🥄 Spoons: card game rules

How to play Spoons

Goal: Collect four cards of the same number and grab a spoon before they are all gone.

Setting up

1. Put the spoons in the middle of the table where everyone can reach them.
2. Deal 4 cards to each player. The rest of the deck stays next to the dealer.

How to play

1. The dealer takes a card from the deck, picks one card they don't need and passes it face down to the player on their left.
2. Every player does the same with the card they receive: pick it up, choose, and pass one card on. You always hold 4 cards.
3. The last player in the circle puts the card they give up on a discard pile to the side.
4. Whoever gets four of the same number takes a spoon. You can do it quietly, without a fuss.
5. As soon as anyone takes a spoon, everyone is allowed to grab one.
6. When the deck runs out, the dealer shuffles the discard pile and keeps going.
7. The player left without a spoon gets a letter: S, then P, then O, O and N.

Who wins

A player who spells the whole word SPOON is out. The last player left wins.

Tips

• Agree before you start: grab gently, and never pull a spoon out of someone else's hand.
• Watch the spoons, not just your cards. Sometimes someone takes one very quietly.

Variations

• No spoons? Use bottle caps, pencils or any small, safe object.