♣ Setup
Deal three Mystery Cards
Deal 3 cards face-down in a row to each player. No peeking! These are your Mystery Cards — the last resort, played blind.
Deal three Table Top Cards
Deal 3 cards face-up on top of the Mystery Cards. Everyone can see these. These are your Table Top Cards.
Deal three Hole Cards
Deal 3 cards to each player's hand. These are your Hole Cards — only you know what they are.
Swap if you want
Before play begins, you may swap cards between your hole cards and your table-top cards. Strategy matters — put your best cards where they'll hurt most.
A 3 starts the game
Anyone holding a 3 in their hole cards goes first. Nobody has one? The player with the lowest plain card starts. Play begins clockwise.
♦ Card Types
Hole Cards
Your hand. Only you can see them. Play these first. Draw back to 3 while the deck lasts.
Table Top Cards
Face-up on the table, covering your Mystery Cards. Everyone sees them. Play these once your hole cards are gone. Choose wisely during the swap phase!
Mystery Cards
Face-down under your table-top cards. Unknown. Dangerous. You play these blind, last. Flip and pray.
♠ Special Cards
Reset
Card: 2Resets the pile. The next player can play any card.
Mirror
Card: 5Copies the card beneath it. The pile counts as whatever the 5 is sitting on.
- A 5 on a 7 keeps the under-7 curse alive for the next player.
- A 5 never re-triggers one-shot effects — no double skips, no bonus burns.
- A 5 on an empty pile? Next player plays anything.
Under
Card: 7The next player must play LOWER than 7 — or a wild card.
- An 8 is NOT an escape. It's higher than 7. Suffer.
- Once someone answers legally, normal play resumes from that card.
Burn
Card: 10Burns the entire pile out of the game. You go again.
- Finishing on a 10 is allowed — go out in flames.
♣ Variants
Core
The foundation. Four cursed cards.
The rules everyone learns first: 2 resets, 5 mirrors, 7 forces you under, 10 burns. Clean, mean, and enough to ruin friendships.
South African
Eight special cards. Maximum hostility.
Everything in Core, plus: 8 skips, Queens reverse, Aces point at victims, and Jokers start standoffs where somebody eats the whole pile. Played with Jokers in the deck.
House Rules
Your table, your law.
Every special card is a toggle. Mix and match — start from Core or South African and flip individual cards on or off. Online, your league locks in its own ruleset and everyone plays by it.
The South African Arsenal
Skip
Card: 8Skips the next player. Play two, skip two. Three skips three.
- Four 8s? That's a four-of-a-kind BURN, not a skip. Maximum skip is 3.
Reverse
Card: QFlips the direction of play. Two Queens cancel out, three flip it again.
- Four Queens burn the pile — and nobody turns around.
Nominate
Card: APoint at ANY player. They must answer with a 2, 5, Ace, or Joker — or eat the whole pile.
- Play continues from whoever you pointed at.
- Answering with an Ace? They point at the next victim. Chains are legal and encouraged.
- Without the variant, the Ace is simply the highest card in the game.
Joker
Card: 🃏The next player eats the entire pile. Unless someone counters with their own Joker…
- A counter bounces the punishment back onto the PREVIOUS Joker's player.
- Counters can chain. Last Joker standing wins; the one below it eats everything — Jokers included.
- Jokers go one at a time. No double-throwing.
♥ How to Play
Play equal or higher
On your turn, play one or more cards of a single value, equal to or higher than the top of the pile — or a wild card (2, 5, 10, Joker). If you can't (or don't want to), you pick up the entire pile.
Play from your hole cards first
You must play all hole cards before touching your table-top cards. Once your hole cards are gone, play your table-top cards. Once those are gone, flip mystery cards blind.
Draw to three
While the draw pile exists, always draw back up to 3 hole cards after playing. Picked up the pile and holding more than 3? No drawing for you.
Four of a kind burns
Four cards of the same value on top of the pile — played at once or stacked across turns — burns it. The burner goes again. The burn OVERRIDES the cards' own powers: four 8s skip nobody, four Queens reverse nothing.
Mystery cards are blind
When you flip a mystery card, you don't look first. If it beats the pile, it plays. If it doesn't, you pick up the pile INCLUDING that card. Flip and pray.
Last one holding cards loses
Play continues until one player remains with cards: the Shithead. First out gets the glory; everyone else fights not to be last.
⚠ Prison Rules
Optional rules for when the base game isn't chaotic enough. Use at your own risk. Friendships may be tested.
Slap the pile
When the pile burns, everyone slaps it. Slowest hand (or no hand at all) draws a penalty card.
Reverse on doubles
Any pair reverses the direction of play. Redundant if you're already playing with Queens — but chaos stacks.
Shithead shaming
The loser is addressed only as 'Shithead' until someone else earns the title. Online, the name renders that way for everyone. It's the law.
Loser's tax
Next game, the Shithead's best card is confiscated and swapped with the winner's worst card. Losing has consequences.
Silent 7
When a 7 is played, no one may speak until the next card lands. Anyone who talks picks up the pile. Table only — your phone can't hear you.
Shithead fetches drinks
The Shithead is responsible for fetching drinks for the group. Table only. Obviously.
♣ Cheat Sheet
| Card | Name | Effect | Variant |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2 | Reset | Resets the pile. The next player can play any card. | CORE |
| 5 | Mirror | Copies the card beneath it. The pile counts as whatever the 5 is sitting on. | CORE |
| 7 | Under | The next player must play LOWER than 7 — or a wild card. | CORE |
| 10 | Burn | Burns the entire pile out of the game. You go again. | CORE |
| 8 | Skip | Skips the next player. Play two, skip two. Three skips three. | SA |
| Q | Reverse | Flips the direction of play. Two Queens cancel out, three flip it again. | SA |
| A | Nominate | Point at ANY player. They must answer with a 2, 5, Ace, or Joker — or eat the whole pile. | SA |
| 🃏 | Joker | The next player eats the entire pile. Unless someone counters with their own Joker… | SA |
| 3 4 6 9 J K | Plain cards | No powers. The 3 is the lowest card in the game. | |
| 4× | Four of a kind | Burns the pile, overriding card powers. Burner goes again. |