Three Card is a card game for 2-4(*) people that uses a standard deck of 52 cards.
Also known as:
(*): The game may be played with any number of players greater than 2. For each 4 players, another deck of 52 cards must be added to play.
The goal of the game is to have no cards in your hand or playable for you.
This is a “stacking game” where each player takes a turn to place a card on top of a pile. The card played must be of equal or higher value to the card below it, with exceptions for special cards.
The order of turns is done counterclockwise, or from the left of the dealer.
The order of card values is given below, from the lowest value to the highest value.
Special cards are as follows. These cards may be played on top of any other card.
Jokers are not used in this game.
From the left of the dealer, each player should be dealt two stacks of cards. The first stack of three cards must be dealt face down without revealing them to any players. This stack is called the undercards or bottom cards and it should not be turned over until later in the game. The second stack consists of six cards.
From their second stack, each player should choose three cards to form their top cards. These three cards are placed face up on top of the undercards. These cards will be playable later in the game.
The last three cards remaining form the player’s starting hand.
Once each player has chosen their top cards, the players must choose who begins play. From the left of the dealer, the first player who has the lowest value card places it on the table to form the pile.
For example, the lowest value card is 3. So, if the first player to the left of the dealer has a 3 in their hand, then they play it first and the game begins. If all players do not have a 3 in their hand, then, starting to the left of the dealer, the players see who has a 4. And so on.
The remaining cards are placed face down next to the pile. This is the deck.
During a player’s turn, they must place a card that is of equal or greater value than the card on top of the pile. Players may play multiple of the same card during their turn.
If a player does not have a card in their hand that is of equal or greater value than the card on the top of the pile, they must take the cards in the pile into their hand.
Players may not lie about their ability to place a card. If the current player has a card that is of equal or greater value than the card on top of the pile, or a special value card, they must play.
After a player has placed a card the players should check the pile to see if the following has occurred:
After a player places a card or cards, they must draw from the deck until they have at least three cards again. If there are no more cards in the deck, then the game proceeds to the next phase of play.
Once all of the cards have been drawn from the deck, then players must focus on getting rid of all of the cards in their hand. Once a player has played all cards in their hand, they may pick up the cards from their top cards, which becomes their hand.
Once a player has played all of the cards in their top cards, then, for each turn, they may randomly draw a card from their under cards and place it on the pile without looking at it first. If the drawn card’s value is not equal to or greater than the card on the top of the pile, they must take the pile into their hand. 2s, 10s, and four-of-a-kinds all have the same special properties & rules as in the previous phase.
When a player no longer has any cards in their top cards or their bottom cards then they win the game.
It is permissible for a player to draw from the deck multiple separate times during their turn. For example:
Player X has three cards in their hand: J, K, 2. The top card on the pile is A. This player may:
Or:
A player may play all four of a kind during their turn, given that the value of the four-of-a-kind is greater than the value of the card on the top of the pile. Once all four cards are played, the pile is removed from play and the player may play any card to start the pile again. In this way, four of a kind acts similar to a 10.
A player may play more than one of the same card at the same time during a turn, but they are not required to.
As noted, the game may be played with any number of players greater than 2. For each 4 players another deck of 52 cards must be added. This leads to the following rules for multiple decks:
This page was written by some goofballs who have played this game way too much. We have the following names for different things that happen in the game: