Objective
Turn every card in your layout face up, each one in its proper place: an ace in the first spot, a 2 in the second, and so on up to 10. The first player to complete their layout wins the hand. Each win shrinks your layout for the next hand, so the game is a series of races that get shorter for the leaders.
Setup
Shuffle the decks you need together. Deal ten cards face down to each player, in two rows of five. Nobody looks at their cards. The top row holds the spots for ace through 5, left to right, and the bottom row holds 6 through 10.
Put the rest of the cards face down in the middle as the stock. The discard pile starts with the first card someone throws away.
How to play
On your turn, draw the top card of the stock or the top card of the discard pile. If it is a number card from ace to 10 and its spot in your layout is still face down, put it there face up. Pick up the card that was in that spot and play it the same way.
A jack is wild. Place it face up in any spot that still holds a face-down card, and take the card you uncover. If you later get the real card for a spot holding a jack, put the real card there and move the jack to another face-down spot, taking the card you uncover there.
Keep going until you reach a card you cannot use: a queen, a king, or a number whose spot is already filled with a face-up card. Discard it face up to end your turn.
If the stock runs out, shuffle the discard pile (all but its top card) to make a new stock.
- 1Draw from the stock or the discard pile
- 2Place a number card in its spot, face up
- 3Pick up the card it covered and keep going
- 4A jack fills any face-down spot
- 5Discard the first card you cannot use
Winning
There are no points. The first player to fill every spot in their layout wins the hand. For the next hand, the winner is dealt one card fewer. After one win, you play with spots ace through 9, and tens become dead cards for you. After two wins you play ace through 8, and so on. Everyone else keeps the same layout as before, and the winner of each hand plays first in the next.
The game ends when a player is down to a single spot and fills it with an ace or a jack. That player wins the game.
Variations
Kings wild: many families use kings as the wild card instead of jacks, with jacks and queens as dead cards. The game plays the same way.
One last turn: when a player completes their layout, everyone else gets one more turn. Anyone who also finishes moves down a card for the next hand.
Tips from the table
Always check the discard pile before you draw. If the top card fits a face-down spot, it is a sure start, while the stock is a gamble.
Use a jack on a spot whose number you have seen discarded a lot. If three 7s have already gone by, your 7 spot may be the hardest one to fill.
Keep an eye on what other players throw away and what they pick up. A card you discard could be the one that finishes their layout.
Count your face-down spots as the hand goes on. The fewer you have left, the more each draw from the discard pile is worth.
Video Guides Are on the Way
We’re filming Game Guides that walk through full hands at the table, from the deal to the score.
Frequently asked
Can I look at my face-down cards?
No. You only find out what they are when a card you place uncovers them.
What happens if I draw a number for a spot that is already filled?
You cannot use it, so it ends your turn. Discard it face up.
Can I move a jack after I place it?
Yes, but only when you get the real card for its spot. Put the real card down, then move the jack to any face-down spot.
How many decks do we need?
One deck for two players, two decks shuffled together for three or four, and three decks for five or six.
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