This is a great card game, especially for family (we play it whenever family is visiting or on the holidays). In our family it has been passed down from generation to generation.  My grandma was taught this card game in England and her relatives in Australia also play it.  Each family seems to change the rules slightly, but here are the rules and the way the game is played from what I know.

The object of the game is to collect as many points as possible and go out, leaving your opponent in their FOOT, stuck with negative points.  The person with the highest amount of points by the end of round 4 wins.

What you will need:

*1 more deck of cards than players (2 players, 3 decks of cards, etc)

*1 notepad & pen/pencil

 

Basic Information:

There are 4 rounds to this card game.

1^st Round – 50 Points to get on board

2^nd Round – 90 Points to get on board

3^rd Round – 120 Points to get on board

4^th Round – 150 Points to get on board

 

Card Points:

Natural “Red book” (7-9 cards of the same # makes a book. Consists of NO wilds) = +500

Unnatural “Black book” (7-9 cards of the same # including wilds make a book. May contain between 1-3 wild cards) = +300

Joker (wild) = +50

2 (wild) = +20

A = +20

K= +10

Q = +10

J= +10

10= +10

9= +10

8= +5

7= +5

6= +5

5= +5

4= +5

Red 3= -300

Black 3= 0

 

Each player is dealt a HAND and a FOOT (cards facing down).  Both HAND and FOOT have 11 cards each.  Each player may only pick up one set of cards to use for the start as their HAND.  The other pile of cards will be used as their FOOT once their HAND runs out.  *Your FOOT must be turned upside down and each player is not aloud to look at their FOOT until they run out of all the cards in their HAND. 

To start the game, each player is dealt a HAND and a FOOT.  The left over cards become a draw pile in the middle of the table.  Each player randomly picks are card from the draw pile, the player with the highest card goes first. 

The first player will draw 2 cards from the draw pile.  In order to lay down cards on your board (see above for points needed to start each round) you need to have the minimum points needed to lay down your cards.  In order to lay down the minimum must consist of at LEAST 3 cards of the same number or 2 cards of the same number and 1 wild card.  **When laying down a new set of cards (no matter when you lay them down), you must always have at least 3 of the same number, or 2 of the same number and 1 wild. 

Example:  If you are in round one, you will need 50 points to start laying your cards down.  Those 50 points can consist of: 2-A’s (20 pts ea) and 1- 2 (wild card, 20 pts) = 60 pts.  OR 3-10’s (30 pts) + 4-5’s (20 pts) = 50 pts, etc.  

If you cannot lay down any cards, after you draw your 2 cards at the start of your turn, you discard 1 card on the discard pile (you usually try and get rid of any 3’s, especially red which is -300 pts if you are caught with it, or any misc card that does not match up with your playing cards in your hand.  You CANNOT discard a wild, and you CANNOT discard a card that you have on your board, you must play all cards that can play on your board).  *The discard pile is set next to the draw pile and will need to fan out.

Once you have laid down your starting points, you can discard any card of your choosing (besides the ones listed above). 

*Remember, you must always draw 2 cards at the start of your turn, and discard 1 card at the end of your turn.

The 2^nd player will be the player to 1^st players left and will continue to follow clockwise.

After you have laid down your cards on the board, if you draw any cards that you can play you may add them to your board (but only yours, not your opponents).  Once you run out of cards in your HAND, you may pick up your FOOT. You may continue to play the cards in your FOOT if you run out of cards in your HAND while it is still your turn (if you have not discarded in order to pick up your FOOT.  If you had to discard the last card in your HAND, you must wait till it is your turn again to play your FOOT, but you may pick them up).

You may also pick up the discard pile, up to 5 cards back, but the top card on the discard pile must already been down on your board or you must have 2 of the same cards in your HAND or FOOT (a wild and the same number card does not count) and you must lay them down once you pick up the discard pile.  You cannot pick up the discard pile if there are less than 5 cards, OR if the top card is a 3 (a 3 freezes the pile).

Once you get at least 7 cards in one pile, you can close them up to a book.  Once the cards are closed into a book you may not add to them.  You can start a new pile (with at least 3 cards).  See above for Natural or Unnatural books.

The first person to go out (get rid of all their HAND and FOOT and they must have a discard) as well as have at least 1 Natural (minimum of 7 cards, max 9 of the same number) and 1 Unnatural (minimum 7 cards, max 9 with at least 4 of the same number cards and at least 1 wild, but no more than 3 wilds per unnatural) wins.  Everyone else has to count up the points that are left in their HAND (if any) and FOOT (if any) and subtract them from their board amount or books, depending on how much there is. 

Each person gets to write down their “books” total and then add up all the points within their books and on their board.  The total number of points then gets written below that person’s book points and is added up for their total points for that round.  You continue to add to those points up until the 4^th round to see who has the highest points, which will be the winner of the game.