OBJECTIVE: To get rid of all your cards as fast as you can, and before all the other players.

NUMBER OF PLAYERS: 3-10 players

MATERIALS: 52 deck cards (no jokers)

RANK OF CARDS: A (High), K, Q, J, 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2

HOW TO DEAL: Split the cards evenly among players. Some players may have an extra card depending on how many are playing. All the cards are dealt and there is no stockpile for this game.

HOW TO PLAY: The person that has the ace of spades goes first. To play, a player places their card(s) face down in the middle of the table and announces their discard. For example, the player that throws out the first card would say, “one ace”. The turn then passes to the next player and they are required to throw out the next card in ranking order. In this example, the next card would be a two. The player has the option of throwing out all the twos in their hand in one discard.

If a player does not have a two in hand, they must discard an alternative card(s) but still claim it as a two, and hope that the other players believe them. If a player calls Bullcrap! then they are allowed to flip the cards over to see if they are actually what they’ve been claimed to be. If the cards do not match what the player stated, then the player that discarded must take the entirety of the stack into their hand. If the cards match what was claimed, then the player that called Bullcrap! is required to take the entirety of the stack into their hand. A player may not call Bullcrap! on themselves.

Remember that a player can discard more than one card at a time. For example, if you have three jacks in your hand and jack falls on your turn, then you can layout all three jacks in that one turn.

The game continues in this way until someone has run out of cards and is declared the winner.

OBJECTIVE:  The objective of Euchre is to win enough tricks to score 10 points.

NUMBER OF PLAYERS: 4 players

MATERIALS: 24 deck cards (Cards ranking 9 through A of each suit) and a way to keep score

RANK OF CARDS: The highest trump is the jack of the trump suit, called the "right bower." The second-highest trump is the jack of the other suit of the same color called the "left bower." (Example: If diamonds are trumps, the right bower is J♦ and left bower is J♥.) The remaining trumps, and also the plain suits, rank as follows: A (high), K, Q, J, 10, 9, 8, 7.

SCORING: The following shows all scoring situations:
• Partnership making trump wins 3 or 4 tricks – 1 point
• Partnership making trump wins 5 tricks – 2 points
• Lone hand wins 3 or 4 tricks – 1 point
• Lone hand wins 5 tricks – 4 points
• “Blind” Lone hand wins 3 or 4 tricks – 1 point
• “Blind” Lone hand wins 5 tricks – 8 points
• Partnership or lone hand is euchred, opponents score 2 points

OVERVIEW: Euchre is a trick-taking card game for 4 players. The goal is for you or your team to win 3 or more of the 5 tricks in a round. Euchre is a partnership game. There will be two teams of 2 with partners sitting opposite each other.

HOW TO DEAL: The dealer will shuffle and the player to their right may cut the deck. Then the dealer will deal each player a hand of 5 cards in batches of 3 and 2 cards. Dealing is done clockwise.

After dealing is done the remaining cards (the Kitty) are placed in the center of the play area and the top card is revealed. If any player accepts this suit as trumps, then the dealer may exchange one card from their hand with the exposed trump. The dealer passes to the left after each round.

HOW TO PLAY:
Declaring Trumps - Starting with the player left of the dealer each player may pass or accept the trump. If all 4 players pass then the revealed card is tucked under the deck and all players now have a chance to call a trump suit (it cannot be the same suit as the rejected card). If all players pass again the dealer must select one of the three remaining suits as trump.

Once a trump suit is accepted, the team of the players who called trumps becomes the declarers.

Playing Alone - If after declaring trumps the player who declared feels they would have an easier time winning alone they may declare, going alone. Their partner then lays their cards face down and does not participate in the round.

Gameplay - The first trick is led by the player left of the dealer, or if the player’s team is going alone then by the player across from the dealer. The following players must follow suit if able. If they cannot, they may play any card including trumps. The trick is won by the highest trump played, or of not applicable, by the highest card of the suit lead. The winner of the trick leads the next. If a player could have followed suit but did not, the round ends and the opposite team scores 2 points.

If the declaring team fails to take at least 3 tricks, they are euchred.

VARIATIONS:
Blind Loner - Before the player sees their cards, they may call “blind loner”. Here, the turn card is automatically trump, and the game is played by normal loner rules. If the Blind Loner wins all 5 tricks, 8 points are awarded to the player's team.

Farmers Hand - Weak hands containing either three 10 cards or three 9 cards) are designated as “farmer's hands”. After inspecting the hand dealt, a player may call out “farmer's hand” and is then allowed to show the three cards in question and exchange them for the three unexposed cards in the Kitty.

OBJECTIVE: To collect four of a kind and sign to your partner without getting caught.

NUMBER OF PLAYERS: 4, 6, or 8 players

MATERIALS: A standard 52-card deck

OVERVIEW: Party is an accumulating and shedding card game. It can be played with 4, 6, or 8 players in teams of 2. The goal of the game is to acquire a full set of 4 cards of the same rank, then you must signal to your partner without another team noticing and calling you out.

SETUP: Before the game begins all the teams should split off separately to determine together what their signal will be for the game. They want to make it something that both would notice, but not so noticeable that another team might suspect it. It would also be a good idea to come up with additional signals to throw the other teams off your track.

Once all teams are back together the game can start. A dealer will be chosen randomly. They will shuffle the deck and deal each player 4 cards.

GAMEPLAY: Once all players have received their cards the game begins with the dealer. They will draw the top card of the deck and decide if they wish to keep it or pass it.

If they decide to keep it, they will place it in their hand and choose a different card from their hand to pass on to the next person. If they decide to pass, they just pass it to the next person to their left.

Just as the dealer did other players will take the card passed to them and decide to either keep it and pass another card from their hand on or pass the card they were passed to the next player. The only difference is the last player does not pass their card but discards it to the side.

If the draw deck ever runs out before the game ends the dealer shuffles the discard pile and makes it the new draw pile, and the game continues.

Whenever a player has four of a kind in their hand they may signal to their partner. If their partner is the first to see it, they will shout “Party”. This wins their team the game. If an opponent sees what they believe is a team signaling they may call “Stop”. If they are correct and they were signaling a four of a kind their team wins the game.

END OF GAME: The game ends either when a team successfully calls “Party” and has four of a kind, or a team successfully calls “Stop” and the team they called out had a four of a kind. The team to make the correct call are the winners.

OBJECTIVE: To form as many melds as possible. A meld consists of three of more cards of the same rank, and jokers can be used as wild cards to help form melds.

NUMBER OF PLAYERS: 4 players

MATERIALS: Double 52-card decks plus four jokers (108 cards in total) / Specialty Canasta Deck

RANK OF CARDS: Joker, 2, A, K, Q, J, 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4 (highest to lowest)

POINT VALUES: In Canasta the value of cards is as follows:
• Cards values between 4 – 7 = 5 points
• Card values between 8 – K = 10 points
• Aces & Dueces = 20 points
• Jokers = 50pts
• Black 3 card = 5pts
• Red 3 cards = 100 or 200 points

PICKING PARTNERS: Partnerships are formed by drawing cards from the deck. The player that draws the highest card gets to choose their seat and goes first. The person with the second highest card becomes the partner of the player that drew the highest card. For the purpose of picking partners, card values are as such, A (high), K, Q, J, 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2 / Spades (high), hearts, diamonds, clubs. If player draws an equal card or joker, they must draw again. Partners sit across from one another.

HOW TO DEAL: Rotation of the deal follows clockwise and starts with the player to the right of the player that drew the highest card. Anyone can shuffle, but the dealer has the right to shuffle last. The player to dealer left cuts the deck after the last shuffle.

The dealer then passes 11 cards face down to each player, one at a time, dealing clockwise. The remaining cards are placed in the center of the table to serve as the stock. The top card of the stock deck should be turned over for all players to see. If the turn over card is a joker, two or three, another card must be turned on top of it until the upcard is a “natural” card (four or higher).

RED THREES: If a player is dealt a red three, they must place it face up on the table and replace it with another card. If a player draws a red three from the stock pile they must also place the card face up on the table in front of them and draw another card. Lastly, if a player picks up the red three from the discard pile they must table the card as well but is not required to pick up a replacement for the card.

Red threes are valued at 100 points a piece but if one team collects all four red threes then the value of the card raises to 200 points a piece. A team can only receive the value of the red threes if they have made a successful meld, if game pay ends and the team has made no meld, then the red threes are debited against their score.

GAMEPLAY: A player begins by drawing a card from the stockpile or picking up from the discard pile. The player then has the opportunity to lay down a meld if applicable and then discard one card to the discard pile to end their turn.

If the player chooses to take the top card of the discard pile to form a meld, then they are required to pick up the entirety of the discard pile.

HOW TO MAKE A MELD: A meld is a combination of three or more cards of the same rank. The rules state that you must have two “natural” cards to every one wildcard and a given meld is to have no more than three wildcards in total. A set of black threes may only be melded when a player is going out.

Any cards left in a player’s hand at the end of the game, even if it’s a meld, counts against the player’s score. Only the melds that have been placed on the table count as plus.

The opposing team can create melds of the same rank, and players can add on to existing melds as long as the meld remains valid (no more than three wild cards). Players cannot add to their opponent’s melds.

HOW TO CANASTA: A canasta is a run of 7 cards of the same rank. There are two types of canastas, a “natural” and an “unnatural” canasta. To make a natural canasta a player must obtain 7 cards of the same rank without the use of wildcards. A natural canasta is signified when the player lays the seven cards on the table, in a stack, and showing the value of the top card in red. For example, to display a natural canasta of 5’s a player would stack the cards and place either the heart or diamond of 5’s on the top. A natural canasta earns 500 points in addition to the point values of the cards in the canasta

An unnatural canasta is made when a run of 7 cards of the same rank is created with the use of wildcards (jokers, twos). This canasta is displayed by stacking the card and placing the black rank of the card on top of the pile. An “unnatural” canasta earns 300 points in addition to its regular base value points.

After the first round of play, and before the start of each round thereafter, players are to look at their current score and their score at that time will dictate how many points are needed for their first meld of the coming round. The values are as follows:
• Accumulated Score (at beginning of the deal) Minimum Count
• Minus Score = Meld must equal 15 points
• 0 to 1,495 score = Meld must equal 50 points
• 1,500 to 2,995 score = Meld must equal 90 points
• 3,000 or more = Meld must equal 120 points

The count of a meld is the total point value of the cards in it. To meet the minimum, a player may make two or more different melds. If they take the discard pile, the top card but no other may count toward the requirement. Bonuses for red threes and canastas do not count toward the minimum.

The minimum count is only required for the first meld, every meld thereafter is acceptable regardless of its’ value.

THE DISCARD PILE: Teams are not allowed to pick up from the discard pile until they have created their first meld. Once the initial meld is created, the discard pile is open to both partners.

Freezing the discard pile - If a red three (only possible if turned up as an upcard), black three, or wildcard is placed atop the discard pile, the pile is effectively frozen. To indicate the state of the frozen pile, the freezing card is placed at a perpendicular angle on the discard pile.

To unfreeze the pile, a natural card must be discarded atop the frozen pile and the pile must then be taken. Only by taking the pile will the pile unfreeze.

A player may take the discard pile only when:
1) The pile has been topped with a natural card
2) The player has a NATURAL pair already in hand that matches the top card of the discard pile.
3) The player shows the board that pair of natural cards in his hand before picking up the pile.

If the discard pile is not frozen a player may take from the discard pile as long as:
1) They have a pair of natural cards in hand that match the top card
or
2) They have one natural card and one wild card in hand to accompany the top card
or
3) They can add the top card to a meld they already has on the table

A player can then take the remaining cards from the pile into their hand to form other melds and discards one card to end their turn. Remember that picking up the discard pile is not an option until a team has met their initial meld requirement.

HOW TO GO OUT: A player cannot go out until the team has made at least one canasta. Once a canasta is a made a player may go out by either discarding their final card or adding it to an existing meld. A player is not required to discard when going out, and a player is not allowed to pick up the discard pile when they have only one card in hand and the discard pile has only one card in it.

A player can go out in a “concealed” hand, which means they meld the entirety of their hand in one turn. If a player goes out in this way and their partner has yet to meet the initial meld requirement, they are required to meet that initial requirement themselves.

HOW TO KEEP SCORE:
• For each natural canasta 500
• For each mixed canasta 30
• For each red three 100 (All four red threes count 800)
• For going out 100
• For going out concealed (extra) 100

Players must add up their score and minus the value of any cards left in their hand at the time of going out. Score is traditionally kept on a sheet of paper with two columns titled “we” and “they”.

It is important to keep proper score as it determines the amount needed for the initial meld each round.

The team that is the first to reach 5,000 points is the winner!

OBJECTIVE: The goal is to be the first player to get rid of all your cards.

NUMBER OF PLAYERS: 2-7 players

MATERIALS: 52 deck cards for 5 or less players and 104 cards for more than 5 players

HOW TO DEAL: Shuffle the deck, then the dealer must deal five cards to each player, or seven cards if there are only two players. The rest of the deck is placed in the center and the top card of the deck is flipped over for all players to see. If an eight is flipped over, randomly place it back inside the deck and turn over another card.

GAMEPLAY: The player to the left of the dealer goes first. They have the option of either drawing a card or playing a card on top of the discard pile. To play a card, the card played must either match the suit or the rank of the card shown on the discard pile. If you don’t have a card that can be played, then you must draw one from the pile. Once a player has either drawn from the pile or discarded, it then becomes the next players turn.

Eights are wild. When a player discards an eight, they get to state the suit that gets played next. For example, you play an eight, you can state hearts as the next suit, and the player after you must play a heart.

The first player to get rid of all their cards wins!

OBJECTIVE: To obtain a hand that totals 31 in cards of one suit; or to have a hand at the showdown whose count in one suit is higher than that of any other player.

MATERIALS: 52 deck cards (no jokers)

RANK OF CARDS: A (high), K, Q, J, 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2 (low)

SCORING: An Ace counts 11 points, face cards count 10 points, and all other cards count their face value.

HOW TO DEAL: The players cut for deal and the lowest card deals, the turn to deal alternates to the left. Three cards are dealt face down to each player; then three cards are dealt face up for a "widow."

GAMEPLAY: Before play begins, all players put an equal amount of chips into a pot. The player on the dealer's left has the first turn. On each turn, a player may take one card from the widow and replace it with one card from their hand (face up). (Variation: Players may exchange any number of cards with the widow in this manner.)

Players take turns, clockwise around the table, until one player is satisfied that the card values they hold will likely beat the other players. A player indicates this by "knocking" on the table. All other players then get one more turn to exchange cards. Then there is a showdown in which the players reveal their hands and compare values. The player with the highest total value of cards of the same suit wins the pot.

If there is a tie for the highest score, the player with the highest-ranking card wins. Example: K, Q, 6 (total 26) would beat Q, 9, 7 (also total 26). If there is a tie in the highest cards, the next highest cards are compared, and so on.

Any time a player holds exactly 31, they may "knock" immediately, and they win the pot. If a player knocks before the first round of exchanges have begun, the showdown occurs immediately with no exchange of cards.

After the pot has been won, all the players put in chips for the next hand.