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Games for five
Card games that work with five players.
- Mau-Mau Match suit or rank, dodge the sevens and be the first to shout "Mau-Mau!"
- Crazy Eights Match suit or rank, play an 8 to change the suit – and make the others pay for every card they're stuck with.
- Mao The only rule we can tell you is this one – the rest you'll learn one penalty card at a time.
- Rolling Stone Follow suit or pick up the whole trick – the first to empty their hand wins, but hands can swell fast.
- Golf Six hidden cards, nine holes – pair up your columns and play the lowest round of the day.
- President Beat the last play with higher cards, shed your hand first and rise from Beggar to President – and claim the Beggar's best cards next round.
- Palace Play equal or higher, burn the pile with a 10 and flip your blind cards at the end – and make sure you're not the Palace's last guest.
- Swoop Play equal or lower, swoop the pile away with four of a kind, a 10 or a joker – and empty your hand before the penalty points pile up.
- Schwimmen (31) Swap with the middle, collect 31 in one suit and knock at the right moment – lose your last life and you have to swim.
- Cheat Play face down, claim whatever you like and keep a straight face – but if someone calls "Cheat!" and you lied, the pile is yours.
- Durak Russia's favourite card game – attack, fight off, throw in more cards, and whatever you do, don't be the last one holding cards.
- Sheepshead Wisconsin's tavern game – pick up the blind, call an Ace for a secret partner and take 61 of the 120 points.
- Rummy (Rommé) Germany's family-table rummy – collect sets and runs, open with 40 points and be the first to get rid of every card.
- Oh Hell! Say exactly how many tricks you'll take – no more, no fewer – and watch everyone else's plans go to hell.
- Orbit untested Win together or fail together – everyone has a tricky task, and nobody may say a word about their cards.
- Nova untested Launch a firework show together – you can see everybody's cards except your own.
- Paternoster Two piles go up, two go down, and the whole team must squeeze all 104 cards onto them – without ever saying what you hold.
- Pokerface untested Hold'em without betting and without opponents – guess where your hand ranks at the table and line up the whole team without a word.
- Differenzler Swiss Jass for sharp minds – predict how many points you'll take, then hit your number exactly.
- Hearts Pass your dangerous cards on, dodge every heart and the Queen of Spades – or grab them all and shoot the moon.
- Knockout Whist Seven cards, then six, then five – take at least one trick each hand or you're knocked out.
- Black Maria Hearts with teeth – dodge the Queen of Spades, and watch out for her King and Ace too.
- Gaigel Swabia's pub game with a double deck – race your partner to 101, open with a hidden Ace and call "Aus!" at exactly the right moment.
- Forty-Fives Ireland's crazy card order – the 5 of trumps beats everything, the Ace of Hearts is always a trump, and red cards rank high, black ones low.
- Nap (Napoleon) Five cards each, one brave bid – and the whole table ganging up to stop you going Nap.
- Toepen The Dutch pub game – only the last trick counts, the 10 ranks highest, and one knock on the table raises the stakes for everyone.
- Agurk The Nordic "cucumber" game – beat the card on the table or give up your lowest, and don't be the one left holding the high card at the end.
- Setback Bid how many of High, Low, Jack and Game your team can take, pitch the first card to set trumps – and get set back if you fall short.
- Rummy The classic draw-and-discard game – collect sets and runs, lay them down and be the first to empty your hand.
- Continental Fifteen cards, runs only, and no melding along the way – lay down your whole hand in one go and collect from everyone.
- Hand and Foot Canasta with two hands each – play out your hand, pick up your foot and fill the table with seven-card books over four rounds.
- Samba Canasta with three decks and runs – draw two cards a turn, build seven-card sambas and take your partnership to 10,000.
- Indian Rummy India's 13-card rummy – build a pure sequence, use the cut joker as a wild card and declare before the others can.
- Rummy 500 Every card you lay down scores – dig deep into the discard pile for the one you need, and be first to 500.
- Contract Rummy Seven deals, seven contracts that get harder every time – and when the discard you need goes by, just shout "May I?"
- Kalooki Open with 40 points, build on everyone's melds and stay under 150 – or lay down all 13 cards at once for a kalookie.
- Chinchón Spain's seven-card rummy – match your hand, close before the others and dream of the seven-card run that wins the whole game.
- Panguingue The old gambling rummy of the American West – eight decks, melds that pay chips on the spot, and eleven cards down to win.
- Five-Card Stud The original stud poker – one card hidden, four for all to see, and a bet after every card.
- Texas Hold'em (No Limit) Two secret cards, five shared ones and a pile of chips – bet it all when you dare and make the best five-card hand of seven.
- Five-Card Draw Five secret cards, one chance to swap – the poker everyone learns first, all about nerve and reading your opponents.
- Seven-Card Stud Three cards hidden, four for all to see – five betting rounds in which you read the table card by card.
- Omaha (Pot Limit) Hold'em with four hole cards – use exactly two of them, bet up to the size of the pot, and watch the monster hands collide.
- Three-Card Brag Britain's old pub game – three cards, nerves of steel and the option to bet blind at half price.
- Short Deck Hold'em Hold'em without the 2s to 5s – big hands every deal, a flush that beats a full house, and antes that make every pot worth a fight.
- Razz Seven-Card Stud turned upside down – the lowest hand wins, Aces are small and the dream hand is 5-4-3-2-A.
- 2-7 Triple Draw Three chances to swap your way down to the lowest hand – where Aces are high, straights hurt and 7-5-4-3-2 is perfection.
- Badugi Four cards, three draws, and the lowest hand wins – but only cards of four different suits and ranks count.
- Guts Two cards, one closed fist – are you in or out? Win the pot, or match it if you lose.
- Indian Poker Hold your card to your forehead – everyone sees it except you. Read their faces and bet on a card you can't see.
- Teen Patti India's three-card poker – bet blind without even looking, or look and pay double, and call for a show when only two are left.
- Baseball Seven-Card Stud with 3s and 9s wild – a face-up 4 walks you to an extra card, a face-up 3 costs you the pot or you strike out.
- No-Peek Baseball Nobody looks at their cards – flip them one by one until you beat the table, with 3s and 9s wild and a 4 bringing an extra card.
- Follow the Queen Seven-Card Stud where Queens are wild – and so is whatever card follows the last face-up Queen, until the next Queen changes it.
- Anaconda Pass your trash left – three cards, then two, then one – then roll out your hand card by card and split the pot high and low.
- Diablo Five-Card Draw with deuces wild – but whoever opens the betting must win the pot, or pay for the next one.
- Seven Twenty-Seven (7/27) Take cards or stand – one half of the pot goes to the hand closest to 7, the other to the hand closest to 27.
- Spit in the Ocean Four cards each and one face-up card for everyone – it's wild, and so is every card of its rank.
- Home Poker Variants (Dealer's Choice) Chicago, Heinz, Mexican Stud, Iron Cross and more – each dealer picks the game, the wilder the better.
- Fan Tan Start each suit with its seven, build out towards Ace and 2, and hold back the cards your neighbours are waiting for.
- Ninety-Nine Add up the pile, call out the total – and don't be the one who can't keep it under 99.
- Boodle Run the suits up in sequence, pocket the chips on the four boodle cards and be first to empty your hand.
- Pig Pass cards round the circle as fast as you can, collect four of a kind – and don't be the last to touch your nose.
- Donkey Pass cards to the beat, sneak a token when you've got four of a kind – and don't be the one left without.
- Spoons Pass cards round the table until someone grabs a spoon – then everyone dives for the rest, and one hand comes up empty.
- Beggar-My-Neighbour Turn up an Ace or a face card and your neighbour has to pay – with luck, you'll beggar them of every card.
- Chase the Ace One card each – keep it or swap it with your neighbour, and don't be caught holding the lowest.
- Blackjack (Twenty-One) Get closer to 21 than the dealer without going over – hit, or stand?
- Old Maid Pair up your cards, draw blind from your neighbour – and pray you're not the one left holding the odd Queen.
- Go Fish "Got any sevens?" – ask the others for cards, collect all four of a rank, and when they say "Go fish!", try your luck in the pond.
- Kemps Swap cards from the middle, collect four of a kind and give your partner the secret sign – before the others crack your code.
- Concentration (Memory) All cards face down, two turned up at a time – remember where everything is and collect the most pairs.
- Snap Turn your cards one by one – and when two match, shout "Snap!" faster than anyone else.
- Slapjack Cards go down one by one – when a Jack appears, slap it first and the whole pile is yours.
- Egyptian Ratscrew Beggar-My-Neighbour with a slap – spot a double or a sandwich first and the whole pile is yours.
- Goofspiel (GOPS) Both players hold the same thirteen cards – outguess your opponent and win the diamonds with a bid just one higher.
- Nertz Everyone plays their own patience at once – onto the same foundations. Empty your Nertz pile and shout "Nertz!"
- Busfahrer (Ride the Bus) Red or black, higher or lower – guess right, survive the pyramid, or you're the one who has to drive the bus.
- In-Between (Acey-Deucey) Two cards face up – will the third land in between? Bet as much of the pot as you dare.
- Red Dog (High Card Pool) A card is turned up – do you hold a higher one of the same suit? Bet on it, up to the whole pot.
- Baccarat (Punto Banco) Bet on Player or Banker – whose two or three cards come closest to 9?
- Faro Bet on a rank and let each pair of cards from the box decide – the banking game of the Wild West's saloons.
- Kings Cup A circle of cards around a cup, a rule for every rank – and whoever draws the fourth King faces the cup.
- Horse Race Four Aces, one track, a flip of the deck at a time – back your horse with sips and cheer it over the finish line.
- Beat the Dealer Guess the top card, get a "higher" or "lower", guess again – every hit makes the dealer drink, every miss costs you.
- Irish Snap Count "Ace, two, three …" as you play – when the card matches the word, everyone slaps, and the slowest hand takes the pile.
- Intrigue untested Two hidden cards, a handful of coins and a straight face – claim any role you like, but if someone calls your bluff, it costs you dearly.
- Roses and Thorns untested Three roses and one thorn each – bid how many cards you can turn up without getting pricked, and keep a poker face while others try.
- Liar's Post untested Slide a card across the table, tell everyone what it is – and hope they don't believe you, or that they do.
- Sixth Card untested Everybody plays at once, the cards line up by themselves – and whoever lays the sixth card in a row swallows the other five.
- Take or Pass untested Nobody wants the cards – so you pay a chip to pass them on, until someone decides the pile of chips is worth the pain.
- Wizards and Jesters untested Four Aces that always win, four 2s that always lose – and one more card every round to get your prediction exactly right.
- Ten Phases untested Ten tasks, one after another – collect sets, runs and suits, wave your wild Kings and make your rivals skip a turn.
- Showdown untested A Wild West shootout with secret roles – protect the Sheriff, or be the outlaw who tries to bring him down.
- On the Scale untested Somewhere between freezing and boiling sits a cup of tea – but where exactly? Read your friend's mind and find the spot.
- Tricks Together untested Everybody names their number of tricks, and the whole team wins only if everybody hits it exactly – without a word about the cards.
- Defuse! untested One of you knows the code, the rest hold the pliers – and the expert may not say a single word.
- Pot Luck untested Everyone brings a card to the pot – land three shared pots on exactly 21 as a team, never on your own card and without a word.
- Marriage Nepal's festival rummy with three decks and 21 cards – lay down three pure melds to see the hidden joker, then finish with wild cards.
- Andar Bahar One card in the middle, two piles growing beside it – bet on inside or outside and watch where its twin turns up.
- Seka Three cards, count one suit as in 31, bet until only two are left – and hope the Seven of Clubs is in your hand.
- Blef Is there a full house somewhere among everyone's cards? Bid higher or call the bluff – and every mistake costs you another card.
- Bonjour Monsieur Greet the King, greet the Queen, hail the Ace – one slip and the whole pile is yours. And every round's winner adds a new rule.
- Koum Kan Greece's family rummy – ten cards, two decks, jokers you can steal back, and a second life when you go over 100.
- Bestia Three cards, one trump and a growing pot – knock if you can win a trick, and pay the whole pot if you can't.
- Loo (Lanterloo) Stand, pass or take the miss – Jane Austen's gambling game, where one trick saves you and none gets you looed.
- Mouche Five cards, a basket of chips and a poker face – hold five of a suit and you take the lot before a card is played.
- Pife (Pif-Paf, Cacheta) Brazil's quick rummy – nine cards, two decks, and all your sets stay hidden until you slam them down at once.
- Burro Follow suit or dig through the stock until you can – everyone races to empty their hand, and the last one holding cards is the donkey.
- Pok Deng Thailand's two-card banking game – show a Pok 8 or 9 at once, take a third card or stand, and hope for a flush that pays double.
- Rikken Name trumps, call an Ace and find out during play who your secret partner is – or take on all three alone.
- King (Kierki, Rentz) Ten deals, ten rules – dodge tricks, hearts, Queens and the King of Hearts, then win your points back with trumps.
- Slobberhannes Don't win the first trick, don't win the last one and never take the Queen of Clubs – a five-minute rule for a whole evening.
- Polignac Keep your hands off the Jacks – above all the Jack of Spades, named after a hated French minister of 1830.
- Wippen A first card game for children from Belgium – match a card from the pot, empty it for a wip and hunt the 10♦ and the spades.
- Paskahousu The popular Finnish beating game – play equal or higher, clear the pile with a 10 or an Ace, save your 2s and don't be the last one holding cards.
- Katko (Last Trick) Four or five cards, no trumps and only one trick that matters – the last one. A quick Finnish game for learning tricks.
- Schnellen Tyrol's count-down game – every trick takes a point off, but play and miss them all and you shoot back up by five.
- Chratze Swiss four-card game for a pot – promise two tricks, or just one, or bow out, and don't be the Susi who lets the pot go without a fight.
- Man the Boats untested The ship is sinking – sort the passengers into orderly queues and get them into the lifeboats before the last compartment floods.
- Side by Side untested A band of friends in a long war – get rid of your cards together, but never let three of the same threat meet in No Man's Land.
- One Up untested Play the same number or one higher – or bail out before your hand costs you dearly. Kings are worth ten, and they come round again.
- Pinch untested Lay your cards out in front of you – and whenever you top another player's cards, you pinch them, straight into your own hand if you like.
- Big Number untested Line up cards of one suit or one rank into the biggest number you can – 9, 7 and 2 make 972 – and take one beaten card back into your hand.
- Unsorted untested You may never sort your hand – so play the cards that happen to sit side by side, and beat the table before your spare cards run out.
- Sore Spot untested No suit to follow, every other suit trumps the lead – and everyone secretly has one suit that hurts.
- Boil Over untested Three pots on the stove, spades as poison in any of them – and whoever makes a pot boil over past 20 has to take it.
- Headcount untested Everyone can see your card except you. Bid on the total of all the cards – and call it when someone bids too high.
- Underdog untested One card each, one chip to fight – and the lowest card in the fight adds the underdog card, so the weakest card can win.
- Chief and Vice untested Bid by laying your cards on the table, name two kinds of trumps and pick your partner – a deep trick-taking game where every hand makes new teams.
- Jewel Vault untested Every trick you win and every suit you can't follow moves a jewel – into your vault, into your showroom, or out of someone else's.
- Flock Together untested Lay your cards at the end of a row, catch everything between two of a kind – and fly a flock home until you hold seven species or two threes.
- Horse Trading untested Bid for animals, pay in hidden money cards and challenge rivals to blind trades – a bluff with two zeros can win you a whole herd.
- Shared Air untested Several divers, one tank of air – every treasure you carry slows you down and uses up everybody's oxygen. Turn back in time or lose it all.
- Powder Keg untested Draw a card at the end of every turn and hope it isn't a King – the Kings are powder kegs, and only a bucket of water saves you.
- Temple Gold untested Everyone swears they're an honest adventurer – but somebody wants you to open the chamber with the fire trap.
- Diamond Heist untested The Boss's pile of diamonds goes round the table, and it comes back lighter – now the Boss has to find out who helped themselves.
- Bugami Like Hearts, but everyone picks their own poison – choose the suit you must not take, then dump the others' bugs on them.
- Monte Bank Two cards from the bottom, two from the top – then the gate shows its suit. The Mexican banking game of the California gold fields.
- Lansquenet Two cards on the table, then turn until one of them is matched – the mercenaries' banking game that Rabelais and Dumas knew.
- Farmer Bid for the farm, then hope nobody draws exactly 16 – the old French banking game of drawing to a number, a century before Twenty-One.
- Speculation Nobody looks at their cards – you buy and sell them instead. The noisy round game from Jane Austen's Mansfield Park.
- Commerce Trade with the banker or barter with your neighbour until someone knocks – the old game of tricons and points, probably the ancestor of Schwimmen.
- Primero (Primiera) Shakespeare's gambling game – four cards, sevens worth 21, and one card of each suit to win the pot.
- Bouillotte (Brelan) The salon game of revolutionary Paris – three cards, one turned card, and your opponents' cards can win the pot for you.
- Ambigu Four cards, two draws and a price on every combination – Louis XIV's "mixed" game, the old French cousin of draw poker.
- Losing Lodam The 17th-century ancestor of Hearts – dodge the Aces and Tens, and hope your neighbours forget which suit is trumps.
- Catch the Ten (Scotch Whist) Edinburgh's old favourite – the Jack of trumps is top dog, and the whole table hunts the Ten of trumps.
- Laugh and Lie Down Pair your cards with those on the table until you can't – then lie down while the others laugh. A Tudor game for five.
- My Ship Sails Everyone passes a card to the left at the same time – collect seven cards of one suit and shout "My ship sails!"
- Comet Run the cards up to the King in one long tail, call "without" when you're stuck – and keep the wild Comet for the moment it counts.
- Yaniv Throw sets and runs, draw one card, and call "Yaniv!" the moment your hand is nearly empty – but only if nobody has less.
- Sette e mezzo (Seven and a Half) Italy's Christmas card game – draw towards 7½ without going over, and beat the banker's hand.
- Mauscheln Four cards, one trump, and a pot of chips – say "I'll play!" if you dare to win two tricks, and hope nobody joins you.
- Prší The Czech cousin of Mau-Mau – match suit or rank, stack sevens and Aces, and let a Queen change the suit.
- Machiavelli Italy's rearranging rummy – every card on the table is up for grabs, so break up sets and runs to find room for your hand.
- Scala 40 Italy's classic rummy – open with 40 points, add to anyone's melds and go out before the penalty reaches 101.
- Eleusis The dealer invents a secret rule for which card may follow which – everyone else plays cards, gets told yes or no and works out the rule.
- Gong Zhu The Chinese answer to Hearts – dodge the pig and the hearts, chase the sheep, and dare to expose cards to double their worth.