Slapjack

This article is about the card game. For the personal weapon, see Slapjack (weapon).

Slapjack

Type	Matching
Players	2+
Cards	52
Deck	Anglo-American
Rank (high→low)	A K Q J 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2
Play	Clockwise
Playing time	15 min.
Chance	Low-Moderate
Related games
Beggar-My-Neighbour

Slapjack, also known as Slaps is a simple 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.

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 with to obtain it; whoever covers the stack with his hand first takes the pile, shuffles it, and adds it to the bottom of his stack. 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.

Rules variations

• In Slapjack you can play up to 8 people.
• Players attempt to slap the pile as quickly as possible. The last person is forced to take the pile and the player to rid him of all his cards is the winner. As the name implies.

• To make the game more complicated, each player when placing their card down must recite ordinal value of the card placed down (relative to the present number of cards in play). For example, the first player in the round will say "one" as she puts down the first card of the round, the second player will put his card down and say "two". The card placed down does not refer to the actual value of the card. If the value of the nth card placed down does match its ordinal value (for example, if the third card put down is actually a three), all players must slap the pile. The last player to slap the pile will be forced to take the pile, usually because this variation follows the variation above. Rules for slapping Jacks still apply. This variation of the game is also called Heart Attack.

• Further complication can be added using the "1 up, 1 down" rule. Players count out loud as above, but this time players slap if the value of the card placed faced down is either one higher or one lower than the number that was said out loud. Slapping at the wrong time also causes the player to collect the cards on the pile. It is optional if players should also slap when the number said out loud and value of the card match. These first three rules are commonly used in China, and are what people refer to as snap.

• In Manatee Slapjack, the players must "slap" the Jack with their elbow, keeping their hand behind their back.

Game variations

Snap

A popular card game in which the object is to lose all the cards. 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 entire 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) then the first player to shout "Snap!" and place his hand on the top of the central pile does not need to take the cards. But the person that "snaps" the card last takes in all the cards. The player with the most cards loses.

Alternate versions of the game include the player with most cards as the winner, and instead claiming cards by shouting snap.

Alternate 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.

Irish Snap is a card game, whose objective is to lose cards as quickly as possible. As there is only one loser, forfeits can be made for the person with all the cards at the end. This game is often played by students between lessons.

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 bar 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.

Variations

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, which makes it live up to its name, is that anything said, including the card number and snap must be done so in an Irish accent.

Another variation is that the players slam when the card number spoken is either one up or one down of the card laid. This is a good variation if playing with players who haven't played this variation as they would tend to slam when the card laid down matches the card spoken.

Further complications can be added by making the game silent, where you have to count in your head what number would be spoken, or varying the way the numbers are said, such as saying everyother number.

Another variation can be played where if the matching number or a Jack comes up you hit your head and then the pack. This can be judged on who hits their head hardest if the game is all square at the end.

Another variation is when it comes to "snap!" the player doing so must hit themselves on the forehead followed by the cards, this is sometimes changed so that each player smacks the forehead of the opposing player. However this rule is rarely used as it often escalates into violence.

Another variation is that whenever a queen is put down, no matter what card was previously put down or what is said, players slam.

Players can also institute a complaint rule: when players slam, anyone who complains due to pain must pick up the cards instead of the last person to slam. If there are multiple complainers, the cards are dealt out equally between them with the actual loser (the last person to slam) receiving any left over cards.

A great way to liven up the game, and to really personalize it is to add your own rules. Try doubling up a number, or adding a different word in replace for a number. We often double up the three, say Eight instead of Ten, and say "please" instead of the queen. Also, try saying "Ace" as "Ass". Also, The player who turns over the 5th card, doesn't say anything. So the order is:

"Ass, Two, Three, Three, Four, *Silent*, Six, Seven, Eight, Nine, Eight, Jack, Please, King."

It gets confusing and tricky, but spices up the game considerably! Also try playing this in a pub, or whilst drinking, making sure the drinks are in a glass. The loser of the round has to drink 2 fingers-width of the drink, or if you're feeling adventurous, a shot!

Length of Games

Some games can go on for long time. This happens if there are two players with significantly worse reactions, the cards get passed back and forth between these two players. Games can also be longer if there are two people far away from the pack, as it takes them longer to get to the pack they are more likely to pick up the pack.

Games can also be short if there is one player clearly worse than the rest.

Trivia

• In J. K. Rowling's Harry Potter novels, Harry and his friends sometimes play a game called "Exploding Snap", in which (from Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire) some of the cards will explode at random during the game.
• In the Goon Show, Eccles will yell snap, sometimes during a poker game or while on the telephone.

See also

• One Card (card game)
• Snip Snap Snorem
• Egyptian Ratscrew

References

• Ostrow, Albert A (1945). The Complete Card Player. New York: McGraw-Hill. p. 71.

External links

• Rules of Card Games - Slapjack at Pagat.com