Slapjack

Full rules

1. Overview
2. Setup
3. Playing a turn
4. Slap the Jack!
5. Wrong slap
6. Running out of cards
7. Winning the game
8. Tips for beginners
9. Variants

Overview

Slapjack is a lively reaction game for 2 or more players. Everyone takes turns putting cards on a pile in the middle, and whenever a Jack turns up, the first player to slap it – put a hand flat on the pile – wins the whole pile. The player who collects all the cards wins.

• Players: 2 or more; best with about 4–8.
• 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 in front of them.

Playing a turn

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

1. On your turn, take the top card of your pile and turn it face up onto a shared centre pile in the middle of the table.
2. Turn the card away from you, so that the others see it at the same moment as you, or a split second earlier. No peeking first!
3. Then it's the next player's turn.

Slap the Jack!

When anyone plays a Jack, everyone tries to slap it: put your hand palm down on the centre pile.

• The first player to slap wins the whole centre pile and puts it face down under their own pile.
• If several players slap, the one whose hand is at the bottom – touching the cards – wins.
• Play continues with the player to the left of the winner.

Example: Anna plays a 5♣, Ben a K♦, Carla a J♠. Ben slaps first, Carla's hand lands on top of his. Ben's hand is underneath, so Ben takes all three cards and puts them under his pile. The player to his left plays next.

Wrong slap

If you slap a card that is not a Jack, you must give the top card of your pile, face down, to the player who played the card you slapped. They put it under their pile. The centre pile stays where it is and play goes on as before.

Running out of cards

If you run out of cards, you don't play any more cards (your turn is skipped) – but you're not out yet. You may slap the next Jack:

• If you win it, you're back in the game with those cards.
• If someone else wins it, or you slap a wrong card in the meantime, you're out.

Winning the game

The player who ends up with all 52 cards wins.

Tips for beginners

• Keep your hand close to the table – but don't touch the pile until you see a Jack.
• Watch the card, not the player: the Jack can come from anyone.
• A wrong slap costs a card, so don't slap at every face card.
• Play fairly: turn your card away from you so nobody gets an advantage.

Variants

These are optional – agree before you start.

• Time limit: set a time. If nobody has all the cards by then, whoever has the most wins.
• Say it: when you slap, you must also say "Slapjack!" If you forget or slap a wrong card, the other players share the pile among themselves.
• Irish Snap: a different game with the same idea. Each player calls out the next rank in turn while playing a card ("Ace", "Two", "Three" … "King", then "Ace" again). If the card played matches the rank called, everyone slaps; the last to slap picks up the whole pile. Slapping when it doesn't match also means picking up the pile. The aim is to get rid of your cards: the last player who still has cards loses.