One of the things I miss most about my family is how every time we are together, regardless of how many of us gather, we always wind up playing cards. More specifically, we wind up playing this game of cards. My grandmother refers to it as Pennies from Heaven. I have been told it is similar to Canasta, but as I've never played Canasta, I can neither confirm nor deny that. (grin) All I know is that it seems to take forever to learn to play, but once you've got it down, it's very enjoyable. Actually, it's so ingrained in me that I didn't realize there was so much to the game until I started writing out these rules! I hope I remembered everything and I hope you enjoy. Oh, if you have any questions about the rules, just drop me a note. I'm always happy to clear up confusion. :-)Object: Why, to get the most points, of course! ;-) The game consists of three hands. At the end of those three hands, the team with the most points wins. The idea is to get as many 'books' of cards as you can, thereby scoring the most points. Each 'book' is simply seven cards of the same number. You can have as few as two players, or as many as you want, as long as you have enough cards. You can play with each person as their own team, or just two teams, as long as there is an even number of players on each team. You will need a minimun of four decks (for two players) and you will need to add two decks for each team, or for each additional two players (if you have only two teams of four or six, etc). Playing: To begin, all of the cards are placed face down on the table and mixed up, until there's a huge pile of well-shuffled cards spread out across the table. Each player draws 13 cards (do not look at them), and passes the stack to the player on their left. Then each player draws another 15 cards (do not look at these, either!) and places the stack in front of themselves. This stack of 15 is called "the pile" and will not come into play until later in the game. Once everyone has drawn their two stacks of cards, the remaining cards are gathered and stacked at the center of the table. Each player then picks up their pile of 13 cards for their beginning hand. Whoever has the most red threes goes first. If there is a tie, the people tying draw out of the deck in the center to see who goes first. Highest valued card wins. (See point system at the bottom). If no one has a red three, all the players draw for the high card. Play continues in a clockwise order. Each player draws two cards off the stack, but only discards one at the end of play. Red threes are only counted during the first hand. At the beginning of the second hand, the player to the left of the player who started the first round goes first. The person to their left plays first during the third round. Getting on the board: In order to "get on the board," each team must lay down a certain number of cards, totalling a minimum point value. In the first hand, you can get on the board with 50 points. In the second hand, you have to have 90 points before you can lay down any cards, and in the third hand, you must have 120 points before you can get on the board. Even if you are playing teams, you may not combine cards. An individual must come up with the points necessary to lay down the cards. Once they have, however, the rest of their team members can add to them as their turns come around. The only exception to this is a red three. Whenever you draw a red three, lay it down separately, but next to your books of cards, to be counted in your favor at the end count, then draw another card from the stack. They do not, however, contribute to the points needed for getting on the board. The idea at this point is to collect as many of the books of cards as you can. You may lay down a grouping of three cards to start a book, and seven cards closes it out. The suit of the cards does not matter in this game. As each player plays their turn, they try to play as many cards as they can in order to make books. Three like cards starts a book, and once you have seven (seven fours or fives, sixes, etc), the book is closed. You may not play any more than seven cards into one book. Once you have seven, fold it into a stack and pile it over to the side. You may put a wild card into a book, but no more than two to a book, and you must have two of the number or face card with each wild card (in other words, you couldn't put down two jokers and a four to start a book. It must be two fours and one wild card). If you do put a wild card into a book, however, it will decrease the value of the book. When you fold up a finished book with no wild cards, it is called a red book and you need to make sure a red card is on top. If you do have to use a wild card to close a book out, it is called a black book and a black card is placed on top. These books are kept in two different piles for scoring purposes. Rules: There are two books you must complete before your team can "go out," or finish the hand. You must have a book of wild cards, made up entirely of Twos and Jokers, and you must have a book of sevens. Important: You may never put a wild card into a book of sevens. Never, never, never. You may have additional books of sevens and wild cards, but only if you want to run the risk of the other team(s) hating you... especially if they can't get theirs! ;-) You will never make a book of threes. Black threes are considered a discard only, and will be counted against you if the other team goes out before you and you have some in your hand. Red threes are only used to draw another card.Picking up the discard pile. You may pick up the discard pile in place of drawing your two cards at the beginning of your turn. You must pick up the entire stack (yes, that includes all those black threes!). You can only do this if you have at least two cards in your hand or three on the table matching the last card discarded. You must play that card immediately upon picking up the pile, to show you were eligible to pick it up. However, if you have 5 or more of that card laid on the table, you may NOT pick the pile up. This goes for the entire team. You may if the 5 or more are still in your hand, though. If you want to pick up the discard pile and your team is not yet "on the board," you must prove that you can immediately get on the board ***using ONLY the top card*** of the pile. Once you are on the board, you can use the remaining cards in the pile. Obviously, you can never pick up the pile on a black three. If you want to "freeze" the pile so the next player can't pick it up, you may discard a wild card, but since the person following them will be eligible to pick it up, and since wild cards are worth the most points, you would only want to do this in extreme circumstances! Picking up the pile of 15 As soon as your team has closed out its first red book and set it aside, everyone on that team can pick up their pile of 15 and add it to their hands. Important: You can only pick up your 15 after closing out your first red book. You can NOT pick them up after completing your required books of sevens or wild cards. Red book only. Going out. Once you have completed your books of wild cards and sevens and picked up your 15, you can go out. All you need to do is run out of cards. Hey, it isn't as easy as it sounds sometimes! For instance, the only time you may discard a seven is when it is the last card in your hand and you are going out. If you come down to having two cards in your hands and they are both sevens, guess what? You can't go out! You must say, "Can't discard." and pass to the next player. You'll have to get a third seven and lay them down or else hope your teammates play some sevens for you to play them on or you're stuck. You also may not discard a card if it is playable, so don't even try it (grin). You must have a discard to go out. If all of your cards are playable and you have nothing left to discard, you're still in the game. If you or someone on your team goes out, you and your teammates may discard whatever cards are left in your hands. Your opponents must keep their cards and count them OFF their score. Here's a really vicious twist: if your team gets on the board, gets your red book, gets your book of sevens and wild cards, and goes out before the other team even gets on the board, your opponents must count off everything in their hands and everything in their piles.Note: A team going "in the hole" pointwise (less than zero!) starts off the next round by being able to get on the board with only 15 points.) Scoring: Here's the fun part (not). Your cards get counted twice. Yup, you read right. First, you need to choose a scorekeeper who everyone trusts...because, as my grandma always complains, "The one pushing the pencil always wins!" It's not true, but we humor her. Anway, this is how you do the initial scoring:
The team not going out saves the cards left in their hands to be deducted from their
score (this is where getting caught with a bunch of black threes from picking up the
discard pile hurts). Discard your red threes. You're finished with those. Next, count each card individually. (Tip: It helps to group them into groups of hundreds and then count those up afterward.)
Aces and 2s: 20 points Use this same scoring system when figuring how many points to deduct for each
hand. In addition:
Tips: Unless a team is caught before they pick up their pile and have a lot to subtract from their score, an easy way to deduct the points is to simply count up everyone's remaining hands and either take it out of the points on the table, or, if it's in the hundreds, to remove a red or black book before counting your points "to the good." Here's a strategic maneuver. If you are playing two handed, it's better to hold your cards as long as possible, in the hopes of picking up the pile. (Remember, once you've laid down 5 or more of a book on the table, you can't pick up the pile on that card.) However, if you are playing as a team, you want to get your cards down as quickly as possible to benefit the entire team. If you are playing as a team, it is usually considered good "team etiquette" to ask your teammates before you should pick up the discard pile. After all, they'll be the ones who will suffer from those black threes if they get caught in your hand! I think that covers everything. It takes a few games to get used to all the rules, but it's worth the effort. |