Egyptian Ratscrew

Full rules

1. Overview
2. Setup
3. Playing a turn
4. Challenges: Aces and face cards
5. Slapping
6. Wrong slap
7. Running out of cards
8. Winning the game
9. Tips for beginners
10. Variants

Overview

Egyptian Ratscrew (ERS for short) is a fast, noisy game for 2 or more players. You take turns turning cards onto a pile in the middle. You can win the pile in two ways: by challenging with Aces and face cards, as in Beggar-My-Neighbour, or by being the first to slap the pile – put your hand flat on it – when certain cards appear. The player who collects all the cards wins.

• Players: 2 or more – as many as can reach the pile; about 2–6 is ideal.
• You need: a standard 52-card deck, no jokers.

Setup

1. Shuffle and deal out all the cards, face down, as evenly as possible. It doesn't matter if some players get one card more.
2. Nobody looks at their cards. Each player keeps them in a neat face-down pile.
3. Agree which slaps count (see below). The standard ones are the double and the sandwich.

Playing a turn

The player to the dealer's left starts; play goes clockwise.

1. On your turn, turn over the top card of your pile onto the shared centre pile.
2. Turn it away from you, so everyone sees it at the same moment. No peeking!
3. Number cards (2–10): simply the next player's turn.

Challenges: Aces and face cards

When you play an Ace, King, Queen or Jack, you challenge the next player. They must play up to a certain number of cards, one at a time, to try to turn up an Ace or face card of their own:

• If they turn up an Ace or face card in time, they stop at once – now they challenge the next player.
• If all their chances are number cards, the challenge fails: whoever played the last Ace or face card wins the whole centre pile, puts it face down under their own pile and starts the next round.

Example: Anna plays a K♣. Ben has 3 chances: 4♦, 8♠ – then a J♥! Now Carla, next in turn, has 1 chance: she turns up a 6♣. The challenge fails and Ben, who played the Jack, wins the pile.

Slapping

At any moment – even in the middle of a challenge – the first player to slap the pile after one of these patterns appears on top wins the whole pile:

• Double: two cards of the same rank on top of each other, e.g. 7♠ on 7♦.
• Sandwich: two cards of the same rank with one different card between them, e.g. Q♥ – 3♣ – Q♠.

Anyone may slap, not just the player whose turn it is. The winner puts the pile under their own pile and starts the next round.

• If several players slap, the hand at the bottom – touching the cards – wins.
• Keep your hand away from the pile until you slap; hovering over it is unfair.

Example: Ben plays a 9♥ on Anna's 9♣. Carla slaps first and takes the pile – even though she played neither card.

Wrong slap

If you slap when there is no double or sandwich, you burn a card: put the top card of your pile face down under the centre pile. Then play goes on as before.

Running out of cards

If you run out of cards, you stop playing cards (your turn is skipped) – but you're not quite out. You may still slap in: if you win the pile with a correct slap, you're back in the game. You can slap in until one player has collected all 52 cards. A player out of cards who slaps wrongly can't burn a card; agree before the game what happens then (see Variants).

If you run out of cards during a challenge, the player who played the Ace or face card wins the pile.

Winning the game

The player who collects all 52 cards wins.

Tips for beginners

• Watch the top two or three cards all the time – doubles and sandwiches can appear in anyone's turn.
• A challenge can be interrupted by a slap, so keep watching even when it isn't your turn.
• Don't slap in a panic: every wrong slap costs a card.
• Agree the slap rules before you start – arguments are part of the fun, but not too many.

Variants

These are optional – agree before you start. Groups often add more slaps:

• Ratscrew: a 6 and a 9 on top of each other.
• Hoagie: a double with two different cards between them.
• Tens: two cards in a row that add up to 10 (Ace = 1).
• Marriage: a King and a Queen on top of each other.
• Four in a row: four cards in rising or falling order, e.g. 7, 6, 5, 4.
• Top bottom: the top card has the same rank as the bottom card of the centre pile.
• Bigger burn: a wrong slap costs two cards instead of one.
• Three strikes: a player out of cards who slaps wrongly gets a strike; after three strikes they may no longer slap.
• Last chance: when one player has all the cards, they turn over three more cards to give the others one last chance to slap back in.