Prší

Full rules

1. Overview
2. Setup
3. Playing a turn
4. The special cards
5. Running out of cards
6. Winning
7. Scoring
8. Tips for beginners
9. Variants

Overview

Prší (Czech for "it's raining") is the favourite card game of the Czech Republic and Slovakia – a shedding game that belongs to the same family as Mau-Mau and Crazy Eights. Everyone tries to get rid of all their cards first. You play one card at a time onto a shared pile, and it must match the card on top by suit or by rank. Three ranks are special: a 7 makes the next player draw, an Ace makes the next player miss a turn, and a Queen is wild. The special cards can be answered and passed on, so the penalties pile up until somebody runs out of answers.

• Players: 2–5.
• You need: a 32-card pack – take the 7 to Ace of every suit out of a 52-card deck.

Setup

1. Choose a dealer. Deal and play go clockwise.
2. The dealer deals 4 cards to each player, one at a time, face down. Keep them hidden.
3. The rest is the face-down draw pile. Turn its top card face up next to it – the discard pile begins.
4. If that card is a Queen, shuffle it back into the draw pile and turn up a new card.

The player to the dealer's left starts.

Playing a turn

Look at the top card of the discard pile. Either:

• play one card that matches it in suit or rank, or
• if you can't (or won't), draw one card from the draw pile. Your turn is over; you don't play the drawn card until your next turn.

You never play more than one card in a turn.

Example: The top card is 9♥. Anna may play any heart or any 9. She holds 9♣, K♥ and 7♠ and plays 9♣. Now Ben has to match the 9♣.

The special cards

A player who draws for a 7 takes the cards, and their turn is over. A Queen doesn't protect you from a 7 or an Ace; only a 7 answers a 7 and only an Ace answers an Ace. Once a player has taken the penalty (or missed the turn), that 7 or Ace is spent: the next player treats it as an ordinary card of that suit and rank.

Example: Carla plays 7♠. Dan has 7♥ and plays it, so Emil has to draw 4 – or play a 7 too, which would make Anna draw 6. Emil has no 7, draws 4 and misses his turn. Anna has to match the 7♥ and plays on.

Example: Ben plays A♦. Carla has no Ace and misses her turn. Dan matches the A♦ as usual and plays the 10♦.

Special card as the first card: if the turned-up card is a 7, the first player has to draw 2 (or answer with a 7). If it is an Ace, the first player misses their turn (or answers with an Ace).

With two players, an Ace means you play again: your opponent misses a turn, and you go on.

Running out of cards

If the draw pile is empty, keep the top card of the discard pile, shuffle the rest and turn them into a new draw pile. If there is nothing left to draw, you simply pass.

Winning

There is no "Mau" call. The first player to get rid of all their cards wins the round. The round ends at once, but if you go out with a 7, the next player still draws the cards (they count when scoring). (Some groups do not allow going out with a 7 or an Ace – see the variants.)

Scoring

For a single round the winner simply wins. Playing several rounds, use this house rule: all other players add up the cards they still hold.

Play to 100: when someone reaches it, the lowest total wins. A simpler option: the winner of a round gets one card fewer in the next round; the first to have no cards to deal wins.

Tips for beginners

• Keep a 7 and an Ace as long as you can: they answer an attack.
• Play cards of the suits you hold most, and name one of them with the Queen.
• Save the Queen for a moment when you are stuck – it is the only card that fits everywhere.
• Watch your neighbour: if they have played many hearts, name hearts and they will have trouble.

Variants

All optional – agree on them before the game.

• No stacking: a 7 can't be answered; the next player draws exactly 2.
• Seven of hearts brings back: if the 7♥ is played on a player who has just gone out with their last card, that player is back in the game and draws 2 cards – so the winner is known only a turn later.
• Ace and 7 may not finish: your last card must not be a 7 or an Ace. A tougher version: only a Queen may finish.
• Quick Prší: deal 6 cards; you may play several cards of the same rank at once (e.g. two 9s).
• Jack changes the number: a Jack is played like a Queen, but you name a rank instead of a suit.
• King of spades: if the K♠ is played, the next player draws 4 cards. It can be answered with the 7♠, and the 7♠ can be answered with the K♠.
• Draw and play: at some tables, a drawn card that fits may be played at once (except after a 7 or an Ace).