Slapjack
| Type | Matching |
|---|---|
| Players | 2+ |
| Cards | 52 |
| Deck | French |
| Play | Clockwise |
| Card rank (highest to lowest) | A K Q J 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 |
| Playing time | 15 min. |
| Random chance | Low-Moderate |
| Related games | |
| Beggar-My-Neighbour | |
Slapjack, also known as Slaps, is a simple standard-deck card game, generally played among children. It can often be a child's first introduction to playing cards. The game is related to Egyptian Ratscrew and is also sometimes known as Heart Attack. It is also related to the simpler 'slap' card games often called snap.
Gameplay
A 52-card deck is divided into face-down stacks as equally as possible between all players. One player removes the top card of his stack and places it face-up on the playing surface within reach of all players. The players take turns doing this in a clockwise manner until a Jack is placed on the pile. At this point, any and all players may attempt to slap the pile with the hand they used to place the card; whoever covers the stack with his hand first takes the pile, shuffles it, and adds it to the bottom of his stack. If a card covers the jack it does not count. When a player has run out of cards, he has one more chance to slap a jack and get back in the game, but if he fails, he is out. Gameplay continues with hands of this sort until one player has acquired all of the cards.
Game variations
Snap
Snap is a popular card game in which the object is to win all the cards.[1][2] Gameplay is related to Egyptian Ratscrew. The game is often one of the first card games to be taught to children and is often played with special packs of cards featuring popular children's characters from television programmes or recent films. For older children, more complex packs exist, where the differences between cards are more subtle and penalties exist for falsely calling Snap.
The pack of cards is dealt out among the players in face-down stacks as equally as possible. Play proceeds with the players taking it in turns to remove a card from the top of their stack and place it face-up on a central pile. If two cards placed consecutively on the pile are identical (or, if a conventional pack of cards is used, are of the same number), the first player to shout "Snap!" and place his hand on the top of the central pile takes the pile of cards and adds them to the bottom of their stack. The player who accumulates all the cards wins.
In a popular variation with a regular deck, the person covering the cards must simultaneously say "Slapjack!" If the person fails to say this, he or she does not get the pile. Additionally, if the player covers the pile and says "Slapjack", and the card is not a jack, then the other players get to divide the pile evenly among themselves.
Alternative rules
Upon two cards being placed consecutively on the pile that are identical, players have to touch or slightly slap their head before placing their hand on the top of the pile. Players who do not touch their head cannot claim the pile. If both players fail to touch their head then play continues. Players who touch their head pre-emptively lose the pile to the other player. Applying this rule often adds humor for both players and on-lookers. Alternative versions of the game include claiming cards simply by shouting "Snap".
As an expression
The exclamation "Snap!" is occasionally used in conversation and has a similar meaning to "Me too!", denoting a similar experience being had between two parties, in reference to the matching cards in the card game.
Irish Snap
Irish Snap is a card game whose objective is to lose cards as quickly as possible. Since there is only one loser, forfeits can be made for the person with all the cards at the end of the game.
Alternative rules
A pack of cards, excluding jokers, is shuffled and dealt out equally to the players; none of whom are allowed to view any of the cards they have been given. Going around in turn, each player must place and reveal one of his cards in the middle of the table. While this is happening the number of a card is spoken. The number spoken is simply determined, starting from ace for the first card revealed, two for the second and three for the third etc. If the actual number of the card laid down matches the number just spoken, each player must slam the pack in the middle. The last one to do so must pick up the pack underneath their hands. They are the first to start the next round. This continues until all players except one have lost their cards.
An alternate way of receiving all the cards is snapping when there is not actually any kind of matching pair; however, in order for this to come into effect the player must touch the deck in the middle. If they simply shout snap, or motion towards it, the game carries on as normal.
The game can also be continued so that even players who have lost all their cards still take part in the game. They will still say the next number after the previous person whilst not putting down a card. For example if person B has lost all their cards and player A puts down a 7 whilst saying the number 6, as soon as player B says 7 everyone slams for the pile. It is common for the person to dummy, in which case if he has not said the number the person who touches the pile incorrectly will pick up the pile.
An extra, optional, rule of Irish snap is that anything said, including the card number and snap must be done so in an Irish accent.
Extreme Irish Snap
This game variant of Irish Snap is also referred to as 'Ultimate Snap', or simply 'Irish Snap'. It is based on the alternative rules of Irish Snap in addition to any other house rules the players consent to. It bears some similarity to Egyptian Ratscrew. Commonly accepted rules include:
- Irish Snap
- If the card rank presently laid matches the rank being spoken by the layer, all players snap.
- Conventional Snap
- If the card laid is identical in rank to the one beneath it, all players snap.
- Silent Sevens
- If a seven (or another rank of card agreed upon by all players)is laid, the ranks are no longer counted out loud and players must keep track of them in their head. This may continue until the same card is laid again and nullfies the rule.
- Runs
- Players snap a set of cards which increase or decrease by one rank every card. For example: 5,6,7 or 8,7,6.
- Sandwiches
- Players snap two matching cards with any card in between them, such as 5,7,5 or Jack,3,Jack.
- King Salutes
- Players must salute before making a snap which will land on a king
- Preemptive Snap
- When a player runs out of cards, he continues to play, just as in the alternative Irish Snap rules. However, any potential snaps this causes may be snapped before he has said the relevant card rank. This is particularly interesting when neighboring players run out of cards simultaneously.
Technically there is no end to the list of rules that can be added to a game of Irish snap, and some variations state that any player who snaps fastest twice in a row may add another rule. Some games include the rule that any player who runs out of cards and snaps fastest is declared the winner, whereas other versions of the game simply go on until players choose to leave.
See also
References
- Ostrow, Albert A (1945). The Complete Card Player. New York: McGraw-Hill. p. 71.
External links
- McLeod, John, ed., Slapjack, Card Games Website
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