How to play Kemps & Game Rules with Video – PlayingCardDecks.com

(Above is the set up for the card game Kemps)

(Above is the set up for the card game Kemps)

Card Game Rules

Kemps is a matching card game for four, six, or eight players. Teams are made up of two players each. Kemps requires a standard 52 playing card deck and is suitable for ages 8 and up. The objective of Kemps is to be the first team to have a four of a kind.

For more classic card games, check out our guides for Devil’s Grip and Crazy Eights.

If you are looking for cards to play Kemps with, check out a standard deck here or check out one of our more recent arrivals here.

 

Set Up

Teammates should devise a non-verbal gesture/signal that only they know. This can be a wink, a sniff, a face scratch etc.

To set up a game of Kemps, players sit around a stable gameplay area, across from their teammate. Before gameplay can begin, every player draws a card from a shuffled deck. The player with the highest card becomes the first dealer. Ties are broken by a redraw. The dealer then shuffles the deck and passes out four cards faced down to each player. The remaining deck becomes the stock.

 

How to Play

Gameplay begins when the dealer flips over the top four cards of the stock pile and arranges them in a 2×2 grid, face up, in the middle of the gameplay area. Once the dealer finishes arranging the grid, players can begin swapping their cards with the cards in the grid. The goal is to have a four of a kind in your hand. There are no turns. Players swap cards as they please. Players must always have four cards in their hand and there must always be four cards in the middle. If no player wants to swap with the cards in the middle, then the dealer discards the grid and forms a new one with the next four cards in the stock.

Once a player has a four of a kind, they try to signal to their teammate with the non-verbal gesture they arranged before the game began. When the teammate picks up on the signal, they say “Kemps” and the round ends.

After each round, teammates devise a new secret gesture. 

 

Scoring

A team that successfully says Kemps receives one point.

If a player says “Kemps” without their teammate having a four of a kind, one point is subtracted from their score.

If a player believes an opposing team has a four of a kind and they say “Cut” before the other team says “Kemps”, they receive a point. If they say “Cut” and the other team does not have a four of a kind, they lose a point.

Gameplay continues until a team receives an agreed upon number of points to win.

Looking for more card games to play?  Check out this article:

40+ Great Card Games For All Occasions

About the author: John Taylor is a content writer and freelancer through the company Upwork.com. You may view his freelancing profile here. He has a B. A. in English, with a specialty in technical writing, from Texas A&M University and a M. A. in English from the University of Glasgow. You may view his previous articles about card games here and his LinkedIn profile here.

John Taylor Head shot

Last update date: 12/29/20

How to play Trash & Game Rules with Video – PlayingCardDecks.com

(Above is the set up for the card game Trash)

(Above is the set up for the card game Trash)

Card Game Rules

Trash, or Garbage, is a classic card game for two player. It requires a standard 52 playing card deck and is suitable for ages 8 and up. The objective of Trash is to be the first person with a complete hand of 10 cards.

For more classic card games, check out our guides for Kemps and Crazy Eights.

If you are looking for cards to play Trash with, check out a standard deck here or check out one of our more recent arrivals here.

Set Up

To set up a game of Trash, players need to first sit around a suitable gameplay area. Before gameplay can begin, every player draws a card from a shuffled deck. The player with the highest card becomes the first dealer. Ties are broken by a redraw. The dealer then shuffles the deck and passes out ten cards, faced down, arranged in a 2 x 5 grid. Players do not look at these cards.

The remaining deck forms the the stock pile.

In Trash, Aces are 1, 2s-10s are their face value, Jacks are wildcards and Queens and Kings are unplayable.

How to Play

The player who doesn’t deal the cards starts the game. The first player draws from the stock. If they can play the card (meaning Ace through Jack) the player places the card in the appropriate spot on their grid. If they drew an Ace, for instance, they would place it in the top left position of the grid; a 10 would be the bottom right and so on. When they place a card on the grid, they flip over the faced down card previously in that position. If they can use that card then they do the same thing until they get a card they cannot play (meaning a King, Queen, or a card they have already played).

When they have an unplayable card, they place it face up beside the stock pile, forming the discard pile, and player 2 begins their turn.

Starting with player 2’s first turn, players can choose to either draw from the stock pile or the discard pile.

The first player to fill out their entire grid wins the round

Scoring

The player who won the previous round removes one card from their grid. This means that the 10 will be unplayable for them in round 2, the 9 in round 3, and etc. 

A player wins the game when they only have one card in their grid and draw an Ace or Jack.

For more information, check out Pagat’s article here.

Looking for more card games to play?  Check out this article:

40+ Great Card Games For All Occasions

About the author: John Taylor is a content writer and freelancer through the company Upwork.com. You may view his freelancing profile here. He has a B. A. in English, with a specialty in technical writing, from Texas A&M University and a M. A. in English from the University of Glasgow. You may view his previous articles about card games here and his LinkedIn profile here.

John Taylor Head shot

Last update date: 02/08/21

How to play Spoil Five & Game Rules with Video – PlayingCardDecks.com

(Above is the set up for the card game Spoil Five)

(Above is the set up for the card game Spoil Five)

Card Game Rules

Spoil Five is a casino game for two to ten players. It requires a standard 52 playing card deck and poker chips. The objective of Spoil Five is to win 3 or more tricks in a round.

For other casino type games, see our guides for Texas Hold’em Poker and Seven Card Stud Poker.

If you are looking for cards to play Spoil Five with, check out a standard deck here or check out one of our more recent arrivals here.

 

Set Up

Before gameplay can begin, every player draws a card from a shuffled deck. The player with the highest card becomes the first dealer. Ties are broken by a redraw. The dealer then passes out five cards to each player. The remaining deck is placed to the side. Its top card assigns the trump suit for that round.

Card Ranking

When a suit is trump, the ranking is as follows from high to low:

Spades and Clubs: 5, Jack, Ace of Hearts, Ace, King, Queen, 2 up to 10.

Diamonds: 5, Jack, Ace of Hearts, Ace, down to 2

Hearts: 5, Jack, Ace down to 2.

When a suit is not trump, the ranking is as follows from high to low:

Spades and Clubs: King, Queen, Jack, Ace, 2 up to 10.

Diamonds: King down to Ace.

Hearts: King down to 2.

The Ace of Hearts is always the third best card.

 

How to Play

Players begin by placing an ante in the middle. The top card of the deck is flipped over to establish trump for the round. Starting with the person left of the dealer, players try to win tricks by playing the highest ranking card. Players must follow the suit of the lead card if they can. 

If a player has the Ace of trump, they may exchange any card in their hand for the top card in the deck. If they refuse to do so, they must announce that they are turning down the trump.

If an Ace is initially flipped over when establishing trump, the dealer may take it after the first trick in exchange for any of their cards. They could also refuse it.

 

Scoring

If a player wins 3 or more tricks in a round, the player gets all of the poker chips in the middle. For the next round, every player adds one chip to the middle again.

If no player wins 3 or more tricks in a round, then the pot carries over. For the next round, only the dealer adds a chip to the middle.

Looking for more card games to play?  Check out this article:

40+ Great Card Games For All Occasions

About the author: John Taylor is a content writer and freelancer through the company Upwork.com. You may view his freelancing profile here. He has a B. A. in English, with a specialty in technical writing, from Texas A&M University and a M. A. in English from the University of Glasgow. You may view his previous articles about card games here and his LinkedIn profile here.

John Taylor Head shot

Last update date: 08/29/20

How to play Thirteen & Game Rules with Video – PlayingCardDecks.com

(Above is the set up for a game of Thirteen)

(Above is the set up for a game of Thirteen)

Card Game Rules

Thirteen is a four player trick-taking card game that requires a standard 52 playing card deck. In Thirteen, 2s are high and 3s are low. The suits are ranked with Hearts being the highest, then Diamonds, Clubs, and Spades. The objective of Thirteen is to be the first player to get rid of their cards. 

For other trick-taking card games, see our guides for President and Bezique.

If you are looking for cards to play Thirteen with, check out a standard pack here or one of our more recent arrivals here.

Set Up

Before game play can begin, a dealer must be selected. Each player draws one card from a shuffled deck. The player with the lowest card becomes the dealer. The dealer shuffles the deck and passes out thirteen cards to each player in a clockwise fashion. 

How to Play

The player with the 3 of Spades makes the first move. Going clockwise, players can either player a card that is of equal rank (with a higher suit) or higher than the card previously played. Once nobody can play a higher card, the pile is removed and the last person to play a card starts the new pile.

Cards can be played as singles, pairs, three of a kinds, four of a kinds or a sequence of 3 or more. Players must however follow whatever the lead play was. If somebody leads with a single, players cannot beat it with a double or etc. 

Bombs

A four of a kind and a double sequence of three cards are called bombs. Bombs can beat a single 2. A double sequence of four cards can beat a pair of 2s and a double sequence of five cards can beat three 2s.

Miscellaneous Rules

If a player has four 2s or a sequence of 3 to Ace, they immediately win the game.

The last card in a sequence determines its suit.

The player who gets rid of all of their cards first wins the game.

Looking for more card games to play?  Check out this article:

40+ Great Card Games For All Occasions

About the author: John Taylor is a content writer and freelancer through the company Upwork.com. You may view his freelancing profile here. He has a B. A. in English, with a specialty in technical writing, from Texas A&M University and a M. A. in English from the University of Glasgow. You may view his previous articles about card games here and his LinkedIn profile here.

John Taylor Head shot

Last update date: 08/29/20

How to play Carousel & Game Rules – PlayingCardDecks.com

(Above is an ending layout from a game of Carousel Rummy)

(Above is an ending layout from a game of Carousel Rummy)

Card Game Rules

Carousel is a Rummy type game for 2-5 players. For 2 players, Carousel requires a standard deck of 52 playing cards and 1 Joker. For 3-5 players, Carousel requires 2 standard decks of 52 playing cards and 2 Joker. In Carousel Aces can be High or Low, however they cannot connect a King and 2. The objective of Carousel is to play all of your cards by melding them.

If you are looking for cards to play Carousel with, check out a standard deck here or one of our newest arrivals here.

For more Rummy type games, check out our guides for Canasta and Gin.

Set-Up

Before game play can begin, a dealer must be selected. Each player draws one card from a shuffled deck. The player with the lowest card becomes the dealer. Ties are broken by a redraw.

The dealer then shuffles the deck and passes out ten cards one at a time to each player. The remaining cards form the stock pile.

How to Play

Starting with the player left of the dealer, players try to meld off as much cards as they can. A player begins their turn by first drawing from the stock. If they cannot make any melds with their cards, they draw another card from the stock. If they still can’t make any melds, they draw a final card from the stock and end their turn, even if they can make a meld with the drawn card. 

Notably, a player may rearrange all of the melded cards as long as they return to valid melds at the end of their turn.

Melds

A player makes a meld by either having three or more of a kind or by having three or more of a run. A run is made of three or more cards of the same suit in increasing or decreasing order. When a player makes a meld they lay it face up on the table. 

Melds are communal, meaning once a meld is made, another player can continue the sequence/set with their own cards.

Joker

Jokers are wildcards. If a player has the card that the Joker is replacing, they can swap the two and get the joker to make their own melds. 

Knocking

Once a player has a hand of 5 or less points, a player can choose to “knock” and end the round.

Scoring

In Carousel:

Jokers are worth 25 points.

Face cards are worth 10 points.

Cards 2-10 are worth their face value.

Aces are worth 1 point.

Once somebody Knocks, the player with the least number of points in their hand wins the difference between their opponents’ hand and their own.

If a player Knocks after playing all of their cards, they win a 25 point bonus.

If a player Knocks while somebody else has a lower hand than them, the person with the lower hand wins the points for the round and a 10 point bonus.

For more information about Carousel, check out The Rummy Rule book here or Pagat.com’s article here.

Looking for more card games to play?  Check out this article:

40+ Great Card Games For All Occasions

About the author: John Taylor is a content writer and freelancer through the company Upwork.com. You may view his freelancing profile here. He has a B. A. in English, with a specialty in technical writing, from Texas A&M University and a M. A. in English from the University of Glasgow. You may view his previous articles about card games here and his LinkedIn profile here.

John Taylor Head shot

Last update date: 08/29/20

How to play Faro & Game Rules with Video – PlayingCardDecks.com

(This is the typical set up for the game Faro)

(This is the typical set up for the game Faro)

Card Game Rules

Faro is a historical casino game for two or more players. It requires a standard 52 card deck, an extra set of 13 cards for each rank, a set of betting chips for each player, and a penny for each player. In Faro, Aces are low and Kings are high. The objective is to win the most bets. 

If you are looking for cards to play Faro with, check out a standard deck here or check out one of our recent arrivals here.

For more casino games, check out our guides for In-Between and Baccarat.

You can also find an 1882 rule book to Faro here.

Set-Up

To set-up a game a Faro, place the extra 13 cards in two rows face up in the middle of the playing table. These cards make up the tableau. From the top left going right, the card order should be King, Queen, Jack, 10, 9, and 8. The 7 should be placed to the right of and halfway down from the 8. The 6 should then be placed to the left of the 7 and directly below the 8. From the 6 going left, the card order should be 5, 4, 3, 2, and Ace.

The dealer sits opposite of the players with a faced down deck of shuffled cards in-front of them. Players bring their own chips to bet with. Every player receives a penny to bet against cards with.

 

How to Play

The dealer begins the game by showing everyone the top card of the deck. The card is then placed face up to the side of the gameplay area. Players then place bets on one of the cards in the tableau. Next the dealer draws two card from the deck and places them face up for all the players to see. The first card is the loser. The second card is the winner. Bets on the first card are lost. Bets on the second card receive 1:1 payout from the dealer.

The flipped over cards are placed to the side and another round begins. Players can move their bets around, keep them where they were or begin placing bets on multiple cards. Multiple players can bet on the same card. Gameplay continues until the deck runs out.

 

Misc. Rules

A player can bet that the winning card is higher than the losing card by placing chips next to the deck. Payout is 1:1.

A player can bet on the losing card by placing a penny on top of their chip. 

When the deck has three cards left, players can bet on the order of the final draw.

If the losing and winning cards are of the same rank, then the dealer receives half of the bet made.

If a player places a bet on a card that has already been drawn four times from the deck, the first person (player or dealer) who notices can say “dead bet” and receive the chips.

History

(A game of Faro in 1895)

(A game of Faro in 1895)

Faro was first played in 18th century France. It was named after the picture of an Egyptian pharaoh that appeared on many French playing cards. The game spread eastward towards Russia and eventually reached the American West in the 1800’s. By 1925, the game became virtually extinct as Baccarat and Blackjack took over as the more popular games at casinos.

For more information about Faro, check out David Parlett’s article here or Pagat.com’s article here.

 

Looking for more card games to play?  Check out this article:

40+ Great Card Games For All Occasions

About the author: John Taylor is a content writer and freelancer through the company Upwork.com. You may view his freelancing profile here. He has a B. A. in English, with a specialty in technical writing, from Texas A&M University and a M. A. in English from the University of Glasgow. You may view his previous articles about card games here and his LinkedIn profile here.

John Taylor Head shot

Last update date: 0/25/21