A
card game.
To play, start with a full
deck of cards, and deal them to each of four players. Each
player will have thirteen
cards (hence the name). On the first hand, whoever is dealt the 3 of
spades
will go first, and must lay down the 3 of spades, although it can be in
combination with
other cards. After that, players take turns playing cards in
clockwise order from whoever
went first.
Whoever begins the round chooses what kind of round it will be, and every player must play
a similar trick or pass. Once a player has passed he or she may not play again until
another round has begun. Once all but one player has passed, the remaining player may
continue the round or begin a new round by laying down a new card or combination of cards.
Legal combinations to play include laying down just one card; two, three, or four of a kind; or
a straight of three or more. If all the cards in a straight are of the same suit, the player
who played them may say "same suit", which will allow only another same suited straight to
beat it. After a straight is played, everyone else must play a straight of the same length, but
with the highest card being higher than the highest card of the previous straight.
One of the stranger rules of the game is that the highest card in the game is the 2. A card
is considered higher than another card if either the number of the card is greater, or the suit
is higher. Suits go from highest to lowest in the order of Hearts, Diamonds, Clubs, Spades.
The only thing that will beat a two is either a higher two or a "Two-killer". Two-killers
consist of either 4 of a kind, or 3 consecutive pairs of cards. If double two's are layed down,
only two sets of 4 of a kind, or 4 consecutive pairs will beat it. The pattern continue's if three
two's are layed down. If a single player gets all 4 two's, they automatically win.
A player wins by laying down all of his or her cards first, and the game continues until all but
one player has laid down all their cards. Then a new game is usually played, except that
the winner of the previous game goes first in the new game.
Although there are lots of rules and many of them seem to have been made up almost at random,
it really is a rather fun and addicting game. It's especially great in a school setting because
no scorekeeping is required, unlike many other games. Next time you and three friends have
a deck of cards and nothing better to do, give it a try.