Slapjack Rules

Slapjack is a very simple card game especially popular among children.

Players: You will need at least two players, preferably three or four.

Cards: Use a standard 52 card deck with no cards being discarded.

Object: The game is won by the player who has won all of the cards in the deck.

Before play:

· Players should be situated in a circle close enough to the center, where there will be a discard pile, such that they can each reach the center with their hand.

· The dealer shuffles the deck.

· The dealer then deals out all of the cards in the deck, one at a time to each player, face down. Depending on the number of players, everyone may not receive the exactly same number of cards. That is okay.

· Players may not look at their own cards (or anyone else's!).

· Each player will then have a stack of cards face-down in front of them.

Game play:

· Play moves in a clockwise direction beginning with the person to the left of the dealer.

· He will take the top card from his stack and place it in the center, turning it face-up as he does so.

· It is important that as he turns cards to face up, he turn it away from himself so that he is not able to get a peek at the card before the other players. This also encourages him to turn the card over quickly so that the other players do not gain an advantage over him.

· Play continues in this manner around the table until a jack is laid on the discard pile.

· When a jack is laid down, the race is on to see who can be the first to place their hand palm-down on the card first, or in other words, “slap” it. Hence the name of the game.

· The first person to slap the jack wins all of the cards in the discard pile. These cards are then added to his stack of cards, which are then re-shuffled after doing so.

· If more than one person slaps at the jack, the person whose hand is on the bottom (directly in contact with the jack) wins.

· Of course, this is when the game gets really fun. But it is also where the game can get a little crazy. Don't be shy about going for the jack, but don't be mean, either. No one wants to get bruises or broken fingers, or even see a fight break out over a card game. If your group has any of the ultra-competitive types in it you may want to recruit an impartial referee.

· Play then continues as before beginning with the person left of player that just won the discard pile.

· A player who loses all their cards can still get back in the game by being the first to slap the next jack that appears, thereby winning the cards in the discard pile. If he does not win then, however, he is out of the game.

· If a player gets overanxious and slaps a card that is not a jack (it happens more than you might think!), he is penalized by being required to give his next card, face down, to the player who laid that card.

Winning:

When one player has won all of the cards in the deck, he is declared the winner and the game is over. Alternatively, some people prefer to play with a time limit, where the person with the most cards when time expires is the winner.