by Angela Zhu

  1. Egyptian Rat Screw

How to play:

  • Everyone gets around an even amount of cards, but keep them face down, don’t look at them!
  • Go around in a circle and when it’s your turn, take the top card of your the deck and put it in the middle so that it faces up
  • Goal of the game is to get all of the cards
  • When a double (ex. A person puts down a 5 and the next person puts down a 5 too) or a sandwich (a 5, another card, and then a 5) occurs, the first person that slaps the pile of cards gets to keep all the cards
  • If Person A puts down a face card or an ace, the next person (Person B) has to start putting down 1,2,3 or 4 cards corresponding to whether the card is a jack, queen, king, or ace. If Person B doesn’t put down another face card or ace before the number of cards that they’re supposed to put down is up, then Person A gets to keep all the cards. If Person B does get another face card, then the next person has to continue with this rule.
  • The double and sandwich slapping also applies to when a person is putting down cards due to a face card/ace

This game is extremely fun, especially when there are more people!

 

  1. Dou di zhu (version of Topple the Landlord)

How to play:

  • Goal of the game is to get rid of all your cards
  • Game usually played with smaller groups of people (3-5)
  • Deal the deck to the players, look at the cards
  • The order of the cards from lowest to highest is 3,4,5… queen, king, ace, 2, small joker, big joker
  • Person with 3 of spades gets to go first, but otherwise, suits don’t matter
  • There are different combinations of cards you can put down: one card, a pair, consecutive pairs, a triple and a pair, a triple and a single, straights of 5 or more cards, and bombs (all 4 of a card)
  • When you put down a certain combination (single, pair, triple, etc.), the next person can either put down the same combination but with higher cards, or they can pass. Keep going around in a circle, and the person who puts down the set of cards that no one else can beat starts the next round. The cards in the previous round are put to the side.
  • The only time when you don’t have to put down the same combination is if you have a bomb, which can beat anything other than bombs higher than it.

The game’s more about strategy, so even if you could beat the other person’s hand, you don’t always have to. Also, think about the possible cards other people may have, and find the best method to get rid of all your cards. It’s a really fun game, and a great way to pass time!

 

  1. Spoons

How to play:

  • Sit in a circle, every person gets 4 cards
  • In the center of the circle, put a number of spoons/pencils/anything so that it’s one less than the total number of people playing
  • One person starts by taking a card from the top of the deck. They then pass one of their now 5 cards to the next person. As the second person is passing the card to the third person, the first person should continue taking cards from the deck, and the last person should put the card they don’t want to the side. The goal is to get 4 cards of the same number/face.
  • Once a person gets 4 of the same cards, they take a spoon from the center of the circle. When you see a person taking a spoon, grab one yourself fast. The person left without a spoon is out for the round.

This is also a super fun game, one of my favorites especially if you’re at an event with more people and have free time.