How to Play the Card Game Golf

Golf is a rather simple card game for multiple players that borrows some playing mechanics from the game of Rummy. Each player gets four cards to start they game. He or she can only view two of these cards.Each turn, players get to take a card off the draw pile or the top card of the discard pile. The player can then exchange that card with one of the four face down cards in his or her hand. The player with the lowest score wins the "hole," with nine to eighteen holes making up a game of Golf.

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• Deck of cards
• Paper to keep score on
• Pen or pencil

1. Get a group of friends together for a game night. The Card Game Golf is very easy to learn, and a game that can be played without a large amount of thinking involved. This will draw in players that are a fan of games that are very easy to learn. The minimum number of players is 2 and the maximum is 13. The ideal number is between four and eight players.

2. Deal four cards face down to each player at the table in a square formation of two cards in each row in front of each player. Place the draw pile on the table and flip a card face up on the table to start the discard pile. Allow each player to view his or her two cards closest to them.

3. Choose a card from the draw or discard deck and consider using it as a replacement. Moving in a clockwise pattern around the table, each player takes a turn. On his or her turn the player takes a card from the draw deck or the top deck of the discard pile. The player can then switch the card he or she picked up with any of his or her own four face down cards or discard the card he or she drew. If the player took the card from the discard pile, he or she must swap that card with one of his or her face down cards, discarding the card he or she swaps it with.

4. Continue taking turns around the table until a player "knocks." "Knocking" is used instead of drawing a card. The player states that he or she thinks he or she has the lowest total value of cards at the table. When this occurs, each of the other players gets one final turn and then the hand is scored.

5. Score the hand. Each player flips over all four of his or her cards. The score is the face value of the cards. Aces count as 11 and face cards count as 10. If the player that "knocked" does not have the lowest score at the table, his or her score is doubled as a penalty. However, if he or she was correct they receive a score of one representing a hole in one.

6. Play nine or eighteen rounds of the card game Golf. Keep score on a score sheet for each round. Each round represents a hole in the game of golf. The player with the lowest score at the end of all nine or eighteen rounds wins.

Tips & Warnings

• Some players play that the penalty for knocking with a score that isn't the lowest at the table is only five points instead of doubling the score of the person that knocked. Others play that the penalty is the same score as the player with the highest score for that round/hole.
• Strategy is rather limited in this game, so it could bore people that are a fan of heavy strategically based games.