Page One
Page One is a Japanese card game for two to four players. It features an interesting combination of mechanics; part trick-taking game and part Stops game.
Object of Page One
The object of Page One is to be the first player to run out of cards.
Setup
Page One is played with the international standard 52-card deck of playing cards, like Denexa 100% Plastic Playing Cards, plus one joker, to make a 53-card pack.
Shuffle and deal four cards to each player. The remainder of the pack is placed in the center of the table, forming the stock.
Game play
The player to the dealer’s left leads to the first trick. They may play any card as their lead; all other players must follow suit. If they are unable to, they draw cards from the stock until they uncover a card of the suit needed. After everyone has played, the person who played the highest card wins the trick. Cards rank in their usual order, with aces high. The joker acts as a trump card; it automatically wins any trick it is played to.
After a trick has concluded, the cards are moved to a discard pile and the winner of the last trick leads to the next one. If the stock runs out, this discard pile is shuffled to form a new stock. (If the situation arises that a player must draw, but so many cards are in the players’ hands there is no discard pile for a new stock to be made out of, the game ends as a draw.)
When a player plays down to their last card, they must call out “Page One!” to notify the other players that they are almost out of cards. If this was not done before the next player takes their turn (or before the player leads their last card, if they won the penultimate trick), the player must draw five cards as a penalty as soon as it is noticed.
The first player to successfully play all of their cards is the winner.
Scopa
Last week, we shared the rules of Cassino with you. Scopa is a similar game, found in the same “fishing” family as Cassino, although it is much simpler than the latter game. Scopa, meaning sweep in Italian, was described by David Parlett in The Penguin Book of Card Games as “one of Italy’s major national card games”. Like Cassino, Scopa is best for two players.
Object of Scopa
The object of Scopa is to use the cards in your hand to capture cards on the table, with particular attention given to nabbing certain high-scoring cards.
Setup
Scopa requires a 40-card deck of playing cards. Traditionally, an Italian deck is used, with suits of swords in place of spades, batons instead of clubs, cups instead of hearts, and coins instead of diamonds. The Italian deck used for Scopa also has different face card ranks: re (king), cavall (knight), and fante (footsoldier). You can create an equivalent pack by taking a deck of Denexa 100% Plastic Playing Cards and removing the 8s, 9s, and 10s; the English queen will substitute for the knight, and the jack for the footsoldier. It does not matter that the suits don’t match up; suits generally do not matter in Scopa, although diamonds take on the role of coins in the Italian game.
You will also need some form of scorekeeping apparatus, like pencil and paper.
Shuffle and deal three cards to each player, then deal four more face up to the center of the table. The remainder of the deck forms the stock. If three or more of the four board cards are kings, it is customary to abandon the hand, throw in the cards, and deal again.
Game play
The non-dealer plays first. On their turn, a player may use any card in their hand to capture one or more of the board cards. The cards so captured, as well as the one played by the player, are placed face-down in a score pile in front of them.
Capturing is achieved in one of two ways. The first is by pairing a card from the hand with a card matching in rank. The card captures only one other card of that rank on the board. (This is unlike in Cassino, where one card may capture as many as three others of the same rank.)
The second way of capturing is by addition, wherein the player captures two or more other cards that total the value of the card being played. For the purposes of addition, aces count as one, numerical cards as their face value, jacks as eight, queens as nine, and kings as ten. If a card can perform a capture by both pairing or by addition, the pairing takes precedence and must be performed rather than performing an addition capture. It is possible to clear the entire board of cards, called a sweep or scopa; this is recorded by putting the card performing in the sweep face-up in the score pile.
If a player cannot make any other play on their turn, they must trail by discarding one card face-up to the board. A player may not simply trail if they are able to capture something with that card, however.
Every third turn, the players exhaust their hands; new three-card hands are dealt from the stock. The board does not receive any further cards, and the cards already on the board remain in play.
Ending the hand
Game play continues until both the stock and the players’ hands are exhausted. The last player to make a successful capture adds the remaining board cards to their score pile. This does not constitute a sweep, even if the player actually captured all of the cards on the board. The hand is then scored, with players awarded one point for each of the following, in order:
- collecting the most cards overall*
- collecting the most diamonds*
- capturing the sette bello (7♦)
- primiera (see below)
- 1 point for each sweep
*In the event that the players are tied for the most cards in these categories, neither player gets the point.
In order to be eligible for primiera, a player must have collected cards of all four suits. A player then finds the highest-scoring card in each suit according to the following list, and adds up the total of all four cards:
- a 7—21 points
- a 6—18 points
- an ace—16 points
- a 5—15 points
- a 4—14 points
- a 3—13 points
- a 2—12 points
- a face card—10 points
The player with the higher count by this reckoning scores the point for primiera.
The first player to score eleven points wins. Points should be added in the order listed above, and whenever the first player reaches eleven points, scoring ceases, with the remaining categories going unscored.
See also
Canasta
Canasta is a classic game for four players in partnerships. Originating in Uruguay in 1940, and further developed throughout the 1940s in Argentina, the game of Canasta became a fad in United States the early 1950s, challenging the popularity of the other popular partnership game of the 20th century, Contract Bridge. Since then, the game has evolved into a world-wide classic.
Canasta has the disadvantage of having a lot of intricacies to its rules, and rules that depend a lot on the scoring system, meaning that it can be somewhat overwhelming to novice players. Once it gets going, however, it is a quick and fun game.
Object of Canasta
The object of the game is to score 5,000 points before your opponent by forming melds of three or more cards of the same rank, and canastas, which are melds of seven or more cards of the same rank.
Setup
The players divide into two partnerships, sitting across from one another, so that the turn of play alters between partnerships when going clockwise. Set aside an area of the table for each partnership’s melds, and a neutral area accessible to all players for the stock and the discard pile.
Canasta uses a 108-card deck, consisting of two standard decks of playing cards, plus Jokers, shuffled together. The backs of both decks of cards should be identical. If you’re using Denexa 100% Plastic Playing Cards, pat yourself on the back for your smart purchasing decisions. You will also need some form of scorekeeping apparatus. We recommend either a pencil and paper or a smartphone application, since abacuses that go up to 5,000 are kind of hard to find in this day and age.
Deal 11 cards to each player. Set the rest of the deck in the center of the table, forming the stock, and turn one card face-up next to it. This is the top card of the discard pile, otherwise known as the upcard. If the upcard is a joker, 2, or red 3, turn another card over from the stock to cover it (continue turning cards until the upcard is something other than one of these three ranks). If the discard pile started with one of these three cards, it is considered frozen (see below).
Game play
Card ranks and scoring
The following are the scores and special properties of all of the cards in the game:
- Red 3s: Red 3s serve as a bonus card and are simply laid in front of the player and a new card is drawn to replace them. 100 points.
- Jokers: Jokers are wild. 50 points.
- Twos: Twos are also wild. 20 points.
- Aces: 20 points.
- K–8s: 10 points.
- 7s–4s: 5 points.
- Black 3s: Can only be melded at the end of the hand, and prevent the discard pile from being taken when one is the upcard. 5 points.
Other than the colors of the 3s, suits do not matter. Both jokers are likewise equal.
Play of the hand
Before game play actually kicks off, any red 3s the players hold in their hand are placed in the partnership’s melding area and new cards are drawn to replace them. Likewise, any red 3s encountered throughout the game are laid down and new cards drawn to replace them. Red 3s found in the discard pile are not replaced, however.
The player to the left of the dealer goes first. The flow of the turn is to draw, meld if able and willing, and end the turn by discarding. A player may not deplete their hand of cards unless they meet specific requirements for going out, as described below.
When drawing, the player has the option to draw the top card of the stock, or to draw the upcard. To draw from the discards, the player must be able to immediately use the upcard in a meld (either by forming a new meld or extending an existing one with it); upon doing so, the player takes the entire discard pile into their hand! (This is a very good thing; the discard pile is often large and contains many things that are useful to the player.) Under some circumstances, however, the discard pile is frozen, which further restricts the ability of the player to take the discard pile—see below. A player also cannot take the discard pile when the upcard is a black 3.
After drawing, the player may meld, if able. A partnership’s first melds of the hand must meet a minimum value, depending on the partnership’s score at the beginning of that hand:
| Score | Minimum |
|---|---|
| Below 0 | 15 |
| 0–1499 | 50 |
| 1500–2999 | 90 |
| 3000–4999 | 120 |
Note that a partnership with a negative score really has no “minimum” requirement; a minimum of 15 exists only by virtue of no valid meld having a score below this.
A meld consists of three or more cards of the same rank (traditionally fanned out so that the indices of all of the cards in the meld are visible). At least two cards must be natural (i.e. not a wild card), and a meld can never contain more than three wild cards.
After a meld has been laid down, further melding by that partnership is not subject to the minimums. When a meld has been laid down, it can be extended by either player in the partnership, either by adding more natural cards to it or by adding wild cards. Players cannot move cards between melds, or establish two separate melds of the same rank. Players cannot contribute to their opponents’ melds.
A meld of seven or more cards is called a canasta, which, if you were wondering, is Spanish for “basket”. Canastas involving wild cards are called mixed canastas (canastas sucias or “dirty canastas” in Spanish), and canastas free of wild cards are called natural canastas (canastas limpias, or “clean canastas”). The distinction is important because natural canastas score higher. Traditionally, elevation to canasta status is denoted by squaring the meld up into a pile, with a red card on top for natural canastas and a black card on top for mixed canastas. (Should a wild card be added to a natural canasta, the top card of the canasta is switched out so that it again displays the correct color.)
After any melds are made, the player discards any card other than a red 3, and play continues with the player to the left.
Freezing the discard pile
Should a red 3 or wild card end up in the discard pile, either by being the initial upcard, or (in the case of wild cards) by being intentionally discarded there, the discard pile is considered frozen. This is signified by placing the offending card at right angles to the pile, causing it to stick out when further cards are placed on top of it. When the discard pile is frozen, it may only be taken if its top card can be used to form a new meld with two or more other cards of the same rank (i.e. you cannot take a frozen discard pile to form a meld with two natural cards and a wild card).
Depletion of the stock
In the uncommon event that the stock is depleted before someone goes out, the game simply continues without a stock; play continues with players taking the discard pile, melding if able, and discarding, until a player goes out as normal, or is unable to take the discard pile, at which point the hand ends and is scored as outlined below.
If, however, the final card of the stock is a red 3, special rules apply. The player taking the 3 declares it as usual, then does any melding possible, after which play ceases. This player is not entitled to discard.
Going out
In order to go out, a partnership must have formed at least one canasta. At this point, you may go out by divesting yourself of your remaining cards, either by forming new melds, adding to existing ones, or discarding.
It is permissible to consult your partner before going out by asking “May I go out?” This is done to ensure that the partner does not hold an unduly high total value of cards, which will be charged against the partnership at the end of the hand. The answer given is binding. The only answer permitted is “Yes” or “No”—if any further information is given, the opposing partnership is entitled to answer the question “May I go out?” for the offending partnership, and their answer is binding, often with disastrous results.
A player also has the option of going out concealed. This is achieved when a player goes out without the partnership having previously melded anything, and scores a bonus.
After a player has gone out, the hand is scored. Each team scores the value of the cards it has melded, and the value of cards held in hand is deducted against the partnership’s score (except for any undeclared red 3s, which are handled as discussed in “Penalties” below). The following bonuses, if applicable, are also scored:
- Natural canastas: 500 points each.
- Mixed canastas: 300 points each.
- Red threes: 100 points each, unless all four are held, in which case they are 200 points each (for a total of 800).
- Going out normally: 100 points.
- Going out concealed: 200 points.
After all of the above has been accounted for, if neither partnership has reached 5,000 points, all cards are shuffled, and the deal passes to the left. If one or both partnerships has exceeded a score of 5,000, the partnership with the higher score at that point wins.
Penalties
Throughout the game, various penalties can occur, as set out below:
- Undeclared red 3s at end of hand: –500 points each.
- Attempting to go out anyway when a partner says no: –100 points.
- Not being able to go out after having asked “May I go out?”: –100 points.
- Taking the upcard when unable to use it: –50 points.
Canasta for two players
Although Canasta is canonically considered a partnership game, early accounts claim that it was conceived as a two-player game, and it works well in that form. Play with two players is the same as the partnership game, except that fifteen cards are initially dealt instead of eleven, players draw two cards instead of one (though they still discard only one card), and two canastas are required to go out instead of one.
See also
Thirteen
Thirteen, also known as tiến lên, is a quick and easy game from the climbing family. It works best with four players, but you can play with as few as two or as many as six or so.
Thirteen is originally from Vietnam. There, it has been described as the national card game. A game takes about five or ten minutes, which means it’s great to play with a friend during a quick break from work or school. It’s a popular pastime among the staff in casino break rooms here in Oklahoma.
Object of Thirteen
The object of the game is to be the first to run out of cards.
Many players consider a hand dealt all four 2s or all four 3s to be an automatic win for the player holding them. (Such a combination in one hand makes the game unbalanced enough that it’s best for the hands to be shuffled and redealt.)
Setup
You will need a standard deck of 52 cards (we, of course, recommend Denexa 100% Plastic Playing Cards). Starting with the player to the left of the dealer, deal out thirteen cards to each player. If you’re playing with more than four players, deal an even number of cards to each player. Set aside any unused cards.
Card ranking
Thirteen is unusual among games most players are familiar with because of the unconventional ranking of the cards. Aces rank high, as they do in many other games, but twos rank even higher than the ace. That means that the lowest card in play is the three, giving us a rank progression of (high) 2, A, K, Q, J, 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3 (low).
Another unusual feature of Thirteen is the fact that the suits play a vital role in card ranking. The suits break ties when cards have the same rank. Suits rank in the following order: (high) hearts, diamonds, clubs, spades (low). (If you’re having trouble remembering the order, just remember that the two black suits are lower than the two red suits, and that a garden spade is used to dig lower in the ground, and hearts represent love, which is highly sought after by most people.) So the 6♠ would be beaten by the 6♣, but the 6♥ would be beaten by a 7♠. The lowest-ranking card in the game is the 3♠, while the highest is the 2♥.
Game play
The first person to play is the person who starts the game with the 3♠. They play it, face up, in the center of the table, either by itself, or as part of a combination of other cards. These are the permissible card combinations:
- Single card
- Pairs
- Trips (three of a kind)
- Straights (three or more cards in sequence, e.g. 3-4-5)
The next player to the left must play a higher-ranking instance of the same type of combination. Straights must be followed by another straight of the same length (e.g. a four-card straight must be followed up by another four-card straight, not a three-card or five-card or any other straight), and cannot include 2s. The highest-ranking card present is used to determine the ranking of the entire combination. For example, if the first player were to begin play with 3♠-3♥ (a pair), the next player could not play 3♣-3♦, since the highest-ranking card present (3♦) is lower than the highest-ranking card (3♥) played by the previous player, although they could play 4♠-4♣, since the 4♣ is higher than the 3♥.
Play continues to the left, each player playing higher than the most recent combination. If a player cannot or does not want to play higher, they knock on the table, signifying such. Upon knocking, a player is temporarily out of the game, and play continues to their left. When all players but one have knocked, the sole remaining player is free to play whatever combination of cards they choose (i.e. they are not compelled to play the same type of combination as before), and all other players rejoin the game. As before, play continues to to the left, with the next player following up on the most recently played combination with a higher one of the same type.
When a player is out of cards, they win! Some players will continue to play out the hand, awarding second and third-place finishes to the remaining players. It should be established whether or not this is being done before the game, since it can alter players’ strategy considerably. If you play again, you can either let the winner go first (giving them the option to play whatever they choose), or start with the player holding the 3♠, as usual.
Chops
Two types of card combination are considered chops:
- Quads (four of a kind)
- Three or more consecutive pairs (e.g. 3-3-4-4-5-5)
A chop can be played at any time on a player’s turn, so long as they have not knocked, regardless of what has been played before. (Many players restrict chops to only being able to defeat combinations of 2s, limiting their power.) Chops can only be beaten by a higher chop of the same type, so, in most cases, they hand control of what type of combination will be played next to whoever played them. Chops are the most powerful combination in the game!
Playing with more than six players
Playing with more than about six players is generally not advised, since each player will receive such a low number of cards, that the game is essentially reduced to luck of the draw. However, you can accommodate about twelve players by shuffling in a second deck of cards. The second deck should have a contrasting back design (for example, Denexa playing cards come in two-deck sets, with red and blue backs).
Select one back design as the higher-ranked one (if you are using red and blue decks, this is usually the red one, to mirror the fact that the red suits are higher). If two cards of the same rank and suit come out, the higher-backed one will prevail. Keep in mind that your opponents will be able to see how many of each back type you have, and astute players may be able to judge the strength of your hand accordingly!
See also
