Rules
Basic principles
A standard deck of 52 playing cards is used; if more than five players wish to play, two decks may be used. To determine the first dealer, cards may be drawn from the deck by each player; whoever drew the lowest card then proceeds with the first deal.
A game consists of 15 hands; in the first hand, 8 cards are dealt to each player. In the second hand, 7 cards are dealt, and so on until the eighth hand, when only one card is dealt to each player. Following this, each hand increases the number of cards dealt to each player by one, until the fifteenth hand, in which 8 cards are dealt.
In each hand, the deal starts to the left; however, over the course of a hand, this may change. Following the deal, the remaining cards are placed at the centre of the table, and the top card is turned over by the dealer, at which point the player to the left of the dealer begins play for the hand.
The play
The first card, and every card thereafter, determines a special function for the next player to follow. The card turned up is treated as being played by the dealer, and follows with whatever function it serves in play before the next player has their turn.
In each player's turn, they may play a card of either the same suit or the same rank as the card on the top of the discard pile, or an eight or nine, which are considered wild cards. If a player cannot play any cards, then they must draw one card from the stock and play then proceeds to the next player. An exception to this style of play happens during the count, which is explained in further detail lower. Following each card's play, its action is taken before the next player has their turn.
At any time when a player reduces their hand to one card, they must say "one card". Failure to do so (which is often signified by an opponent calling idiot) results in the forfeiting of their next turn and having to draw two cards instead.
Each hand ends when any player plays their final card; referred to as going out. However, if this happens during "the count", play continues as usual until it ends normally. Also, the effects of the card are resolved before the hand ends, so if the card is a five, everyone else draws a card before scoring, and so on.
Functions of each card
Following the play of each card, a special action is taken depending on the rank of the card played. This includes the card turned up by the dealer. The functions of each card are as follows:
| Card | Function |
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| Ace | Used during "the count". |
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| 2 | Starts "the count". |
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| 3 | None, but holds special scoring privileges. |
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| 4 | The next player skips their turn. |
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| 5 | Every other player receives a card. |
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| 6 | The same player plays another card; if the player can't play a card (or is left without a card), they need to draw a card from the stock. |
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| 7 | The next player but one takes a card (if only two or three are playing, the next player takes a card from the stock before taking a turn). |
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| 8 | Wild; the player then can call a specific suit to change it to. |
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| 9 | Can change to the other suit of the same colour. |
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| 10 | Reverses the direction of play. |
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| Jack | None |
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| Queen | None |
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| King | None |
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The count
If a two is played (including turned up by the dealer), "the count" begins, starting at a value of two. Each player must then play either an ace or a two, increasing the value of the count by either one or two, depending on the card played. If a player can not play an ace or two at this stage, they draw cards from the stock equating to the count value, and normal play resumes with the next player in sequence. This process is also known in some dialects as a crank.
Scoring
Upon the completion of a hand, the person who gets rid of their last card gets 0 points. The remaining players then add points to their score based on the cards remaining in their hand according to the following point values:
| Card | Point Value |
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| Ace | 1 |
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| 2 | 20 |
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| 3 | 3 (but see below) |
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| 4 | 15 |
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| 5 | 30 |
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| 6 | 30 |
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| 7 | 20 |
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| 8 | 50 |
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| 9 | 30 |
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| 10 | 25 |
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| Jack | 10 |
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| Queen | 10 |
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| King | 10 |
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At the end of the game, the player with the lowest cumulative point total is declared the winner.
Scoring threes
A three left in the hand at the end of play scores 3 points, but it may also be used to cancel out another card in the player's hand. An eight may not, however, have its point value canceled.
Example: In a hand containing A, 3, 3, 6, 7, 9, K, the threes may be used to cancel out the point values of the 6 and 9 (as they're the highest scoring cards remaining), and therefore it counts 1 + 3 + 3 + 20 + 10, or 37 points. If a hand is left with only threes at the end of play, each three instead counts -50 points.
Shuffle pressure
If a player has to draw a card, but the stock is exhausted, they must then shuffle the cards remaining in the discard pile (except for the top card), and be subject to a shuffle pressure penalty. The first shuffle pressure adds 5 points to the player's score, and every shuffle pressure following doubles the score of the last one; for instance, the second shuffle pressure adds 10 points, the third 20 points, and so on. The penalties for the shuffle pressures are independent for each player, and double throughout the game.
If a player has to draw a card, but there are no cards in the draw pile and no cards in the play pile (except for the top card), then they get a shuffle pressure, and the round ends immediately.
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Écarté is an old French casino game for two players that is still played today. It is a trick-taking game, similar to whist, but with a special and eponymous discarding phase; the word écarté meaning "discarded". Écarté was popular in the 19th century, but is now rarely played. It is described as "an elegant two-player derivative of Triomphe [that is] quite fun to play" and a "classic that should be known to all educated card players."
Crazy Eights is a shedding-type card game for two to seven players and the best known American member of the Eights Group which also includes Pig and Spoons. The object of the game is to be the first player to discard all of their cards. The game is similar to Switch, Mau Mau or Whot!.
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Scopa is an Italian card game, and one of the three major national card games in Italy, the others being Briscola and Tresette. It is also popular in Argentina and Brazil, brought in by Italian immigrants, mostly in the Scopa a Quindici variation. Scopa is also played in former Italian colonies such as Libya and Somalia or some other countries like Tunisia and even Morocco, with changed appearance in the cards. It is played with a standard Italian 40-card deck, mostly between two players or four in two partnerships, but it can also be played by three or six players.
Rummy is a group of games related by the feature of matching cards of the same rank or sequence and same suit. The basic goal in any form of rummy is to build melds which can be either sets or runs and either be first to go out or to amass more points than the opposition.
Belote is a 32-card, trick-taking, ace–ten game played primarily in France and certain European countries, namely Armenia, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Georgia, Greece, Luxembourg, Moldova, North Macedonia, Bosnia and Herzegovina and also in Saudi Arabia and Tunisia. It is one of the most popular card games in those countries, and the national card game of France, both casually and in gambling. It appeared around 1900 in France, and is a close relative of both Klaberjass and klaverjas. Closely related games are played throughout the world. Definitive rules of the game were first published in French in 1921.
Jass is a family of trick taking, ace–ten card games and, in its key forms, a distinctive branch of the marriage family. It is popular in its native Switzerland as well as the rest of the Alemannic German-speaking area of Europe, Italian South Tyrol and in a few places in Wisconsin, Ohio, California, Oregon and Washington USA.
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Twenty-eight is an Indian trick-taking card game for four players, in which the Jack and the nine are the highest cards in every suit, followed by ace and ten. It thought to be descended from the game 304, along with similar Indian games known as "29", "40" and "56".
304, pronounced three-nought-four, is a trick-taking card game popular in Sri Lanka, coastal Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and Maharashtra, in the Indian subcontinent. The game is played by two teams of two using a subset of the 52 standard playing cards so that there are 32 cards in play.
Continental Rummy is a progressive partnership Rummy card game related to Rumino. It is considered the forerunner of the whole family of rummy games using two packs of cards as one. Its name derives from the fact that it is played throughout the continental Europe, the United States, Mexico, Canada, and also in South America. According to Albert Morehead, it was "at one time the most popular form of Rummy in women's afternoon games, until in 1950 it lost out to Canasta."
The rules here are based on those of the American Cribbage Congress and apply to two-, three- or four-player games, with details of variations being listed below.
Go-Stop, also called Godori is a Korean fishing card game played with a Hwatu (화투) deck. The game can be called Matgo (맞고) when only two players are playing.
Kalooki or Kaluki is a card game popularly played in Jamaica,. It is sometimes called Jamaican Rummy for similarities in structure the game bears with Contract Rummy or Gin Rummy. The games are, however, different and not to be confused.
Buraco is a Rummy-type card game in the Canasta family for four players in fixed partnerships in which the aim is to lay down combinations in groups of cards of equal rank and suit sequences, there being a bonus for combinations of seven cards or more. Buraco is a variation of Canasta which allows both standard melds as well as sequences. It originated from Uruguay and Argentina in the mid-1940s, with apparent characteristics of simplicity and implications that are often unforeseeable and absolutely involving. Its name derives from the Portuguese word "buraco" which means “hole”, applied to the minus score of any of the two partnerships. The game is also popular in the Arab world, specifically in the Persian Gulf; where it is known as 'Baraziliya' (Brazilian). Another popular variation of Buraco is Italian.
Marriage is a Rummy card game widely played in India. It uses three or more packs of playing cards.
Clag is a trick-taking card game using a standard pack of 52 French-suited playing cards. It is similar to oh hell, and can be played by three to seven players. Clag originated in the Royal Air Force and started as an acronym for Clouds Low Aircraft Grounded.
Bisca is a card game based on the Italian deck.
Papillon is an old French card game of the fishing type for three or four players. It has been described as "perfect for children who know how to count".
