✋ Slapjack: card game rules

How to play Slapjack

Goal: Win all the cards by being first to put your hand on every Jack that turns up.

Setting up

1. Deal out all the cards between the players.
2. Each player keeps their pile face down without looking.

How to play

1. In order, each player flips the top card of their pile and puts it face up on a shared pile in the middle.
2. Flip the card away from yourself in one quick motion, so you don't see it before everyone else.
3. When a Jack appears, everyone rushes to put a hand on it.
4. The first hand on the Jack wins the whole middle pile and puts it at the bottom of their own pile.
5. If you put your hand on a card that is not a Jack, give one card to the player who played it.
6. A player who runs out of cards gets one chance to get back in by winning the next Jack. If they miss it, they're out.

Who wins

Whoever collects all the cards wins.

Tips

• Agree beforehand: hands go down gently, no hitting, so nobody gets hurt.
• For very young kids, choose a different target card that's easy to spot, like all the 7s.

Variations

• Challenge mode: also slap when two matching cards turn up one after the other.