Basic game
Using a standard deck, seven cards are dealt to each player to create their hand. The remaining cards form the "deck", which players will use to draw their new cards. The top card is turned face up beside the deck to form the "pile". The object of the game is for one player to be the first to discard their hand entirely by placing a card on top of the pile on each of their turns. Some games allow that more than one card can be played at a time, under specific circumstances. Typically the game ends when one player wins, although some games continue until there is only one player left.
The player to the left of the dealer plays first. A player plays a card by placing it on top of the pile, but only if it matches either the Suit or the Rank of the top card. If the player cannot play a card on this turn, then they "pick up" a card from the deck. When there are no more cards in the deck, the top pile card is removed and placed to the side, and the remaining cards are shuffled to form a new deck, and the game resumes.
Also when a player is on their last card they need to say "knock knock last card" (may actually knock) another player can call them out for this before they play their last card making them pick up one card. Similarly, a player can call someone out for being "stupid" which is when they play out of turn or play on a trick card directed at them, this also means they pick up a varying number may be one or seven.
Several Ranks of cards, most importantly the Jack, have specific effects when they are played. These are normally referred to as "trick cards". Which Ranks count as trick cards, and their effects, can vary between games and players. Typically a player cannot finish a game using a trick card.
Trick cards
There are many variations on trick cards, often with different effects and "House Rules". Below are some of the more common rules, but some games can be played with less cards taking their effects, or more. Some games also may change a cards effect based on its suit, or what it was played on.
These rules can vary greatly, and should be agreed upon at the start of the game.
There are also differing rules on when a trick card can be played e.g. at any time, or only when it matches the suit or rank of the card on top of the pile.
A player cannot start on any of the cards listed below, and a general rule is that a game cannot end on a trick card. There are variations on this, e.g. in the case of a Queen, which can sometimes be used to finish when only two players are participating, or the King of Hearts, which may only have a trick card effect if its played on the Ace of Hearts. Some games also allow that if a player has a pair of the same rank, they can play both at once. Again, these rules tend to change depending on the players, and should be agreed before the game begins.
Ace of Hearts
This is regarded as the most powerful card in the game. The next player in the order will have to pick up five cards from the deck at the beginning of, or in place of, their turn. But may be blocked by a five of hearts, or 2 of hearts or in some variations an Ace of spades. If you use a 2 of hearts, it will make the next person pick up seven. Unless the rule variation allows another 2 to be played chaining it.
2s
When a 2 of any Suit is played, the next player in the order has to pick up two cards before they begin their turn. Some games allow that this can be "chained" by the next player playing another 2, meaning the next player in the order must pick up four cards. This can continue until all the twos are played and a player has to pick up 8. A 2 is the only card that can pass on the obligation to pick up 2, unless the final 2 that is played is the 2 of hearts then the next player only has to pick up 2.
8s
When an 8 of any Suit is played, the next player misses their turn; play passes to the following player. Some games allow that the player only misses their turn if they themselves do not have an 8. If they play an 8, they do this instead of missing their turn.
Some games allow that the effect of the 8 cards can carry over e.g. if a player places an 8 on the pile, and the next player places another 8 on the pile to block this, the third player will then miss two turns instead of one, or the next two players miss their turn. May be announced by saying "eighter wait." which is a play on the words eight or wait.
Other Variations make the Eight change the direction and the Sevens make the next player miss a go. when sevens are used and a person misses their go its called Knocked
Jacks
When a Jack is played, the player can choose the next suit of card to be played, usually by claiming "Jack change it to..." This is where the game gets its name. Different House Rules allow for different conditions of the Jack's effect.
One rule is that a Jack can only be played on a suit that it matches, but can change to any suit. Another variation is that the Jack can be played on any suit, but changes to the suit of the Jack. And another variation is that the Jack can be played on any suit, and can change to any suit.
Regardless, it is generally accepted that the Jack cannot block the effect of another trick card e.g. the 8 or the 2.
Seven
When a Seven of any Suit is played, the order of play is reversed. The player to the right will take the next turn, and play continues in this fashion until another seven is played. May be announced by saying "queen reverse" In a two player game, the Seven effect if usually ignored as the play order cannot be changed.
And alternative rule is that in a two player game, the Queen acts as an 8, and causes the opposing player to miss a turn. In some variations the King or the queen of diamonds may act as a queen does and reverse play.
Aces
This card allows a person to play again, and would be announced by saying "ace return into a...". This can be chained, and affects all aces but ace of hearts. however this is a rare variation.
Some variations on the ace make it like the jack in the most common rules. In these variations the Jack usually only changes to the suite of the Jack played. Other variations have it act as a plus one which can only be passed on with an ace but the effects don't stack so it is still a plus 1.
Variations
The number of starting cards can vary from the normal seven, usually still an odd number such as five or nine. Using five cards allows more players, while nine cards allows two or three players a longer game.
As stated above, the end condition of the game can sometimes be different. Usually there is one winner, and the game ends when they have discarded their hand, but some games allow that the game continues until there is only one remaining player. This means there is one loser, rather than one winner.
The king may also be a trick card which allows the user to request a card by saying "King calling on..." If nobody has that card it continues round till it returns to the user of the king or another king is played.
The 3 may also be a trick card which acts as a 2 but the next player picks up 3 instead of 2. This can't be chained with another 3 or a 2.
It is considered good gamesmanship and gentlemanly to display the 3's to the other players at the table. Finishing on a 3, which is known as a "Gentleman's Finish", should arouse a hurrah around the table. The 3 has no new effect and is not considered a special card. This can be used as a variation if the 3 is not already being used as a trick card.
Pinochle, also called pinocle or penuchle, is a trick-taking ace–ten card game, typically for two to four players and played with a 48-card deck. It is derived from the card game bezique; players score points by trick-taking and also by forming combinations of characters into melds. It is thus considered part of a "trick-and-meld" category which also includes the game belote. Each hand is played in three phases: bidding, melds, and tricks. The standard game today is called "partnership auction pinochle".
Sheepshead is an American trick-taking card game derived from Bavaria's national card game, Schafkopf, hence it is sometimes called American Schafkopf. Sheepshead is most commonly played by five players, but variants exist to allow for two to eight players. There are also many other variants to the game rules, and many slang terms used with the game.
500 or Five Hundred is a trick-taking game developed in the United States from Euchre. Euchre was extended to a 10 card game with bidding and a Misère contract similar to Russian Preference, producing a cutthroat three-player game like Preference and a four-player game played in partnerships like Whist which is the most popular modern form, although with special packs it can be played by up to six players.
President is a shedding card game for three or more, in which the players race to get rid of all of the cards in their hands in order to become "president" in the following round. It is a Westernized version of Chinese climbing card games such as Zheng Shangyou, Tien Len in Vietnam and the Japanese Daifugō.
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 and Mau Mau.
Spades is a trick-taking card game devised in the United States in the 1930s. It can be played as either a partnership or solo/"cutthroat" game. The object is to take the number of tricks that were bid before play of the hand began. Spades is a descendant of the Whist family of card games, which also includes Bridge, Hearts, and Oh Hell. Its major difference as compared to other Whist variants is that, instead of trump being decided by the highest bidder or at random, the Spade suit always trumps, hence the name.
Cheat is a card game where the players aim to get rid of all of their cards. It is a game of deception, with cards being played face-down and players being permitted to lie about the cards they have played. A challenge is usually made by players calling out the name of the game, and the loser of a challenge has to pick up every card played so far. Cheat is classed as a party game. As with many card games, cheat has an oral tradition and so people are taught the game under different names.
Slapjack, also known as Slaps, is a card game of the matching family, generally played among children. It can often be a child's first introduction to playing cards. The game is a cross between Beggar-My-Neighbour and Egyptian Ratscrew and is also sometimes known as Heart Attack. It is also related to the simpler 'slap' card games often called Snap.
Mau-Mau is a card game for two to five players that is popular in Germany, Austria, South Tyrol, the United States, Brazil, Greece, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Israel and the Netherlands. Mau-Mau is a member of the larger Crazy Eights or shedding family, to which the proprietary card game Uno belongs. However, Mau-Mau is played with standard French or German-suited playing cards.
Pedro is an American trick-taking card game of the All Fours family based on Auction Pitch. Its most popular variant is known as Cinch, Double Pedro or High Five which was developed in Denver, Colorado around 1885 and soon regarded as the most important American member of the All Fours family. Although it went out of fashion with the rise of Auction Bridge, it is still widely played on the western coast of the United States and in its southern states, being the dominant game in some locations in Louisiana. Forms of the game have been reported from Nicaragua, the Azores, Niobe NY, Italy and Finland. The game is primarily played by four players in fixed partnerships, but can also be played by 2–6 individual players.
Briscola is one of Italy's most popular games, together with Scopa and Tressette. A little-changed descendant of Brusquembille, the ancestor of briscan and bezique, Briscola is a Mediterranean trick-taking ace–ten card game for two to six players, played with a standard Italian 40-card deck. The game can also be played with a modern Anglo-French deck, without the eight, nine and ten cards. With three or six players, twos are removed from the deck to ensure the number of cards in the deck is a multiple of the number of players; a single two for three players and all four twos for six players. The four and six-player versions of the game are played as a partnership game of two teams, with players seated such that every player is adjacent to two opponents.
Macau, also spelled Makaua or Macaua, is a shedding-type card game from Hungary, with similar rules to Crazy Eights or Uno and uses a standard 52 card deck. The object of the game is to be the first player to remove all cards from one's hand. Macau involves bluffing so that the players can save cards for later for a higher point value. Cheating is encouraged to add additional gameplay depth.
Pitch is the American name of the English trick-taking game of Blind All Fours which, in turn, is derived from classic All Fours. Historically, Pitch started as "Blind All Fours", a very simple All Fours variant that is still played in England as a pub game. The modern game involving a bidding phase and setting back a party's score if the bid is not reached came up in the middle of the 19th century and is more precisely known as Auction Pitch or Setback.
Sheng ji is a family of point-based, trick-taking card games played in China and in Chinese immigrant communities. They have a dynamic trump, i.e., which cards are trump changes every round. As these games are played over a wide area with no standardization, rules vary widely from region to region.
Daifugō or Daihinmin, also known as Tycoon, is a Japanese shedding-type card game for three or more players played with a standard 52-card pack. The objective of the game is to get rid of all the cards one has as fast as possible by playing progressively stronger cards than those of the previous player. The winner is called the daifugō earning various advantages in the next round, and the last person is called the daihinmin. In that following round, winners can exchange their one or more unnecessary cards for advantageous ones that losers have.
Switch is a shedding-type card game for two or more players that is popular in the United Kingdom, Ireland and as alternative incarnations in other regions. The sole aim of Switch is to discard all of the cards in one's hand; the first player to play their final card, and ergo have no cards left, wins the game. Switch is very similar to the games UNO, Flaps and Mau Mau, both belonging to the larger Crazy Eights or Shedding family of card games.
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".
Three thirteen is a variation of the card game Rummy. It is an eleven-round game played with two or more players. It requires two decks of cards with the jokers removed. Like other Rummy games, once the hands are dealt, the remainder of the cards are placed face down on the table. The top card from the deck is flipped face up and put beside the deck to start the discard pile.
Smear is a North-American trick-taking card game of the All Fours group, and a variant of Pitch (Setback). Several slightly different versions are played in Michigan, Minnesota, Northern and Central Iowa, Wisconsin and also in Ontario, Canada.
Egyptian Ratscrew (ERS) or Slap is a modern American card game of the matching family and popular with children. The game is similar to the 19th-century British card game beggar-my-neighbour, with the added concept of "slapping" cards when certain combinations are played, similar to and perhaps borrowed from Slapjack.
