Fan Tan

Full rules

1. Overview
2. Card order
3. Setup
4. Playing a turn
5. End of the game
6. Winning the game
7. Tips for beginners
8. Variants

Overview

Fan Tan, also called Sevens or Parliament, is a simple game in which everyone tries to get rid of all their cards by adding them to rows on the table. Each suit gets its own row, which starts with the 7 and grows in both directions. Whoever plays their last card first wins.

• Players: 3–8, best with 4–6. Everyone plays for themselves.
• You need: one standard 52-card deck, no jokers.

Card order

In each suit the cards run: 2 – 3 – 4 – 5 – 6 – 7 – 8 – 9 – 10 – J – Q – K – A. The Ace is the highest card, above the King.

Setup

1. Pick a dealer. The player to the dealer's right may cut (lift off part of the deck and put it underneath).
2. The dealer deals all the cards face down, one at a time, clockwise, starting with the player to their left. Unless there are four players, some players get one card more than others – that's fine.
3. Pick up your cards (your hand) and sort them by suit. Keep them hidden from the others.

Playing a turn

The player to the dealer's left starts, then play goes clockwise (to the left). On your turn you must, if you can, play one card face up to the layout (the cards on the table). You may play:

• Any 7. It starts a new row for its suit.
• The next card up or down in a suit that already has a row: the 8 or 6 next to the 7, then the 9 or 5, and so on. Lower cards go to the left of the 7, higher ones to the right.

If you can play more than one card, you choose which. If you cannot play, you pass (say "pass" or knock on the table). You may not pass if you hold a card that could be played.

Example: On the table are 7♥ and the row 6♣ 7♣ 8♣. Your hand: 5♣, 9♥, 10♣, 7♠. You can play the 5♣ (below the 6♣) or the 7♠ (a new row). The 9♥ must wait for the 8♥, the 10♣ for the 9♣.

To save space, you can stack the higher cards of a suit on its 8 and the lower cards on its 6, so that you only see the top of each end.

A finished layout looks like this:

End of the game

The first player to play their last card wins the hand. Then the deal passes to the left for the next hand.

Winning the game

Play as many hands as you like and count who wins the most – or use chips (see Variants) and play until someone has collected an agreed number.

Tips for beginners

• Hold on to 7s and cards next to them if other players are likely to need them – but only as long as you have other cards to play.
• Play first the cards that let you continue later, e.g. the 8♦ if you also hold the 9♦ and 10♦.
• Aces and 2s come last in every suit. If you have many of them, open the suits that lead towards them early.
• Remember who passed on which suit – they don't have the next card of it.

Variants

Optional – agree before you start.

• With chips: everyone puts one chip (counter, bean or match) into a pool before the deal. Whoever passes adds one chip to the pool. The winner takes the pool, plus one chip from each opponent for every card they still hold.
• Seven of diamonds starts: the holder of the 7♦ begins and must play it first.
• Ace low: the Ace ranks below the 2, so the rows run A to K.
• Domino (France): the first player may start with any rank, and every other suit must then begin with the same rank.
• Devyatka (Russia): play with 36 cards – take out the 2s to 5s, so each suit runs from 6 up to Ace. The rows start with the 9s instead of the 7s, and the holder of the 9♦ begins by playing it.