walk the whole history, and the pad is saved even if the phone locks or the page reloads.
What malas and buenas mean
The Argentine 30-point game is written down in two halves. The first 15 points are the malas and go in the left-hand column; the last 15 are the buenas and go in the right-hand one. That vertical line down the middle of a truco pad is exactly this division, and it is why the pad looks the way it does.
Crossing out of the malas is the moment everyone at the table watches for — it means you are halfway home. This pad switches columns for you the instant a team reaches 15, and the buenas start filling from empty. If a vale cuatro takes a team from 13 straight to 17, the malas finish and the two spare points open the buenas.
How the matchstick tally is drawn
Points are not written as numbers, they are drawn as fósforos — matchsticks. Each point is one stroke, and every group of five makes a square: a stroke down the left, one down the right, the top, the bottom, and then a diagonal through the middle for the fifth. Anyone glancing at the pad counts the closed squares in fives.
This tool draws that exact notation in SVG and animates each stroke as you add it, the way a pen moves across the paper. The plain number sits next to it, because the moment somebody calls falta envido you want the exact count and not a squint at the squares.
Games to 30, 24, 15 and 12 points
The classic game in Argentina and Uruguay runs to 30 points, split into malas and buenas of 15 each. A game to 24 splits the same way at 12 and 12. A game to 15 is short enough that it is written in a single column. In Brazil, truco paulista is played to 12 and has no malas or buenas at all — one column, straight through.
Truco on Playboard is played to 15 points, so if you have just come from an online hand you can carry the same count straight onto this pad. Changing the target mid-game keeps what is already written: the strokes redistribute themselves around the new halfway line.
What envido and falta envido are worth
An accepted envido is worth 2 points and a real envido 3, and chained calls add up. If the other team declines, the caller takes 1 point, plus 1 for each earlier call in the chain. On the truco side, a hand won with nothing called is worth 1, truco 2, retruco 3 and vale cuatro 4.
Falta envido has no fixed value: it is worth whatever the other team still needs to finish the game. In a game to 30 against a team on 22, falta envido pays 8; called at the start it pays the whole 30. This pad works it out from the live score and prints it on the button, so nobody has to argue about it.
Frequently asked questions
How is truco scored with matchsticks?
Every point is one stroke. Four strokes make a square and the fifth crosses it diagonally, so each closed square is worth 5 points. A game to 30 fills up to three squares in the malas and three in the buenas.
What are the malas and the buenas?
They are the two halves of a 30-point game. The first 15 points are the malas and the last 15 are the buenas, written in separate columns. On reaching 15 the count moves from one column to the other.
How much is falta envido worth?
It is worth the points the other team still needs to reach the target. In a game to 30 against a team on 22, falta envido is worth 8. This tool computes it from the live score rather than using a fixed number.
Can I use the pad without a connection?
Yes. Once the page has loaded, everything runs in your browser and the game is stored there. Close the tab, lock the phone or lose signal and the score is still waiting for you.
Can I undo a mis-tap?
Yes. Undo and redo cover the whole history of the game, not just the last point, and the log underneath the pad shows what was scored and when.
Does it work for Brazilian truco paulista?
Yes. Pick the 12-point game and the pad drops to a single column with no malas or buenas. The truco calls are worth the same: 1 for the hand, then 2, 3 and 4 for truco, retruco and vale cuatro.
Will the screen turn off while we play?
If your browser supports it, switch on the option to keep the screen on and the phone will not lock while the pad is open. Where the browser has no such control, the option simply is not shown.