Snip Snap Snorem
Snip Snap Snorem is a simple children’s game for two or more players. Although it dates back to at least the 18th century, it is quite a simple game, with the only skill necessary being the ability to match ranks of cards.
Object of Snip Snap Snorem
The object of Snip Snap Snorem is to be the first player to successfully get rid of all your cards by discarding cards of the same rank as previously-played cards.
Setup
Snip Snap Snorem is played with a standard 52-card deck. Since you’ll probably be playing with many excited children, the durability of Denexa 100% Plastic Playing Cards will come in handy.
Shuffle and deal the cards out, one at a time, until they’re all gone. Some players may end up having more cards than others.
Game play
The player to the left of the dealer goes first. They play one card of their choosing face up to the center of the table. The next player to the left plays another card of the same rank, if able, saying “Snip”. The next player to the left may play another card of that rank, saying “Snap”, and if the fourth player has the fourth card of that rank, they say “Snorem”. If, at any time, the active player does not have a card of the rank required, they simply say “Pass”, and their turn is skipped. When a player gets to play the final card of a rank and say “Snorem”, they may play again with the first card of a new rank.
Game play continues until one player has run out of cards. That player is the winner.
Klondike
Klondike is probably the most popular solitaire game played, and is what most people are referring to when they simply say “Solitaire”. Klondike is included under the name Solitaire in Microsoft Windows, thereby becoming the bane of office managers everywhere. Despite Klondike’s popularity, it is fairly difficult to win; the vast majority of games are unwinnable before the player has made a single move.
Object of Klondike
The object of Klondike is to move all 52 cards to the foundations.
Setup
Klondike uses one standard 52-card deck of playing cards. As always, we heartily recommend using Denexa 100% Plastic Playing Cards.
Shuffle and deal a row of seven cards, with the first card face up and the rest face down. Then, deal a second row of six cards, overlapping the first, starting with a face-up card on the second column and face-down cards in the remaining columns. Continue in this manner, starting with the third column, and so on until there is a face-up card on each column. (Refer to the diagram for an example layout.) These seven cards form the tableau. Place the deck stub at the upper-left, above the first tableau pile, forming the stock.
Game play
The majority of action in Klondike involves movement of cards in the tableau. Cards rank in their usual order, with aces low (K, Q, J, 10, … 2, A). Face-up cards may be moved so that they are on top of a card of the opposite color and one higher rank. For example, the J♦ may be placed on either the Q♣ or the Q♠. A series of cards so matched may be moved as a unit; a combination of the Q♣ and J♦ may then be moved together onto the K♥. When face-down cards are uncovered, they may be flipped up and used as part of regular game play. Empty spaces created when an entire column’s worth of cards have been moves can only be filled by a king (or a stack of cards with a king on the bottom).
As aces are revealed, they may be moved up to the four foundation piles in the upper-right of the layout. The foundations are built up in sequence, with all cards of the same suit. For example, when the A♠ is uncovered, it may be moved to form the spade foundation pile, then the 2♠ may be moved on top of it, then the 3♠, and so on up to the K♠.
Cards may also be drawn from the stock to be made available for play. Cards drawn from the stock may be immediately moved to any legal location (i.e. in the tableau or the foundation piles). Otherwise, they are placed on a discard pile next to the stock. When the stock is exhausted, the discard pile may be turned face-down to replenish it.
Game play continues until all 52 cards have been moved to the foundations or no further moves are possible.
House rules
Two of the most common variations of Klondike impose additional restrictions on drawing cards from the stock. This makes the game more challenging, although it could be argued that winning Klondike is enough of an achievement already that adding more obstacles is kind of unnecessary.
One variation on Klondike requires that three cards be drawn from the stock at a time, and they are immediately placed on the discard pile. Since only the topmost card of the discard pile is playable, two of the cards drawn are inaccessible until the cards on top of them have been moved.
Another rule that can be played with is to limit the number of times the stock can be gone through, usually to three. After the third run through the stock, the game ends.
Cucumber
Cucumber is a game for two to seven people, played throughout Northern Europe, with a heyday in the 1970s and 1980s. Cucumber works as kind of the inverse of Agram—the object is to lose the last trick, and nothing else matters.
Many regional variations of the game exist, most of them bearing the name “Cucumber” in the local language. The version described here is Agurk, the Danish variant of the game.
Object of Cucumber
The object of Cucumber is to win the last trick.
Setup
Cucumber uses the standard 52-card pack of playing cards. Using Denexa 100% Plastic Playing Cards would make you pretty cool. Some might say…cool as a cucumber. But not us. That’s not a thing we would say. We would just say you’re pretty cool.
You will also need a pencil and paper to keep score with.
Shuffle and deal seven cards to the player to the left of the dealer, then to the next player to the left, and so on through the dealer. The deck stub is set aside and takes no further part in game play.
Game play
The cards rank in their usual order in Cucumber, with aces high (A, K, Q, J, 10, … 2). Suits are irrelevant and play no part in the game.
The player to the left of the dealer leads to the first trick, leading any card. The next person to the left must play either a card higher than the lead, or, if they do not have one, the lowest card in their hand. This continues on to the left, with each player either laying down a card higher than the highest card in play, or the lowest card they can. This continues until everyone has played.
The person who played the highest card is the winner of the trick. If there are multiple cards of the same rank tied for high card, the most recently-played of these takes the trick. The winner of the trick leads to the next one. Unlike in most games, the cards of the last trick aren’t collected or turned face-down; they simply remain on the table and can be inspected by any player at any time (although it may be prudent to push them into a loose discard pile to prevent confusion as to whether a card was played on the current trick or a previous one).
On the seventh and final trick, the player with the highest card is charged a penalty according to the rank of the card they used to take the trick. Aces score fourteen, kings thirteen, queens twelve, jacks eleven, and all other cards their face value. Should there be a tie for high card, the last card of that rank wins the trick and thus takes the penalty, as per usual; the others who played a card of that rank score negative points equal to the value of that card (though their score cannot pass below zero).
Should a player’s score exceed 21, a cucumber is drawn next to the score to highlight this. Their score then resets to the score of the next-highest active player. If a player who already has a cucumber goes over 21, they are eliminated from the game.
Cards are collected and shuffled, the deal passes to the left, and the next hand begins. Game play continues until all players but one have been eliminated; that player is the winner.
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Brag
Brag is a gambling game for four to eight players that is popular in Britain. Although it is often compared to poker, which displaced it in the United States, there are several key differences between the two games. Most importantly, the betting is very different—in Brag, it is possible for betting to come down to a stalemate where players continue betting until someone finally gives up.
Object of Brag
The object of Brag is to be one of the players remaining at the showdown with the best Brag hand.
Setup
Brag uses one standard 52-card deck of playing cards. Since you’re playing Brag, you may as well play it with some cards you can brag about; that is, Denexa 100% Plastic Playing Cards. You will also need something to bet with, such as poker chips.
Before play begins, there should be a mutual agreement as to the size of the ante and the bets. This should include both the minimum and maximum amount that the first player may bet, as well as the amount the bet can be increased by each subsequent player. This can either be a hard numerical limit, or the game can be played at pot limit.
All players ante. Shuffle and deal three cards face-down to each player. Players may look at their cards if they want to, or they may abstain from this and play blind (see below).
Game play
Rank of Brag hands
While Brag hands resemble poker hands, they have different names, and the ranking is slightly different. Notably, because of the different probabilities involved in three-card versus five-card hands, a run outranks a flush (whereas the opposite is true in poker). The rank of Brag hands, from highest to lowest, is:
- 1. Prial
- (derived from pair royal) Three cards of the same rank. The highest-ranked prial is 3-3-3; the second-highest is A-A-A, then K-K-K, and so on down to 2-2-2.
- 2. Running flush
- Three cards of the same suit in sequence, e.g. 9-10-Q♠. Ties are broken by the highest card. Equivalent to poker’s straight flush.
- 3. Run
- Three cards of any suit in sequence (e.g. 6-7-8). If all cards are the same suit, it becomes a running flush. Ties are broken by the highest card. Equivalent to poker’s straight.
- 4. Flush
- Three cards of the same suit, not in sequence (e.g. 4-7-J♦). Ties are broken by the rank of the highest card, then by the next highest if necessary, and so on until the tie is broken.
- 5. Pair
- Two cards of the same rank, plus one unmatched card (e.g. 5-5-9). Ties are broken by the rank of the pair, then the rank of the unmatched card if necessary.
- 6. High card
- Three cards unmatched in suit or sequence. Ties are broken by the highest card, then next-highest, and so on down.
Etiquette
Good Brag etiquette is to keep everything to yourself. Cards should never be shown to anyone but the player they were dealt to (except, of course, at the showdown). Similarly, players should never verbally state the supposed contents of their hand. Also, as in poker, it is very important that betting and folding be executed in turn, not early.
Play of the hand
Betting starts with the player to the left of the dealer. The first player, if they desire to bet, must do so according to the agreed-upon limits. Each subsequent player must bet at least as much as the last player to bet before them. If a player does not wish to bet, they must fold (also called stacking); they are out of the hand, and their cards are placed, unrevealed, at the bottom of the stock. Betting continues in this same manner around the table, even after it reaches the players who have already bet; players must continue betting if they wish to remain in the hand, and anyone can raise whenever they wish.
Players also have the option to play blind. So long as the player has not seen their hand, their money essentially counts as double. Blind players are only required to bet half the amount bet by the player before them, and the player after them must bet double the amount that they did. For example, if the player to the right of the blind player bets $10, the blind player is only required to bet $5, and the player to the right must still bet $10. However, should the blind player wish to bet $20, the player to their left must bet at least $40, or else fold. A person playing blind may choose, before betting, to look at their cards, although this, of course, requires them to return to the usual betting rules.
Betting continues until all but two players have folded. These two players go on betting until either one of them folds, thus awarding the pot to the other player, or one of the players decides to see the other, by doubling the previous bet and stating “See you”; a doubled bet does not necessarily constitute a see unless it is specifically declared as such. When a player sees their opponent, the opponent must reveal their cards. If the first player has a higher hand, they reveal it and take the pot. If not, their opponent wins the pot; the losing seer may choose to simply fold their hand without revealing it. Should the hands tie, the seer loses the pot.
A special rule applies when one or both of the final two players are playing blind. That rule is stated as “you can’t see a blind man”; that is, should your opponent be playing blind, you do not have the option to see. You must either continue to bet or fold, or hope that they either look at their cards or fold. A blind player, can, however, see their non-blind opponent, if they wish to do so. If both players are playing blind, they may see each other.
Should a player run out of money, they may cover the pot by placing their cards face-down on top of it. The other players carry on without them, placing all further bets in a side pot. The winner of the side pot is determined first, then, the winning hand is compared with the hand covering the pot, and the winner of those two hands takes the main pot.
The next hand is customarily dealt immediately, with no shuffle. Shuffles only occur when a pot is won with an exposed prial.
See also
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Spite and Malice
Spite and Malice is a game that plays a lot like a two-player solitaire variant. Like many older card games, it has been reimagined as a commercially-available game with a custom deck; Spite and Malice was adapted to become Skip-Bo.
Object of Spite and Malice
The object of Spite and Malice is to be the first player to deplete their talon pile.
Setup
Spite and Malice needs two standard 52-card decks of playing cards, which are shuffled together to form a 104-card pack. If you have a set of Denexa 100% Plastic Playing Cards handy, you’ve got everything covered on the card front, since it includes two decks.
Shuffle and deal 20 cards from the combined deck face down to each player. This forms the player’s talon pile and is placed at each player’s right. The top card of the talon is turned face-up and put on the top of the stack, but the remaining cards cannot be looked at. Each player is also dealt a hand of five cards, which they may look at (but their opponent may not). The deck stub becomes the stock and is placed to the side in the middle of the table.
The center of the table is partitioned out as follows: in the center of the table will be the three build piles, then, on the next row closest to each player, they have their own four discard piles. Initially, none of these piles will contain any cards, so the center of the table will be empty until play begins.
Game play
Unlike in some similar games like Speed, each player takes turns. The primary goal of each player will be to move cards, hopefully mostly from their talons, to the build piles in the center of the table. Kings are wild in Spite and Malice, with aces ranking low and the remainder of the cards following in the conventional order, with queen as the highest. Suits are immaterial to the game.
If a player begins their turn with fewer than five cards, the first thing they do is draw back up to five from the stock. On a player’s turn, they may play as many cards as they wish face-up to the build piles; these cards may be the top card of their talon (at which point a new top card is exposed) or one of the five cards from their hand. Each build pile begins with an ace, and is then built up in sequence to the queen. When a pile reaches the queen, it is removed and shuffled into the stock. There may only be three build piles at any time; new piles can only be formed by an ace when there is an empty pile to begin adding cards to. If a player depletes their hand on a single turn, they may draw five new cards and continue onward.
A player may also take one card from their hand (not the talon) and put it face-up in one of their discard piles. A player may only have four discard piles; if they wish to add more cards, they must put the new card on top of one of the existing discards, making it inaccessible until the card on top of it is moved. When a card in the discard pile is played, the player’s turn ends and they cannot make any further actions until it is their turn again. Cards in the discard piles may be played only to the build piles on subsequent turns; they may not be moved to the player’s hand or from one discard pile to another.
Game play continues until one player depletes their talon, winning the game. If the stock runs out of cards (presumably because a stalemate has been reached, preventing any of the build piles to be completed to replenish it), whoever has the fewest cards in their talon is the winner.
Spades strategy
Spades is one of those games with fairly simple rules but can have a complex strategy. While we can’t possibly share all there is to know about Spades strategy, here’s a few tips that will give you something to think about next time you play.
Are bags really such a bad thing?
Most people will be pretty cautious about collecting too many bags, due to the hefty 100-point penalty assessed for collecting ten of them. But it’s worth remembering that in some situations capturing a bag or two can be a decent strategy, if you have a good reason for doing so.
The reason for taking bags that is easiest to spot is when your opponents are at risk of breaking contract. If it’s the end of the hand, you’ve made your contract, and your opponents are still a few tricks away from making theirs, it is generally a good idea to set them by denying them those last few tricks, ensuring they score zero for the hand, even if it means taking in a few bags.
If your opponents are within a few bags of getting that 100-point penalty, it may be a good strategy to risk taking a few bags yourself to try to trick them into going over the edge. Aggressive play at the beginning of the hand can put your opponents in a frame of mind where they’re worrying about making their contract, causing them to play even more aggressively and potentially take in tricks they don’t need.
On the other hand, keep your number of bags in mind. If you have more than seven or so bags, it’s probably not a good option to risk taking the bag penalty unless your opponent will be taking it with you.
In some games, you don’t need to worry about bags at all. In games played to only 200 or 300 points, chances are you simply will not have enough time to accrue ten bags. Longer games, such as 500-pointers, make the bag penalty more dangerous.
Card counting
Since Spades is only played with one fifty-two card deck (like Denexa 100% Plastic Playing Cards), players with a good memory can easily keep track of what cards have been played and what haven’t. You don’t even need to remember every card; just keep track of those that are important to your hand. If you hold the Q♦ and you know the K♦ and A♦ have not been played, you know that it’s more likely that your queen will be beaten. Of course, no matter what your hand is, it’s usually a good idea to keep track of the spades that have been played, since those cards can be used to trump most any card in your hand.
When you have a lot of spades
Holding a lot of spades opens up a few new opportunities to a player. Naturally, you know that there will be fewer spades in the hands of your opponents, and you can trump many more tricks. You can lead spades, and the other players will be forced to follow suit. This can give you useful information; if you lead spades and someone plays a different suit, you know that they will be less likely to overcome your non-spade cards. Repeatedly leading spades can force players to sacrifice all of their spades to follow suit, leaving them unable to use them to capture tricks.
The importance of position
Where you’re sitting can be as important in Spades as it is in poker. If you are the second to play, that is, right after the lead, playing a spade to try to take the trick can be a bad move, because your opponent to the left may simply play a higher spade, and your partner will have to play an even higher spade to win the trick. It is often better to play conservatively and use the opportunity to burn off a less valuable card.
On the other hand, when you are in the third seat (your partner is the leader), it is usually appropriate to play to lock down the trick. The only times you might not want to are when your partner leads with a nigh-unbeatable card.
Remember your partner
And above all, try to keep tabs on what your partner’s doing. If you notice that they appear to have no cards in a suit, but you’re long in it, you may want to lead that suit repeatedly so that your opponent can take the opportunity to play whatever they wish and potentially win the trick with spades.
Keep their bid in mind too. If your partner made a very high bid, they likely have an exceptionally powerful hand, so you should let them use it and try to stay out of their way. Likewise, if they made a very low bid, they probably have a weak hand, so you will have to be the one scoring the tricks for your partnership.
Lowball poker
Lowball is a general term for a category of poker variants that turn the typical rank of poker hands on its head—instead of the best poker hand winning, the worst one does! A royal flush in a lowball game would be beaten by any other hand. Any poker variant can be played with lowball rules, and some games split the pot between the best conventional (high) hand and the best low hand. However, there are a few different ways that the lowest hand can be reckoned, which need to be established before you start playing.
Ace-to-five lowball
Ace-to-five lowball, or California lowball, is probably the simplest way of determining the low hand, and the one most commonly used, including in casinos. In this variant of the game, straights and flushes are ignored for the purposes of determining hand ranking. Aces are considered low. Therefore, the lowest (and therefore best) possible hand is A-2-3-4-5, which is also called the wheel or bicycle. (Because the bicycle is also a straight, it may well take both the high and low halves of the pot in split-pot games.) Note that pairs, three-of-a-kinds, and so forth do still count as hands, and will therefore be ranked higher (and therefore worse) than unpaired hands, even if they contain high cards.
Deuce-to-seven lowball
Deuce-to-seven lowball, also known as Kansas City lowball, takes straights and flushes into consideration when ranking hands, and aces count high. Thus, the lowest possible hand is 2-3-4-5-7 (because 2-3-4-5-6 forms a straight).
Ace-to-six lowball
Ace-to-six lowball is the least commonly-used variation, serving as sort of a middle ground between the two variants listed above. It is essentially deuce-to-seven lowball, except aces are low, so the lowest possible hand is A-2-3-4-6.
General considerations
Lowball hands are often quoted as their highest card. 8-7-5-3-2 may be called simply “an eight”. If there are multiple hands in play with the same highest card, they can be further disambiguated by the second-highest card, e.g. “an 8-7”.
Some split-pot games involving low hands may stipulate that a hand must contain cards below a certain rank. For instance, if a low hand is required to be “8 or better”, as in Omaha Hi-Lo 8 or Better, all of the cards within the low hand must be an 8 or lower. In such games, if the lowest hand possible among the active players does not meet the requirements, the pot is simply not split, with the entirety being awarded to the player that won with the highest hand.
To determine which hand is lowest and therefore best, start with the highest card. Whichever hand has the lowest high card will win. If there are ties, the next-highest card is compared, and so on until the tie is broken. If you get all the way down to the lowest card without being able to break the tie, the pot is simply split.
Wild cards, usually jokers, can be included in the game, especially ace-to-five lowball. Wild cards generally become the lowest card possible without forming a pair. For example, 7-5-4-★-2 will count the joker as a 3 because counting it as a 2 would form a pair.
In split-pot games, if the pot cannot be split evenly, it is customary to award the odd amount to the winner of the high hand.
Baduci
Baduci, also spelled “Badeucey“, is a variant of Badugi that adds some more poker elements to the game. Players compete to put together the best hand incorporating not only the best Badugi hand, but also the best lowball poker hand. Baduci is often played as an alternate to Badugi to keep the game fresh.
Object of Baduci
The object of Baduci is to create the best possible hand that includes both a) a four-card hand with the lowest cards possible, without duplicating either ranks or suits, and b) a five-card deuce-to-seven lowball poker hand.
Setup
Baduci uses one standard 52-card deck of playing cards. You should know by now that Denexa 100% Plastic Playing Cards are the way to go.
All players ante or post blinds, if necessary (see “Blinds and antes“). Shuffle and deal five cards to each player. Place the deck stub in the center of the table, where it becomes the stock.
Game play
Rank of hands
In Baduci, there are two ways that a hand is evaluated—as a Badugi hand, and as a poker hand. In both cases, aces rank high and therefore are not very valuable.
The Badugi hand uses a subset of the hand and is evaluated the same way that a hand in basic Badugi is evaluated. A Badugi hand cannot duplicate ranks or suits; any duplicates are disregarded, meaning that the Badugi hand can include as many as four cards (such a hand is called a badugi) or as few as one. Badugis outrank three-card hands, which outrank two-card hands. If two hands with the same number of cards are compared, the lowest card in the hand breaks the tie. If the lowest card of each hand is the same, then the next-lowest card would be compared, and so on. If two hands have exactly the same composition in number of cards and ranks, then they tie.
The poker hand is a deuce-to-seven lowball hand. This means that the lowest poker hand as conventionally ranked is considered the best; the “deuce-to-seven” part means that because aces are high, the best possible hand is 2-3-4-5-7 (since 2-3-4-5-6 would form a straight).
Play of the hand
Other than the addition of the lowball hand, the game proceeds exactly as Badugi does. After the hands have been dealt, the game proceeds to the first betting round, which follows the same rules as normal betting in poker. After that, each player may, in turn, discard any number of cards from their hand and be dealt new ones from the stock.
After getting a chance to exchange cards, there is another betting round. This repeats until a total of four betting rounds and three drawing rounds have occurred. The active players then proceed to the showdown, where hands are evaluated. The player with the best Badugi hand takes half the pot, with the other half going to the player with the best lowball hand. If one player has the best hand in both categories, they take the entire pot; if two players tie for best in one of the categories, that half of the pot is split between the two of them (each receiving a quarter of the original pot).
