Seine River Service For Seniors Card Games

EASY CARD GAMES Rules & Instructions Courtesy of Seine River Service for Seniors

SNAP THE PACK The standard 52-card pack is used.

OBJECT OF THE GAME The goal is to win all of the cards THE DEAL Deal out all cards face down, one at a time, beginning to the dealer’s left. It does not matter if some players have more cards than others. Each player puts their cards in a pile, face down in front of them.

THE PLAY The player on the dealer’s left turns over the top card of his pile and puts it face up starting a pile of cards next to their face down cards. The next player to the left does the same and so on around the table.

When someone turns up a card that matches a card already face up on another player’s pile, the first person to notice the two matched cards calls out “Snap!” and wins both piles. This player adds the cards to the bottom of their face-down pile.

When two players shout “Snap!” at the same time, the two piles are combined and placed in the center of the table face up. These cards form a “Snap Pot.” Play continues where it left off with the player to the left of the last player who turned over a card. If a player spots a card that matches the card on top of the Snap Pot, they shout “Snap Pot!” and win all of those cards. During the game, if a player runs out of cards in their face-down pile, the cards in the face up pile are turned down and the player continues to play.

SOLITAIRE THE PACK - Virtually all Solitaire games are played with one or more standard 52-card packs. Standard Solitaire uses one 52-card pack.

OBJECT OF THE GAME - The first objective is to release and play into position certain cards to build up each foundation, in sequence and in suit, from the ace through the king. The ultimate objective is to build the whole pack onto the foundations, and if that can be done, the Solitaire game is won.

RANK OF CARDS - The rank of cards in Solitaire games is: K (high), Q, J, 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, A (low).

THE DEAL - There are four different types of piles in Solitaire: 1. The Tableau: Seven piles that make up the main table.

2. The Foundations: Four piles on which a whole suit or sequence must be built up. In most Solitaire games, the four aces are the bottom card or base of the foundations. The foundation piles are hearts, diamonds, spades, and clubs.

3. The Stock (or “Hand”) Pile: If the entire pack is not laid out in a tableau at the beginning of a game, the remaining cards form the stock pile from which additional cards are brought into play according to the rules.

4. The Talon (or “Waste”) Pile: Cards from the stock pile that have no place in the tableau or on foundations are laid face up in the waste pile.

To form the tableau, seven piles need to be created. Starting from left to right, place the first card face up to make the first pile, deal one card face down for the next six piles. Starting again from left to right, place one card face up on the second pile and deal one card face down on piles three through seven. Starting again from left to right, place one card face up on the third pile and deal one card face down on piles four through seven. Continue this pattern until pile seven has one card facing up on top of a pile of six cards facing down.

The remaining cards form the stock (or “hand”) pile and are placed above the tableau.

When starting out, the foundations and waste pile do not have any cards.

THE PLAY - The initial array may be changed by "building" - transferring cards among the face-up cards in the tableau. Certain cards of the tableau can be played at once, while others may not be played until certain blocking cards are removed. For example, of the seven cards facing up in the tableau, if one is a nine and another is a ten, you may transfer the nine to on top of the ten to begin building that pile in sequence. Since you have moved the nine from one of the seven piles, you have now unblocked a face down card; this card can be turned over and now is in play.

As you transfer cards in the tableau and begin building sequences, if you uncover an ace, the ace should be placed in one of the foundation piles. The foundations get built by suit and in sequence from ace to king.

Continue to transfer cards on top of each other in the tableau in sequence. If you can’t move any more face up cards, you can utilize the stock pile by flipping over the first card. This card can be played in the foundations or tableau. If you cannot play the card in the tableau or the foundations piles, move the card to the waste pile and turn over another card in the stock pile.

If a vacancy in the tableau is created by the removal of cards elsewhere it is called a “space”, and it is of major importance in manipulating the tableau. If a space is created, it can only be filled in with a king. Filling a space with a king could potentially unblock one of the face down cards in another pile in the tableau.

Continue to transfer cards in the tableau and bring cards into play from the stock pile until all the cards are built in suit sequences in the foundation piles to win!

KLONDIKE SOLITAIRE THE PACK - The standard 52-card pack is used.

OBJECT OF THE GAME - The goal is to get the four suits built onto the foundations from aces up through kings.

THE DEAL - Deal out 28 cards in seven piles as follows: The first pile is one card; the second pile has two cards, and so on up to seven in the last pile. The top card of each pile is face up; all others are face down.

THE PLAY - The four aces form the foundations. As it becomes available, each ace must be played to a row above the piles. Cards in the appropriate suit are then played on the aces in sequence - the two, then the three, and so on - as they become available.

Any movable card may be placed on a card next-higher in rank if it is of opposite color. Example: A black five may be played on a red six. If more than one card is face up on a tableau pile, all such cards must be moved as a unit.

When there is no face-up card left on a pile, the top face-down card is turned up and becomes available.

Only a king may fill an open space in the layout. The player turns up cards from the top of the stock in groups of three, and the top card of the three may be used for building on the piles, if possible, played on a foundation. If a card is used in this manner, the card below it becomes available for play. If the upcard cannot be used, the one, two, or three cards of the group are placed face up on the waste pile, and the next group of three cards is turned up.

CRAZY EIGHTS Played with a deck of 52 1. Each player is dealt eight cards.

2. The remaining cards are placed face down in the center of the table, forming a draw pile.

3. The top card of the draw pile is turned face up to start the discard pile next to it.

4. First player adds to the discard pile by playing one card that matches the top card on the discard pile either by suit or by rank (i.e. 6, jack, ace, etc.).

5. A player who cannot match the top card on the discard pile by suit or rank must draw cards until he can play one.

6. When the draw pile is empty, a player who cannot add to the discard pile passes his turn.

7. All eights are wild and can be played on any card during a player's turn.

8. When a player discards an eight, he chooses which suit is now in play.

9. The next player must play either a card of that suit or another eight.

10. The first player to discard all of his cards wins.

OLD MAID A standard deck of cards (with a Joker added, or with one card removed to serve as the Old Maid) and 2 to 8 players. Players try to get rid of all the cards in their hand before their opponent does by drawing from their opponent’s hand and discarding pairs. The player left with the “Maid” loses.

Rules to Old Maid Before dealing, players must decide whether or not to add a card (like a Joker or a card from an identical deck) or to subtract a card (typically the Queen of Clubs) to serve as the Old Maid. Shuffle, and deal all the cards. Players sort through their cards, making as many pairs as possible, and placing these pairs face-up on the table in front of them.

Starting with the dealer, each player then takes a turn fanning out their hands so that the player to their left can draw one card. The player must not be allowed to see the player’s hand from which they are drawing.

Play continues in this fashion. As players make pairs in their hand, they discard them immediately onto the table.

Objective Each player is trying to get rid of his cards as fast as possible. The player left holding the unmatched card, the Old Maid, loses.

RUMMY 500 How to Play Rummy 500 is played by two people with the standard 52-card pack. Each player receives a hand of 13 cards, and the rest of the pack is placed face down; this is the stock. The top card of the stock is turned up and placed beside the stock in a discard pile. In Rummy 500, all discards are available to draw, not just the top one; the discard pile is fanned out so that each card is visible.

There are three phases to a turn: 1 Drawing: You can either draw the top card of the stock, or draw from the discard pile. When drawing from the discard pile, you can take the top card, or you can take a card farther down in the pile, but there are some restrictions: If you take the top card of the discard pile, you must play it to the table in the current turn. You can change the game options to not require you to play this card; in this case, if you draw this card, you must discard a different card.

If you take a card farther down in the discard pile, you must be able to play that card to the table in the current turn, and you must also take all the cards above that card in the discard pile into your hand. The card you have to meld that turn will be raised slightly in your hand as a reminder.

2 Playing cards to the table: This is optional. You can move sets and sequences, called melds, from your hand to the table; this is known as melding. You can also play cards that extend existing melds (either yours or your opponent’s). You get points for each card you play to the table. You can meld as many cards as you like.

3 Discarding: You must end your turn by discarding a card to the top of the discard pile.

The exception to this rule is if you have melded all the cards in your hand (ending the hand); in this case, no discard is necessary.

The hand continues with each player taking a turn until one player has played all of his or her cards to the table (discarding if necessary), ending the hand. The hand can also end if all of the cards in the stock are drawn, and the person whose turn it is does not want to draw from the discard pile (or cannot); that player passes, ending the game.

You play multiple hands until one player reaches 500 points or more at the end of a hand; that player wins the game. In the event of a tie, further hands are played until there is a single winner.

General Strategies Success in Rummy depends largely on keeping track of the discards. From this you’ll know which of your own combinations are still “alive” and you’ll be able to guess which combinations your opponent is holding.

Pay attention to sequences when considering what cards to draw or discard. For example, it is easy to miss an ace-low sequence (A-2-3 or A-2-3-4), because the ace is always sorted as a high card in your hand.

Later in the game, intimidate your opponent—keep a vigilant eye on your opponent’s score, and try to keep your score slightly ahead to keep him or her from ending the game. Also watch your opponent’s hand size at the end of the game: you don’t want to be surprised by the other player going out when you have a full hand of cards (especially high ones) near the end.

Know when to lose gracefully. If you’re dramatically behind on points in the current hand, but you can go out, consider going out early even if this means losing; since you’re playing several games to 500 points, think long term. Prolonging the hand when you’re losing and your outlook is bad gives your opponent a chance to make the outcome even worse for you.

Your ace strategy should vary throughout the game. Early in the game, it is worth holding onto aces, since the potential 15 points you could score (for a set or ace-high sequence) are very valuable. Near the end of the hand, discard aces that are not sure things. At 15 points a pop, it is too much of a risk to hold onto them near the end of the hand.

If your opponent’s score is nearing 500, try to end the hand at an appropriate time, if you can. Don’t be afraid to go out early if you don’t have a fantastic hand and your opponent won’t win the game. Maybe the next hand will be the monster hand you need to mount your comeback.

BAKER’S DOZEN SOLITAIRE Setting up the Tableau To set up Baker's Dozen Solitaire, first, deal a row of 13 cards, face up. Then deal three more rows, each row overlapping the previous one. When you are finished, all 52 cards are visible in 13 columns of four each. This creates the 13 tableaus. There are no hidden cards in this game. Move the kings to the bottommost position of their respective tableaus before play begins, so they don't block play.

Playing a Card on a Foundation As an ace becomes available in one tableau—no other card covers it—play the ace above the tableaus in one of four areas for the foundations to start that foundation. Cards of the same suit may be played whenever they are available in the tableaus on each ace in the foundation in ascending order, from low to high. The ultimate goal is to end up with four foundation piles of ace to king.

Only cards in a tableau that are completely uncovered may be played on a foundation position or another tableau.

Once a card is played on a foundation, it can't be removed.

Playing on the Tableau When any one of the uncovered cards in the tableaus can be played on a foundation position, you may play it. If no cards can be moved to the foundation or strategy suggests you not move a card, play one of the tableau cards on the next-highest card of a different suit, regardless of suit or color.

For example, the 9 of hearts can be played on the 10 of diamonds, clubs or spades, but not on the 10 of hearts.

When a column in the tableau is emptied, it remains empty.

Continue to play cards from the tableaux, either to the foundation or to another position in the tableaus.

Winning You win Baker's Dozen Solitaire by building all four foundation suits up from ace to king, at which point all the tableaus are empty.

CLOCK SOLITAIRE Setup Deal the cards, face down, into 13 piles of four cards each.

The piles should be arranged as if they are the numbers on a clock with the extra pile in the middle of the circle. The "numbers" of each of the piles (1 through 12 on the clock and the middle pile as the No. 13) are important.

Gameplay Turn the top card on the 13th pile face up (that's the pile in the middle of the circle). Place the card, still face up, under the pile of that card's number. For example, a 4 would go under the 4 pile. An ace would go under the one pile. Face cards are placed as follows: jack under 11, queen under 12, king under 13.

Then, turn the top card on that pile face up and place it, still face up, under the appropriate pile.

Continue in this manner until the game ends.

If the final face-down card in a pile belongs to that same pile, continue the game by turning the next (moving clockwise) face-down card face up.

How to Win You win if all 13 piles become face-up piles of four-of-a-kind. However, you lose if the fourth king is turned face up before all the other sets are completed. Clock Solitaire is only won about 1% of the time because it is entirely based on chance.

Variations on Clock Solitaire If regular Clock Solitaire is not challenging enough for you, there are some variations that you might like. In some versions of the game, the goal is not just to stack each card in four-of-a-kind piles but to alternate the card color as you do. This would mean you could only place a red ace on top of a black ace and so on. As you can imagine, this variation makes the game even more challenging. If you are following this rule, then you might want to introduce a waste pile for when you cannot place a card yet. Usually, players are allowed to reuse the waste pile a maximum of two times before the game ends. Although, most games end before the waste pile is used.

PYRAMID SOLITAIRE How to Setup the Game Deal cards to form a pyramid, starting with a row of 1 card, followed by a row of two cards, and so on, down to a row of 7 cards. Each row should overlap the previous one. The pyramid will include a total of 28 cards when complete. The remaining cards are set on the table face down to form the draw pile.

Gameplay Reveal cards from the draw pile, one at a time. If a card from the draw pile is not used, it should be covered up by the next card from the draw pile. It can be used later in the game, but only if it gets uncovered because any draw pile cards on top of it are able to be discarded.

When two exposed cards total 13, they can be discarded. Discarding is always optional, and there may be times when it is a better tactical choice not to discard.

Cards in the pyramid are exposed if no cards are overlapping them. Only one card from the draw pile is exposed at any given time in the game (the most recent draw pile card to be turned up is the only card from the draw pile that's exposed).

For example, if a 9 and a 4 are both exposed in the pyramid, they can be discarded. If a 5 is exposed in the pyramid and an 8 is exposed after being turned up from the draw pile, they can be discarded.

Card Values Aces are worth 1, jacks are worth 11, queens are worth 12, and kings are worth 13. Kings can be discarded as a single card.

Some possible discard combinations: • King: As a single card • Queen + an ace • Jack + No. 2 card • No. 10 card + No. 3 card • No. 9 card + No. 4 card • No. 8 card + No. 5 card • No. 7 card + No. 6 card How to Win the Game You win the game when all of the cards have been removed from the pyramid or when the draw pile has been exhausted, whichever happens first.