How to Play

Elfer Raus! ('Out with the elevens!') is a classic German family card game first published by Ravensburger in 1925. 2 to 6 players race to empty their hands by extending four colour-rows outward from their 11s, using a proprietary 80-card deck (1 to 20 in four colours).

Elfer Raus! ('Out with the elevens!') is a classic German family card game first published by Ravensburger in 1925. 2 to 6 players race to empty their hands by extending four colour-rows outward from their 11s: upward toward 20 and downward toward 1. The game ships with its own 80-card deck (1 to 20 in four colours), and a round takes about 15 to 30 minutes. Simple turn structure, but real strategic choice in which card to save and which to release.

Players

2 to 6 players, every player for themselves (no teams). The first dealer is chosen by any agreed method (for example, the youngest player, or the winner of the last round). The deal rotates one seat clockwise after each round.

Card Deck

The proprietary Elfer Raus! deck of 80 cards. Each of four colours (red, yellow, blue, green) contains the numbers 1 through 20, giving 4 colours × 20 ranks = 80 cards. There are no suits in the traditional card-game sense, only colours; there are no jokers, face cards, or wild cards in the standard version. Some later editions use only three colours (60 cards); check the box before starting.

Objective

Be the first player to play every card from your hand onto the table. The game ends the instant one player goes out; the remaining players score penalty points for the cards still in their hands.

Setup and Deal

1. Shuffle the 80-card deck thoroughly.
2. Deal cards face-down one at a time, clockwise: with 2 or 3 players deal 20 each; with 4 players deal 15 each; with 5 players deal 12 each; with 6 players deal 10 each. Any leftover cards form the face-down stock in the centre.
3. Players pick up and look at their own hands; opponents' hands remain hidden.
4. The four 11s (one per colour) are the starting cards of the four rows: the first player who holds any 11 must play it to open its row. In the classic ruling, the player holding the red 11 begins, and any other 11s may be played on subsequent turns to open the remaining rows.

Gameplay

1. Turn order: Play proceeds clockwise beginning with the player who lays the first 11.
2. Legal plays: On your turn you may play any number of cards (including none) that extend an open row. A row is extended by placing the next higher number above the current top or the next lower number below the current bottom, in the same colour. Example: a green row currently shows 9, 10, 11, 12; the only legal green plays are the 8 (below) or the 13 (above).
3. Opening a new row: The only way to start a new row is to play its 11. A player holding an 11 is obliged to place it as part of their turn if they have not yet done so and no row of that colour is open. This prevents hoarding all four 11s.
4. Playing multiple cards: You may chain plays on a single turn, for example laying the 12, 13, and 14 of blue in one go if you hold them in sequence. Each card must be legal at the moment it is laid; there is no limit on how many you can play per turn.
5. Must play if you can: If at least one legal play is possible, you must play at least one card; you cannot voluntarily hold back everything in the standard rules (the intentional-block variant is a house rule, covered below).
6. Drawing when stuck: If you have no legal play (every card in your hand is blocked or no row is yet open for your colour), draw one card from the stock and try to play it; if still unable, your turn ends. Some house rules require drawing up to three cards before passing; agree before play begins.
7. Stock exhausted: If the stock runs out and you still cannot play, you simply pass.
8. Illegal play: A card placed out of sequence is illegal; return it to the player's hand. A player who forgets to play an 11 they hold is corrected by any opponent on the spot and must play it.
9. End of the round: The round ends the moment one player has emptied their hand. Any cards still in play on the table stay where they are; unplayed cards in other players' hands become penalty points.

Scoring

• Winner of the round: The player who goes out scores zero penalty points for that round.
• Losing players: Each loser sums the face values of the cards left in their hand (a 14 is worth 14, a 2 is worth 2, and so on). That total is added to the loser's running penalty score.
• Target score: Play as many rounds as desired, or until one player reaches an agreed penalty limit (commonly 500). The player with the lowest cumulative penalty score at that moment wins the match.

Winning

• Round winner: First to empty their hand.
• Match winner: Lowest cumulative penalty score when a player hits the agreed penalty limit.
• Tie-breakers: If two or more players are tied on the lowest score when the limit is reached, play one further round between them; if they remain tied, the winner of that tie-break round takes the match.

Variations

• Optional-play rule (house rule): Players may voluntarily pass even when a legal play is available. Rewards tempo control and blocking, at the cost of a slower round.
• Draw up to three: When stuck, draw up to three cards (in sequence) before passing; you must play the first one that becomes legal.
• 10 or 12 start: Some editions let each colour begin at 10 or 12 instead of 11, randomised per game.
• Junior (children's) edition: Uses a reduced range of numbers (often 1 to 10 or 1 to 15) for shorter games with younger players.
• Action-card expansion: Some later editions add special cards (for example, skip-next-player or reverse-direction) mixed into the deck; rules come on each expansion card.

Tips and Strategy

• Your biggest decisions are about tempo. Releasing a card exposes the next number in that direction to every other player; holding it onto your next turn sometimes forces an opponent to draw.
• Track which colours opponents appear to be stuck on (repeated draws). Extending those rows on the stuck side helps you more than stuck players.
• The 1 and 20 of each colour are pure liabilities: they are the last card of their row and worth the most penalty points if you are caught with them. Play them as early as possible.
• Middle cards (around 10 to 12) are natural bottlenecks. Saving a key mid-card can stall a row for several turns.

Glossary

• Row: A linear sequence of cards in one colour, built outward from the central 11. Each colour has its own row once opened.
• Colour (Farbe): The four distinct suits of the Elfer Raus deck; rows are kept separate by colour.
• Stock: The face-down reserve of undealt cards used to draw from when stuck.
• Go out / shed: To play the last card from your hand, ending the round.
• Face value: The numeric value printed on a card (1 through 20); used for scoring leftover cards at round end.