Donkey

Full rules

1. Overview
2. Setup
3. Playing
4. Grab a token
5. Scoring
6. End of the game
7. Tips for beginners
8. Variants

Overview

Donkey is a noisy family game; the version described here is played in Australia. Everyone passes cards around the table in time to a chant, trying to collect four of a kind – four cards of the same rank, like four Queens. In the middle lie tokens, one fewer than there are players. Whoever has four of a kind quietly takes one – and as soon as you notice, grab one too. The player left without a token gets a letter of D-O-N-K-E-Y. Spell the whole word and you lose.

• Players: 3–8 – best with 4 or 5.
• You need: one standard 52-card deck without jokers, and small tokens – sweets such as chocolate beans are traditional, coins work too.

Setup

1. Pick the cards: you need 5 cards per player plus 1, with as many complete sets of four as possible (all four cards of a rank). Take Aces, Kings, Queens and so on. If you need a few more cards that don't make a full set, take them from the next rank – and tell everyone which they are.

2. Tokens: place one fewer token than players in a small circle in the middle of the table – about the size of a dinner plate, so everyone can reach them equally well.
3. Deal: shuffle and deal 5 cards to each player. Put the one card left over aside, face down, without anyone looking at it – nobody knows which card is missing.

Playing

Everyone plays at the same time, to a steady beat:

1. Together (or one player for everyone) chant "Pass, two, three, four – pass, two, three, four …" – like a metronome, not too fast.
2. On "pass", everyone passes one card face down to the player on their right.
3. During "two, three, four", pick up the card you were given and choose which card to pass on next – often the one you just received.

Grab a token

• When you have four of a kind, take a token – secretly, without a word – and carry on passing as if nothing had happened.
• As soon as you notice that a token is gone, take one too – even without four of a kind – and keep playing.
• Because there is one token too few, one player ends up empty-handed. That player loses the hand.
• False start: whoever took the first token must show four of a kind at the end of the hand. If they can't, they lose the hand instead.

Example: Four play, so three tokens lie in the middle. Anna holds K♠ K♥ K♦ 7♣ 9♥. She passes on the 7♣ and is handed the K♣ – four Kings! She keeps the 9♥ for the next beat, says nothing and casually slides one token towards her. Ben sees a token go and grabs one; Carla does too. Dan is still counting his cards, looks up and finds the middle empty. He loses the hand and gets a D. Anna, who took the first token, shows her four Kings at the end, so she is safe.

Tip: glide your hand over the tokens now and then without taking one – then nobody notices when you really do.

Scoring

The loser of each hand gets the next letter of D-O-N-K-E-Y: first a D, then an O, and so on. Keep score on paper.

For the next hand, put the set-aside card back, shuffle, deal again, set aside a new card and put the tokens back.

End of the game

The game ends as soon as one player has lost six hands and spelled DONKEY. That player is the donkey and loses the game – nobody else wins or loses.

Tips for beginners

• Keep pairs and triples; pass on single cards.
• Don't only watch your cards: glance at the tokens every few beats.
• Take your token calmly – a hasty grab gives you away.

Variants

Optional – agree before you start.

• Four cards, one rank per player: use one complete set of four per player, deal 4 cards each and pass freely, as fast as you like, without a chant. Whoever has four of a kind calls "Donkey!" and takes a token; everyone else grabs one too. This is the older American form.
• Donkey ears: no tokens – put your hands to your head like donkey ears instead. The last to do it loses the hand.
• Last one standing: instead of ending the game, a player who has spelled DONKEY drops out. Remove one token each time; play on until one player is left.