How to Play Snip Snap Snorem

Objective

Get rid of all your cards before anyone else. Cards leave your hand only when you match the rank of the card just played, or when you start a new round, so a hand full of different ranks empties slowly. Along the way, every time you cannot match, you pay a chip into the pot, and the winner collects it all.

Setup

Give everyone the same number of chips, counters or buttons. Each player puts one chip into the pot before the deal.

Choose a dealer and deal the whole deck, one card at a time, face down to the left. With some numbers of players a few people will have one card more than the others. That is fine, and at some tables the players with fewer cards put in one extra chip to even things up.

How to play

The player to the dealer’s left starts by laying any card face up in the middle. Play then moves to the left.

The next player who holds a card of the same rank must play it, saying “Snip!” The next one to match it says “Snap!” and the player who lays the fourth card of that rank says “Snorem!” If it is your turn and you cannot match, say “pass,” put one chip in the pot, and play moves on.

The player who calls “Snorem” has finished the set of four. They start the next round by laying down any card they choose.

Keep going around the table. You must play a matching card when you have one, even if you would rather hold it.

1. 1Lead any card to start a round
2. 2Match the rank in turn, calling “Snip,” then “Snap”
3. 3The player who plays the fourth card calls “Snorem” and leads next
4. 4No match? Pass and pay one chip to the pot

Winning

There is no point score. The first player to play their last card wins the hand and takes everything in the pot.

If you want to keep playing, pass the deal to the left, everyone puts in a fresh chip, and play again. Stop after an agreed number of hands or when someone runs out of chips; whoever has the most chips at the end is the overall winner.

Some tables settle the hand differently: instead of chips for passing, each loser pays the winner one chip for every card still in their hand.

Variations

Earl of Coventry: the same game with rhyming calls instead of chips. The leader says something like “There’s as good a five as can be,” the next says “There’s a five as good as he,” the third “There’s the best of all the three,” and the fourth “And there’s the Earl of Coventry.”

Jig: instead of matching rank, players build up in sequence within the suit, so a 6 of hearts is followed by the 7, 8, 9 and 10 of hearts. The calls are “Snip,” “Snap,” “Snorem,” “Hicockalorum” and “Jig,” and the player who calls “Jig” leads next.

For young children, drop the chips altogether and just play for the first empty hand.

Tips from the table

When you lead, pick a rank you hold more than one of. You are more likely to get another turn on it, and you shed cards faster.

Give everyone a decent stack of chips, at least twenty. Passing costs one chip at a time, but a hand full of different ranks can pass several times in a single round.

Say the calls out loud and with gusto. Half the fun of this game is the noise, and it keeps everyone paying attention.

Frequently asked