How to Play Slap Cards

Slapjack is all about spotting the Jacks before someone else does.

Slap Cards, or as is more commonly known, Slapjack, is a card game of reflexes. Similar to Egyptian Ratscrew, Slapjack is a simple game that's fun for groups of three or more, and doesn't require some of the finer strategies of more complex card games like Rummy or Poker.

Things You'll Need

• Standard deck of 52 cards

Instructions

1. Deal out the entire deck so that each player has roughly (give or take one card) the same number of cards. Players don't look at their cards, but instead hold them in a pile face-down. Choose a player to play first.

2. The player who plays first flips the top card from his deck onto the playing area in such a way that he doesn't have a chance to see what the card is before any of the other players.

3. The player to the left plays the top card from his or her deck. Play continues like this until a Jack is played.

4. Slap (place your hand on) the Jack faster than any of the other players in order to win the center pile cards. If you win the pile, take all of the cards and add them to the bottom of the deck in your hand.

5. If you accidentally slap a card that is not a Jack, give the top card of your pile to the player whose card you slapped.

6. Slap Jacks even if you run out of cards, since this will allow you to get "back in the game" by picking up the center pile and proceeding with play.

7. Continue playing until one player holds all of the cards. This player is the winner.

References

• Pagat: Slapjack