- 52-card deck
- Often five cards each
Goal: Be the first to get rid of all your cards.
Setup
- Everyone gets the same number of cards.
- One card is turned up and the rest form the draw pile.
How to play
- Play a card of the same suit or rank as the top card.
- If you can’t, draw.
- Special cards speed things up: a 7 makes the next player draw 3 cards.
- A 7 played on a 7 passes the draw on, 3 more cards each time.
- A jack can go on anything and changes the suit.
- Other special cards depend on the table.
Scoring
- When someone goes out, everyone else writes down the points left in their hand.
- Use your table’s card values; a common set is ace 11, king, queen and jack 10, number cards their face value.
- Going out on a jack doubles the penalties.
Winning
- Anyone over the limit (e.g. 101) is out, or you play a set number of hands.
- Whoever has the fewest penalty points wins.
Note
Card points and special card meanings vary by table — agree on them before you start.