4 Player Card Games and Card Games for Large Groups

Each player gets four cards. If all four say "mus", they discard and draw; one "no mus" is enough to start betting. Four rounds are played in order: grande (the highest cards win), chica (the lowest), pares (pairs, three of a kind or two pairs) and juego, which you hold when your cards add up to 31 or more (31 is the best). If nobody has juego, punto is played instead. In the most common version threes count as kings and twos as aces, so there are eight kings and eight aces.

In each round you can pass, bet, raise or call órdago, which puts the whole game at stake. Signals (biting your lip, showing your tongue, winking) tell your partner what you hold. Most often the game is to 40 points, counted with stones and five-point markers; in some areas it is to 30. Full details in our mus rules and signals.

All 40 cards are dealt one at a time. The last one, which belongs to the dealer, is shown and its suit is trumps. You must follow suit; if you can beat the highest card on the table, you must play higher; if you have none of the suit, you must trump, and if there is already a trump on the table, play a higher one if you have it.

After winning a trick, a player holding the king and knight of the same suit can declare them: 20, or 40 in trumps. The last trick adds 10, so there are 130 points at stake. Collecting all four kings or all four knights is tute and at many tables wins outright. Games are played to an agreed number of hands or games. Full rules in our tute rules.

It is played by two partnerships sitting opposite each other. The values are those of tute with one change: the jack is worth 3 and beats the knight, which is worth 2. Declarations are made with the king and jack of the same suit (20, or 40 in trumps) after winning a trick, and the last trick adds ten points.

The first partnership to reach 101 wins. If neither does, there is a second deal, "la vuelta", made by whoever won the last trick, and the two hands are added together. Claiming 101 without having it, or reneging (not following suit, playing higher or trumping when required), loses the game. More in our guiñote rules.

Each player gets three cards and a card is turned up to set trumps. Everyone plays whatever card they like, and the trick goes to the highest trump or the highest card of the suit led. Then each player draws a card. The ace is worth 11, the three 10, the king 4, the knight 3 and the jack 2: 120 points, and the partnership that passes 60 wins.

In Italian briscola for four most tables allow some kind of communication between partners, spoken or by gestures, mainly to flag high trumps. With six players there are two teams of three. Rules in our brisca rules.

Each player gets three cards and the round goes to the team that takes two of the three tricks. Above everything else are the ace of swords, the ace of clubs, the seven of swords and the seven of coins. During the round players can call envido (a bet on two cards of the same suit) and truco, which can be raised to retruco and vale cuatro.

Partners pass information with gestures (the truco signals), which can also be used to mislead opponents who see them. The game is to 30 points, split into 15 "malas" and 15 "buenas". Full guide in our truco rules.

Each player gets three cards and four go face up on the table. The jack counts 8, the knight 9 and the king 10. With four players the deck allows three deals in all, so there are fewer hands than with two and each sweep counts for more. At the end you count cards, coins, the seven of coins and the sevens, plus sweeps, and play to 21 or 31. Rules in our escoba de 15 rules.

Each player gets five cards; with four there are two deals per hand. A card captures a matching card or several that add up to its value (court cards only by matching), and can also take the run that follows. Capturing the card the previous player has just played is a caída (2 points) and clearing the table is a limpia (2 points). Being dealt three of a kind is a ronda, worth 4. Captured cards also score at the end of the hand, and the eights, nines and tens taken out of the deck are used to keep score. More in our cuarenta rules.

It is played by two partnerships sitting opposite each other, with no trumps and an obligation to follow suit. The ranking is three, two, ace, king, knight, jack, seven, six, five and four. Each ace is worth a full point, and each three, two and court card a third of a point; the last trick adds one more point. The game is to 21.

Talking to your partner is forbidden, but three classic signals are allowed: busso (knocking on the table), volo (dropping the card, meaning it is your last of that suit) and striscio (sliding the card, meaning you hold many of that suit). Some regions do not accept the slide. The ace, two and three of the same suit together are called a napoletana and score extra in the variant with declarations.

There are two ways to deal: nine cards per player and four face up on the table, or ten per player and none on the table. You capture as in scopa: a card takes another of equal value or several that add up to the same, and clearing the table is a scopa. At the end of each hand four things score, most cards, most coins, the seven of coins (settebello) and the highest primiera, plus one point for each scopa. The first partnership to 11 wins, although many tables play to 21.

Each player gets five cards and one card is turned up to propose trumps. If someone accepts it, the deal is completed to eight cards (whoever took it adds it to their hand). In the trump suit the ranking is as follows:

The jack of trumps is worth 20 and the nine 14; in the other suits the ace (11) leads, followed by the ten (10). Cards and last trick together make 162 points, and the partnership that chose trumps needs more than half. King and queen of trumps in the same hand are the belote-rebelote and add 20. The most played variant with bidding is coinche. Full rules in our belote rules.

Each player gets ten cards and the dealer's last card is turned up to set trumps. You must follow the suit led. The ranking is ace, seven, king, jack, queen and then six down to two:

They are worth 11, 10, 4, 3 and 2 points, 120 in total. Passing 60 wins one game; reaching 91, two; taking every trick (the bandeira), four. At 60 all, the game at stake carries over to the next hand. More in our sueca rules.

It uses 48 cards: two copies of each ace, ten, king, queen, jack and nine. The two players dealt the queens of clubs form the Re team and the other two the Kontra team; who is on which side comes out during the hand.

There are lots of trumps: the ten of hearts, then the queens, the jacks and the diamonds. There are 240 points in the cards (ace 11, ten 10, king 4, queen 3, jack 2) and the Re team needs 121. There are special plays such as the Hochzeit (the holder of both queens of clubs looks for a partner) and solos. The German Doppelkopf Association keeps a set of tournament rules; at home every table has its own.

Each player is dealt eight cards. In the normal game (Sauspiel) the declarer names an ace of a non-trump suit and its holder plays with them without saying so. The trumps are always the four Ober, the four Unter and the rest of the hearts: 14 in all. There are 120 points in the deck and the declarer's team needs 61. You can also play alone, in a Solo (you choose the trump suit) or a Wenz (only the Unter are trumps). Its official rules were set in 1989.

Each player is dealt nine cards. The player who leads chooses the mode or passes it (schieben) to their partner, who must then choose. You can play with a trump suit or no trumps, top down (Obenabe) or bottom up (Undenufe). In trumps, the jack (Puur) is worth 20 and the nine (Nell) 14. Each hand shares out 157 points, counting 5 for the last trick, and taking all nine tricks earns a 100-point bonus. The game is to a high agreed total, often 1,000 or 2,500 points. You can use a standard deck with the twos to fives removed.

Each player is dealt thirteen cards. First comes the auction: each bid states how many tricks above six the partnership undertakes to win and in which trump suit, from "one club" (seven tricks) to "seven no trumps" (all thirteen). The suits rank bids from lowest to highest: clubs, diamonds, hearts, spades and, above them, no trumps. The auction ends after three passes in a row and the last bid is the contract.

The player in the winning partnership who first named that suit is the declarer. Their partner, the dummy, lays their cards face up after the opening lead and the declarer plays both hands. The opponents try to stop the contract being made. It takes a long time to learn, but the trick-taking mechanics are those of any follow-suit game.

Each player is dealt thirteen cards. Everyone says how many tricks they expect to win, with no option to pass, and the partnership adds its two bids together. You cannot lead spades until someone has trumped with one or until the leader holds nothing but spades.

Making your bid scores 10 points per trick bid and 1 for each extra trick (a bag); failing costs 10 per trick bid. Collecting ten bags costs 100 points, so nobody underbids on purpose. Bidding zero is a nil: make it and you score 100; take a single trick and you lose 100. The first partnership to 500 wins.

Each player gets five cards and one card is turned up. In turn, players can accept it as trumps ("order it up"); the dealer then picks it up and discards another card. The partnership that sets trumps needs at least three of the five tricks. The fun is in the jacks: the jack of the trump suit is the highest card, and the other jack of the same colour becomes a trump and the second highest.

Three or four tricks score 1 point; all five, 2. If the partnership that set trumps takes fewer than three, the opponents score 2. A player who is very confident can go alone, with their partner sitting out, and taking all five tricks scores 4 points. The game is to 10, although 5 or 7 are also agreed. The story of the joker and euchre is in our history of the joker card.

With four, each player is dealt eleven cards. On each turn you draw from the stock, or take the whole discard pile if you can use its top card, and discard one. Jokers and twos are wild cards. To go out you need at least one canasta, and your first meld must reach a minimum count that rises with your score. The classic version is played to 5,000 points.

With six players you use three decks with six jokers, thirteen cards each, and play in three partnerships or two teams of three. Full rules in our canasta rules.

Each player is dealt eleven cards and two piles of eleven, the pozzetti, are set aside. You meld sets of three or more of a kind or runs in the same suit, with at most one wild card per meld (jokers and twos). A burraco is a meld of seven or more cards: a clean one is worth 200 and one with a wild card 100. The first player in each partnership to run out of cards takes a pozzetto and carries on playing with it. To go out you must have taken the pozzetto and have at least one burraco. The game is to 2,000 points. More in our burraco and scala 40 rules.

The whole deck is dealt. The two is the highest card, followed by the ace and king down to the three. The leader plays a card or a group of matching cards, and the following players must beat it with the same number of cards or pass. When everyone passes, the last player to play leads again.

The first to run out of cards is the president, then the vice-president, and the last gets the least flattering title. In the next hand the last player hands their best card to the president, who gives back one they do not want. It works for four to seven or eight players; with more, two decks are mixed. Rules in our president card game rules.

The whole deck is dealt. The first player puts down one or more cards face down and says "aces"; the next, "twos", and so on upwards. Anyone can call "cheat". The cards are turned over: if they were what was claimed, the accuser picks up the whole pile; if not, the liar does. The first to get rid of all their cards wins. At large tables two decks are mixed, and many groups do so from five players. More in our cheat card game rules.

Before each hand three cards are passed: to the left, to the right, across, and one hand with no passing, in turn. The two of clubs leads and hearts cannot be led until someone has played one. Taking all the hearts and the queen of spades is shooting the moon: instead of scoring 26 yourself, you add them to each opponent. The game ends when someone reaches 100 and the lowest score wins.

For other numbers, low cards are removed: with three, the two of diamonds (17 cards each); with five, the two of diamonds and the two of clubs (10 cards each). For six or more players you play cancellation hearts with two decks: when two identical cards fall in the same trick they cancel out and the next highest wins. A well-known variant, omnibus hearts, adds a diamond that subtracts points. Everything is in our hearts card game rules.

The number of cards changes every hand: you start with one and go up until as many as possible are dealt, then come back down (or the other way round). Before play, everyone says how many tricks they will win. The last to bid cannot say a number that makes the total of bids equal the number of tricks available, so somebody always fails. Making your bid scores 10 plus one point per trick (scoring systems vary a little from house to house). It works for three to seven, at its best with four, five or six. The Spanish rules are in our cinquillo and pocha (sevens and oh hell) rules.

Seven cards are dealt. On each turn you draw from the stock or the discard pile and throw one away, looking for sets of three or four of a kind and runs in the same suit. When almost everything is melded and your loose cards are worth little, you go out and the others add up what they have left. Anyone who goes over 100 (or 70) is out and the last player standing wins. Going out with all seven cards in a run of the same suit is chinchón. Rules in our chinchón rules.

It is played by three to six, each for themselves, and with many players a third deck is added. In each round you must complete a specific contract (for example, two sets of three, or a set and a run) before you can meld. Out of turn you can "buy" the discard in exchange for drawing an extra penalty card. At the end of each round the cards left in your hand count against you and the lowest total wins. The seven rounds and buying are explained in our continental rummy rules.

The holder of the five of coins starts. In turn, each player places a five of another suit or a card that extends a row up or down. You must play if you can, and you only pass when no card fits. The first to run out of cards wins. More in our cinquillo and pocha rules.

The cards from ace to seven are worth their number and the court cards half a point. Each player bets, gets one card, and then asks for more or stands. Anyone who goes over seven and a half loses their bet on the spot. Then the bank plays, and wins ties. The bank changes hands when a player gets exactly seven and a half. In Italy one court card (usually the king of coins) is often wild. Rules in our siete y media rules.

Court cards are worth 10, the ace 1 or 11 and the rest their number. Each player gets two cards and decides whether to hit, stand, double the bet or split a pair. The bank plays last by fixed rules. At home one deck is enough for a few players and two for a big table. Basic strategy and rules in our blackjack rules.

Each player gets two face-down cards and there are four betting rounds while three cards are turned up in the middle, then one more, then another. The best five-card hand made from your own and the shared cards wins, or whoever gets everyone else to fold. With ten players 20 cards go into hands, 5 onto the table and a few are burned, far short of 52. To get started, see how to play Texas Hold'em and, to organise it, our guide to a home poker night.

Each player gets five cards (seven if there are two of you) and one card is turned up. In turn, each player plays a card matching the top card in suit or rank, or draws. An eight can be played on any card and whoever plays it chooses the next suit. Many households give other cards effects: the queen skips a turn, the ace reverses direction and the two makes the next player draw two. The first to get rid of their cards wins. With more than five players two decks are mixed.

Each player is dealt eight cards. Players bid for the right to call, and the winner names a card (for example, the three) and chooses its suit, which becomes trumps. The holder of that card plays with them in secret: it is two against three. The values are those of brisca, and the caller's team needs 61 points, or whatever was promised in the auction.

You use as many sets of four as there are players (with five players, for example, aces, kings, queens, jacks and tens). Each player gets four cards and, with no turns, everyone passes a card to the left at the same time and picks up the one coming from the right. Whoever collects four of a kind grabs a spoon; from that moment anyone can grab one, even without a set. The player left without a spoon gets a letter (S-P-O-O-N) and is out when they complete the word. It is also known as pig, in a version where you touch your nose instead of grabbing spoons. With more than thirteen players you need two decks.

It is played in teams of two, with partners sitting opposite each other, and two to six teams can play. Each player gets four cards and four are placed face up in the middle. With no turns, everyone swaps cards from their hand for those on the table; when nobody wants the table cards, they are removed and four new ones are laid out. A player who has four of a kind gives the signal to their partner, who must call out "Kemps". If they are right, the opposing team gets a letter; if wrong, their own team does. If you suspect an opposing pair, you can stop them with "Stop Kemps" and the same applies in reverse. The team that completes K-E-M-P-S loses.

Each player lays out a pile of 13 cards in front of them (the nerts pile) and some columns as in Klondike solitaire. In the middle, anyone can start a foundation with an ace and build it up by suit. There are no turns: the hand ends when someone empties their pile of 13 and calls it. In scoring, the cards each player has placed on the foundations count for them and the ones left in their pile count against. In the UK it is called racing demon and in the United States also pounce.