Rules For Card Games


The following are the rules for several of the card games (and one dice game) I enjoy playing.



500 Dice Game

Topic	Info
How many players	2-15
The dice	Five six-sided dice
Scoring	Ones are worth 100 points. Fives are worth 50 points. Three of a kind all rolled at one time are worth 100 times their pip value, for example three fours are worth 400 points. Note that three ones all rolled at the same time is worth 1000 points.
How to play	The play starts with a player rolling all five dice. The player looks at the dice and chooses at least one die to pull out and roll the rest for more points. Only dice worth points may be pulled out each time the dice are rolled. These would be ones, fives and three of a kinds, such as three sixes all rolled at the same time. A player must get 500 points in one turn to get their score on the board. So a player must continue taking out dice and rolling the rest of the dice until a minimum score of 500 is reached. Once the initial 500 point level is reached in one turn, that player may take a lower score on subsequent rounds. A player must say when to stop and keep their score. If a player ever rolls the dice with no new dice that can be pulled out for scoring, then that player gets no score for that round and the play passes to the next player. If a player ever pulls out all five of the dice for scoring, then that player has an option of rolling all five dice again to contiinue adding to the score for that round. In other words, the play doesn't stop until the player says to stop or no scoring dice are rolled. Example play: Player rolls five dice showing 1, 4, 4, 5, 6 on the tops of the dice. The player may choose to take out the one for 100 points, the five for 50 points or both the one and the five for 150 points. The player may roll the rest of the dice to see what points he or she can earn the next throw. If the player wishes to stop at 150 points for that round, then the rest of the dice are not rolled and all five dice are passed to the next player.
How to win	Once a player has reached 5000 points, everyone else gets one more try to beat the score. The player with the highest score at the end of this final round wins.

Go Fish

Topic	Info
How many players	2-6
The deck	Single deck, no jokers
Different versions	This game may be played to look for pairs of cards or for four of a kinds. The younger players may enjoy playing for pairs more than looking for sets of four.
Deal how many	Deal seven cards to each player.
How to play	The play starts with the player to the left of the dealer. The player looks at his cards and asks any of the other players if they have one of the cards he has in his hand. If the other player does have the card, then that player must hand all of that card to the one who asked for it. Once the cards are handed to the player who asked, then that player pulls out the pair or four of a kind and takes another turn. The pairs or sets of four are put aside until they are counted in the end of the game. If the other player does not have the card requested, then that player says, Go Fish! The player who did the asking then draws a card from the pile and the play continues with the next player.
How to win	Once a player is out of cards in their hand, count how many pairs or four of a kinds each player has. The player with the most wins.

Crazy Eights

Topic	Info
How many players	2-5
The deck	Single deck, no jokers
Special cards	The eight is a wild card and can be played at any time to change the suit to whatever the player chooses.
Deal how many	Deal eight cards to each player.
How to play	One card is placed face up next to the remainer of the deck after cards are dealt. The play starts with the player to the left of the dealer. The player plays a card on top of the up card that matches the suit or the number of the card. (Example: a 3 can be played on another 3 or a heart can be played on another heart) Once a player has played one card, the play continues to the next player to the left. If a player cannot play an eight, the same number or the same suit on the up card, then the player draws cards until he has a playable card. (Note: for younger players the number of cards drawn can be limited to two or three with the play passing if no playable card is drawn)
How to win	The first player who plays all of his or her cards wins.

I Don't Believe You (or BS)

Topic	Info
How many players	3-6
The deck	Single deck, no jokers
Deal how many	Deal out the entire deck to the players. It is okay if some players get a slightly different amount of cards.
How to play	The entire game is based on bluffing and calling bluffs. Each player takes turns placing cards face down on the center pile. The first player plays all of his or her aces and declares how many aces he or she is placing on the pile. For example, if the player had two aces in his hand, then he or she could place those two aces face down in the center and say out loud Two Aces. The play continues with the second player playing all of his or her twos and the third player playing all of his or her threes. Once kings are played, then it starts over again with aces. If a player does not have any of the card that is to be played, then that player must bluff and place cards down on the pile that are not correct. This player hopes none of the other players calls his or her bluff. If any player believes the person who just played is bluffing, then they can say I don't believe you or BS. When this happens, the cards that were just played are turned over to see if they actually match what was said out loud. If the cards match what was said out loud, then the person calling the bluff gets the pile of cards. If the cards do NOT match what was said out loud, then the person who played the cards gets the whole pile. Note: A person could put two threes, a five and a king in a pile and say it was three sixes. The card faces and the number of cards don't have to match if the player doesn't want them to match. This adds to the bluff and gives the other players more things to examine when a bluff is called.
How to win	The first player who plays all of his or her cards and doesn't get a bluff called, wins.

Spoons

Topic	Info
How many players	3-10
The deck	Single deck, no jokers (Note: jokers may be added for extra cards to pass around)
Special equipment	The game is called Spoons because it is traditionally played with one spoon less than the number of players (four spoons are needed for a five player game). The spoons are placed in the center, where all players can reach them.
Deal how many	Deal four cards to each player.
How to play	Once the cards are dealt, the dealer places the rest of the deck to his or her right. All players play at the same time once the dealer has started the game. The dealer picks up a card from the deck and chooses to keep it or pass it. The object is to get four of a kind, such as four Jacks. A card must be passed, so that each player only has four cards in their hand. When a card is passed, it is placed to the left of the player, so that the next player can pick it up and choose to keep it or pass it. Once the original deck is gone, the dealer continues to pick cards from the player to his or her right. Once a player has four of a kind, that player slowly or quickly takes a spoon from the center of the playing area. Once anyone sees one spoon missing or sees another player holding a spoon, then each player should take one of the remaining spoons. Note: Some players really get involved with finding four of a kind. These players occasionally do not see the spoons missing while other players are still passing cards or trying to hang spoons off of their noses. Eventually the final player does see the lack of spoons in the center.
How to lose	The player with no spoon loses. Please verify that someone did actually get four of a kind.

9 Hole Golf

Topic	Info
How many players	2-10
The deck	Double deck, with jokers
Special cards	Jokers are zero points Jacks are zero points Aces are one point each Queens and Kings are ten points each
Deal how many	Deal out four cards to each player. No one should look at the cards at this time. One card is placed face up in the center or the playing area, next to the deck of cards.
How to play	Each player arranges their face down cards into a two by two pattern on the table in front of them. On the first turn for each player, he or she peeks at the bottom two cards. This is the only time cards are peeked at until the end of the game. Once the bottom two cards are seen, each play continues with the decision to use the face up card in the middle or draw a card from the pile. If a card is drawn from the pile, then the player chooses to use it or discard it face up in the center for the next player to decide if they want it. If the player chooses to use the card on the pile or a card he or she draws from the deck, then that card is used to replace one of the four face down cards. The card is left face down, so only the player knows what it is. The card which has been replaced is discarded face up on the pile in the middle for the next person to decide if they want it. The play continues until a player knocks on the table in place of taking their turn. This signals that they think their score is lowest. Everyone else gets one more turn before cards are turned up to reveal the actual points for each player. If the person who knocked on the table does not have the lowest score, then ten points are added to the points they have in cards.
How to win	After nine games (or holes of golf) are played, the person with the cumulative LOWEST score wins.

99

Topic	Info
How many players	2-15
The deck	Double deck, no jokers
Special cards	Ace is one or eleven (either one or eleven is added to the total) Four is reverse (the play changes directions and goes back to the previous player - the total does not change) Nine is pass (the play passes to the next player - the total does not change) Ten is minus ten (subtract ten from the total) Jacks and Queens are ten (add ten to the pile) Kings are 99 (whatever the total is, it changes to 99 - multiple Kings may be played on top of each other and the total is still 99)
Deal how many	Deal three cards to each player.
How to play	Once the cards are dealt, the player to the left of the dealer starts the game with the first card added to the pile in the center and starts the total of the pile. When a card is placed on the pile, the player announces the new total of the pile. (Example: 1st player plays a 7 and says seven - 2nd player plays a 5 and says twelve - 3rd player plays a Jack and says twenty-two) Each player must draw a replacement card after each play. If a player does not draw a card before the next player plays, then that player plays with only two cards, instead of three. Once the total gets into the 90's, it becomes difficult to play cards. This is when the special cards are usually played. Keep in mind a Ten or a King may be played at any time, so that there can be a negative total or a total can go from 57 to 99 in one turn. The round stops when a player is no longer able to play any of their cards. This player is excluded from the next round or for younger players, continue playing with all players.
How to win	The last player to make a valid play wins.

Casino

Topic	Info
How many players	2
The deck	Single deck, no jokers
Special cards	Two of spades is the Little Casino and is worth one point. The ten of diamonds is the Big Casino and is worth two points. Aces are worth one point each and they count as one for purposes of adding. Getting the most spades is worth one point. Getting the most cards is worth three points. Face cards are not used in adding cards. They can only be used to match to each other (Jacks to Jacks, Queens to Queens, Kings to Kings).
Deal how many	Deal four cards to each player and four cards face up in the middle for the first hand of the round (each time the deck is shuffled). After the first hand, deal four cards to each player until all the cards are used. Remember to call cards when the last hand of cards are dealt for each shuffle of the deck.
How to play	The play starts with the player who did not deal. Each turn a player must either take cards from the face up cards or play a card face up. Cards are taken several ways. One way is by matching a card in the hand with a card face up (such as having a 3 in the hand and a 3 face up). On the player's turn take the 3 out of the hand and lay it down on top of the face up three to let the other player see the play. Then take the two cards and place them face down in the player's pile to be counted at the end of the round (end of shuffled deck). Another way to take cards is to add face up cards to equal the total of a card in the hand (such as taking a 2 and 4 with a 6 in the hand). On the player's turn, stack the 2 and 4 on top of each other, then lay the 6 from the hand down on the pile to let the other player see the play. Then take the three cards and place them face down in the player's pile. This play can be done in one turn with as many face up cards that add up to the total of the card in the hand (such as also having an Ace and a 5 face up to add to the 6 in the hand). Yet another way to take cards, which is more risky, is to build up to the total of a card in the hand using another card in the hand (such as taking a 5 with a 3 in the hand and an 8 in the hand). The risky part of this play is that only one card can be played from the hand each turn. So the three is placed on top of the 5 and the player calls 8. The play then passes to the next player who could pick it up with his own 8 or add to it to make it another total. This 8 must be picked up the next round, unless another card is picked up. The player making the pile may not lay down another card face up until the 8 pile is picked up. Stacking is another risky way to take cards. If the player has more than one of the same card in his or her hand (such as two 9's) and there are cards that add up to 9, then a pile of the cards adding to 9 can be gathered and one of the 9's from the hand is placed on top of the pile. The player calls stacking 9's and the play passes to the next player. The next player may pick up the pile of 9's with a 9 in his or her hand, but may not change the total of the pile to a 10 with an Ace. If the pile is still there, then the player who made the stack must take it or pick up something else. A card may not be played face up before taking the stack of 9's. On the last hand of the shuffled deck, the dealer must call cards while dealing the cards. This announces a different rule for the last hand. The play continues as normal until all the cards are played. The last player to take something from the face up cards is the one who gets whatever is left face up after the last play. This way all the cards are taken at the end of the shuffled deck. Once the last cards of the deck are played, each player counts the points in their pile of taken cards (Aces one each, 2S one point, 10D two points, most spades one point, most cards three points). The totals are tallied, the deck is shuffled and the deal passes to the next player. Note: if the total number of cards are split evenly between the two players, no one gets the three points for cards and not all eleven points are scored.
How to win	The first player to get a total of 21 points (or the highest score if both players go over 21 the same round) wins. This can take several rounds of shuffled decks of cards. An alternate way to win is for one player to get all 11 possible points in one round. This means that no matter what the score is at any time, either player could win with the next round.

Spite 'n' Malice

Topic	Info
How many players	2-3 or more if you add another deck
The deck	Double deck, with jokers - optionally more decks can be added for more players
Special cards	Ace must be used to start a new pile and cannot be substituted with a wild card Two must be used as the second card on a new pile and cannot be substituted with a wild card Seven must be used as the seventh card on a pile and cannot be substituted with a wild card Kings and Jokers are wild cards and can be used to substitute for any card, except for Aces, Twos and Sevens. Note: no more than two wild cards may be played on any one sequential pile in the center. There is no limit to the number of wild cards that may be added to the discard piles.
Deal how many	Deal fifteen cards face down to each player to make the pile they try to get rid of during the game. Make a neat pile and turn the top card up. Then deal five cards to each player for their hands.
How to play	Once the cards are dealt, the player to the left of the dealer starts the game. Each turn a player can play cards on the piles in the center which build up from Ace to Queen. A player does not have to play cards on the piles if he or she does not want to play on them. Each turn starts with drawing cards until the hand has five cards. This is not needed on the first play since five cards are dealt. Each turn ends when a card is discarded onto one of four discard piles each player has available to them for play during their turn. Players cannot use each other's discard piles, but all players play on the piles in the center. Discard piles are played in reverse order they are built, so that only the last card placed on each pile is available for play during the player's turn. Cards can become burried in these piles and may be hard to get to, so build piles carefully. Since each turn ends with discarding a card on the discard piles, then if a player plays all five cards in his or her hand, the player must draw five new cards and continue to play or discard. A player may draw five new cards as many times as needed during a turn. Once piles in the center are built up sequentialy from an Ace to a Queen, the piles are shuffled and used to replenish the cards to be drawn for each turn. This gives new hope that a much needed Ace, Two or Seven will come into a player's hand. During a turn a player can play cards from his or her hand, discard piles and the pile of fifteen cards dealt in the beginning of the game. The first person to play all of the cards in that stack of 15 cards is the winner of the game, so don't forget to play those cards, even if the same card is avaialble in the player's hand or discard piles. This is a common mistake. The spite and malice of the game comes in when players intentionally play on the piles for the sole reason of blocking the other player(s) from playing cards from their pile of 15 cards. Cards from the piles of fifteen can only be played on the sequential piles in the center. They cannot be played on the four discard piles. The discard piles can only be added to from cards in the player's hand. Some people use card hoarding as a strategy. This strategy of holding onto cards the other player(s) need can be a good or bad strategy. If the whole game comes to a halt because there are no cards to be played due to card hoarding, then there is no way for anyone to win. If there are no piles in the center and a player does not have an Ace to play, then the only option is for that player to discard a card onto his or her discard piles and the play continues to the next player. The inability to play a card on the center piles can happen at any time. Players have the choice to play on the center piles or not on each turn. There is no manditory playing of cards on the center piles. Don't forget to turn over the next card in that pile of fifteen cards when the top card is played. It might be a card that can be played right away and a fast play of other cards before turning over the next card may result in not being able to play the next card in the pile. Remember that getting rid of this pile is the goal of the game.
How to win	The first player to play all of his or her cards from the original pile of fifteen cards dealt face down wins. A player does not need to discard on the discard piles on the last turn.

Canasta

Topic	Info
How many players	2 - See other variations for how to play with three and four players.
The deck	Double deck, with jokers
Special cards	Twos and Jokers are wild cards and can be used in melding and completing canastas (no more than three wild cards on a single canasta) Red Threes are special bonus cards. If a three of hearts or a three of diamonds is drawn, lay it face up on the table and draw a card to replace it. Black Threes are most often used as discard cards, since the red threes cannot be used to make canastas.
Deal how many	Deal eleven cards to each player when drawing two cards each turn. Deal thirteen cards to each player when drawing one card each turn. One card is turned face up next to the pile for the first person to pick up if desired. Note: If a red three or a wild card is turned up as the first card, turn up another card on top of the first card to start the game.
How to play	Once the cards are dealt, the player to the left of the dealer starts the game by discarding any red threes and drawing to replace them. At the start of each turn, a player decides to pick up the pile or draw from the pile to start their turn. Only one of these choices can be made. If a player chooses to draw, they draw one or two cards depending on the initial deal of 13 or 11 cards. Once the player draws, then the player melds, adds to an existing meld or just discards. A card must be discarded at the end of each turn, unless the player is going out that turn, then discarding is optional. If a red three is drawn, then it is placed on the table and a card is drawn to replace it. If a player chooses to pick up the pile, the player must prove that the top card can be used without the use of the other cards in the pile. If it is the first time that player (or team if playing with four players) has picked up the pile for that hand, then the player must have a pair of the top card in their hand in order to pick up the pile. (If there is a king on the top of the pile, then the player must have at least two kings in their hand and show at least two of them to prove they can pick up the pile.) If the player has already melded for this hand, then they can use the top card on one of the existing melds without using any cards from their hand if they wish. The player who picks up the pile gets the entire pile of discards. Any cards picked up that cannot be played during that turn become part of the player's hand. Once a player has picked up the pile or drawn cards, they must meld, play on existing melds or discard. A card must be discarded at the end of each turn. If a player discards a wild card onto the pile, it is placed sideways for everyone to see it in the pile and the next player who picks up the pile must have a pair of the top card in their hand at the time they pick up the pile, even if they have previously melded cards where the top card can be used. A player cannot go out until he has made one or more canastas. A canasta is seven cards of one kind (including no more than three wild cards). A player may not discard their last card without having at least one canasta, since playing all cards in a player's hand ends the hand. A canasta of wild cards is not allowed, so melding wild cards without natural cards is not allowed and picking up the pile with a wild card on top is also not allowed. Once a canasta is made, more natural cards can still be added to that canasta and add to the overall total points at the end of the hand.
Card points	Card points are used in determining the amount of points in the initial meld as well as determining the score for the hand. Black Threes, Fours, Fives, Sixes, Sevens and Eights are worth 5 points each. Nines, Tens, Jacks, Queens and Kings are worth 10 points each. Aces and Twos are worth 20 points each. Jokers are worth 50 points each. Red Threes are worth 100 points. They are a positive 100 points if the player has an initial meld and negative 100 points if the hand ends before the player has an initial meld.
Melding	Melding is the act of placing cards on the table for the first time in the round. A meld consists of sets of at least three cards of each kind. This can be with the use of three natual cards or the use of two natural cards and a wild card. The minimum amount of points needed in the meld is determined by how many overal game points the player has. A player may meld with more than the minimum points. If the player has a negative score, then only 15 points are needed in the initial meld. If the player has 0-1495 points, then 50 points are needed in the initial meld. If the player has 1500-2995 points, then 90 points are needed in the initial meld. If the player has 3000 or more points, then 120 points are needed in the initial meld.
Scoring the hand	Once a player has ended a hand with the required canasta and playing all cards, then the scoring for the hand is calculated. Any player with cards left in their hand when another player goes out has those card points counted as negative points. The player who went out gets 100 points for going out, unless they went out in the same turn they played their initial meld and in that case it is 200 points for going out in one turn. Natural canastas have no wild cards in them and are designated with a red card on top of the pile. These are worth 500 points plus the card points for the cards used in the canasta (usually counted after all initial points are recorded). Unnatural canastas have one, two or three wild cards in them and are designated with a black card on top of the pile. These are worth 300 points plus the points for the cards used in the canasta (usually counted after all initial points are recorded). Red Threes count as 100 points each if the player has melded, negative 100 points each if the player has not melded and 1000 points if the player has all four red threes. Once all of the above points have been recorded, then each player counts the card points for all cards played, except for any red threes. The person keeping score adds up the points for the hand and adds them to previous hands and announces the current scores and how much each player must meld in the next hand, since it is based on total game points.
How to win	The player with the highest score over 5000 points wins the game. This will take several hands of playing to get to this score.
Other variations	When three players are playing, the game is called Nasty Canasta. This is because every player is playing for themselves, until the pile is picked up or someone goes out. The first player to pick up the pile is playing by himself or herself and the other two players are a team and group their points. If a person goes out without anyone picking up the pile for that hand, then they are by themselves and the other two players are a team. The scoring for Nasty Canasta has a score for each player, since teams change eaachc hand and red threes belong to the individual players, instead of the team. When four players are playing, there are two teams of two people who sit opposite of each other at the table. The melding and picking up of the pile for the first time only has to be done by one of the two players on a team and the scoring is done for the team as one score. It is considered polite to ask the partner if it is okay to go out, but it is not required when the element of surprise is desired.

War

Topic	Info
How many players	2-10
The deck	Single deck, no jokers
Special cards	Ace is high
Deal how many	Deal all of the cards.
How to play	Each player holds their cards in their hand or in front of them face down. Each player turns up the top card from their pile and places it in the center. The player with the highest card turned face up gets the cards and places them at the bottom of their pile of cards. If both cards are the same, then there is a war. For a war, each player places three cards face down and then a fourth face up. The one with the highest face up card wins all of the cards in the war. This is how players can win aces.
How to win	The player with all of the cards wins.

Four Aces

Topic	Info
How many players	1
The deck	Single deck, no jokers
Special cards	Ace is high
How to play	Lay out four cards face up. Check to see if any of the four cards has the same suit. If any cards have the same suit, pull off the lowest card in the same suit and place it face down in a discard pile. Once all the top cards are the same suit, then lay out four more cards on top of the previous cards or empty spaces. If there is an ace on top of one of the piles and there is an empty space, then the ace can be moved to the empty space.
How to win	End up with all four aces up and all other cards in the discard pile.

Matching Pairs

Topic	Info
How many players	1
The deck	Single deck, no jokers
How to play	Lay out eight cards in two rows of four. Check to see if any of the four cards has the same face value. If any cards have the same face value, lay another card on top of two of the cards with the same face value.
How to win	Lay out all of the cards in the entire deck (two at a time).

Add To 15

Topic	Info
How many players	1
The deck	Single deck, no jokers
Special cards	Ace is worth one.
How to play	Lay out sixteen cards in four rows of four. Pull off cards in the same suit that add up to fifteen. Do not use the tens, or face cards for this. Pull off all four tens, jacks, queens, and kings at one time. Or pull off each set of ten, jack, queen and king in the same suit at one time. Lay the pulled off cards face down in a discard pile. Fill in any of the empty places with new cards from the rest of the deck. When there are no more plays and there are still cards in the deck, then one card may be turned up from the deck to see if it can be used with the other cards. If it doesn't help, then the game is done.
How to win	All cards in the deck are placed in the discard pile.

Clock

Topic	Info
How many players	1
The deck	Single deck, no jokers
Special cards	Aces are one. Jacks are eleven. Queens are twelve. Kings are the center cards.
How to play	Lay out twelve piles of four in a circle to look like the face of a clock. Lay out the remainder four cards in a pile in the center of the clock. Turn up the top card on the center pile. Place the turned up card at the bottom of the corresponding pile. Example: If a nine is turned up, then it would be placed at the bottom of the left most pile in the circle. Turn up the top card of the pile that just had a card added to it. Place the turned up card at the bottom of the corresponding pile. If a king is turned up, it is placed at the bottom of the center pile. The game ends when the fourth king is turned up.
How to win	All cards in the deck are face up in the clock tableau.

Face Cards On The Edge

Topic	Info
How many players	1
The deck	Single deck, no jokers
Special cards	Face cards are for the edge locations and all other cards are used to add to ten with Aces equaling one.
How to play	Lay out sixteen cards face up in a four by four formation. Place any face cards on the edges with Kings in the corners, Queens at the top and bottom and Jacks on the left and right sides of the grid. Once the first sixteen cards are placed on the grid, take out cards that add to ten or are tens, suit doesn't matter. These cards are placed face down in a discard pile. Fill in the holes of the grid with cards from the rest of the deck, making sure to place the face cards in the correct location. If a face card is turned up and there is no place for it, then the game is lost. Continue taking cards adding to ten or tens off the grid and replacing them until the deck is done or until there is no place for a face card.
How to win	All face cards are in the correct locations on the grid (Kings in the corners, Queens at the top and bottom and Jacks on the two sides).

Four Piles

Topic	Info
How many players	1
The deck	Single deck, no jokers
Special cards	None
How to play	Make four piles of four cards each in a column to the left of the playing area. Turn up the top card in each pile. Turn up the next card in the deck and place it face up next to the top pile. The suit of this card determines which cards go in this row. The face value of this card determines what card starts each row below it. Turn up three cards at a time and place them face up in a pile. The top card is available for play. Place any card with the matching suit of the first row card on top of that card and slightly to the right, so the value of each card can still be seen. If a card with the same value as the first card in the first row is turned up, then place that in the second row. This will determine the suit of the second row. A card may only be placed in the second row if it matches the suit of the first card in the row and the face value of the card has already been played in the top row. A card may only be placed in the third row if it matches the suit of the first card in the row and the face value of the card has been played in the second row. A card may only be placed in the fourth row if it matches the suit of the first card in the row and the face value of the card has been played in the third row. The cards from the four piles to the left of the playing area can be played at any time. The deck of cards can be picked up and turned over three at a time as many times as needed. It may not be shuffled.
How to win	All cards are played in the four rows (there are no piles left and there are no cards left in the deck).

Gold Token has some nice board games to play online. You do not have to be online at the same time as the other players. When it is your turn, the game is listed at the top of the page and you play.

Home Page last updated 10/13/08