How to Play

A straightforward shedding game for 2 to 6 players: the 52-card deck is dealt face-down into equal stacks, each player flips the top card, and cards are raced onto shared Ace-up foundations. You must play whenever you can; the first to empty both stack and face-up card wins.

Give Away is a simple competitive shedding game for 2 to 6 players. Every card is dealt face-down into equal stacks; each player turns up the top of their stack and races to play it onto shared Ace-foundations in the centre, building up by rank and ignoring suit. You MUST play whenever you can, so the game is almost pure pattern-spotting and alertness rather than decision-making. The first player to empty their face-down stack AND their face-up card wins.

Players

Two to six players, each for themselves. Four players is the classic count because a 52-card deck divides into 13 cards each. With 3 or 5 players there are leftover cards; either deal them out unevenly (one pile larger) or set them aside face-down as a dead pile. A single round takes about 3-5 minutes, so Give Away is often played as a first-to-5-wins mini-match. Turn order is clockwise; the player to the dealer's left goes first.

Card Deck

• Use one standard 52-card pack. No jokers.
• Rank order: . Aces are LOW and start each foundation; Kings are HIGH and close it.A♠2♠3♠4♠5♠6♠7♠8♠9♠10♠J♠Q♠K♠
• Suits are ignored for all purposes; any Ace goes to any empty foundation spot, any 2 plays on any Ace, and so on.
• The deck is the only equipment needed; no cribbage board, no chips, no score sheet.

Objective

Be the first player to get rid of EVERY card in your stack AND the face-up card on top of it by playing them onto the shared foundation piles that build up from Ace to King regardless of suit. There is no scoring during the round; speed and accurate spotting of playable cards is everything.

Setup and Deal

1. Shuffle the deck. Any player may deal the first round; the winner of each round deals the next.
2. Deal the ENTIRE deck face-down, one card at a time clockwise, until the deck is empty. Each player ends with a face-down stack of roughly 52/n cards (13 each for 4 players; one or two extras with 3 or 5 players).
3. Do not look at your stack. Each player simply turns over the TOP card of their own stack and places it face-up next to the stack so everyone can see it.
4. Leave a wide open space in the middle of the table for the four foundation piles (one per suit, but suits mix freely).
5. The player to the left of the dealer plays first.

Gameplay

1. Starting foundations: a player with an Ace on top of their stack plays it to the centre to start a new foundation pile. Foundations are built up in rank (A, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, J, Q, K) regardless of suit. A♣ can be placed on top of 2♥ only if the A is going the OTHER way (see Variations); in the standard rules, only build UP.A♣2♥
2. Your turn: look at your face-up card. If it plays on any foundation (it equals the foundation top's rank + 1, or it is an Ace and a foundation pile is empty), place it there and immediately flip the NEXT card from your face-down stack to become your new face-up card.
3. Continue while you can. If the new face-up card also plays, play it and flip again. A single turn may shed many cards in a row.
4. Pass: when your face-up card cannot play on any foundation (and is not an Ace when a foundation is empty), your turn ends. Leave it face-up and play passes clockwise.
5. Compulsion to play: if a card CAN play, you MUST play it. You may not pocket a useful card for later. Players at the table watch each other and call out missed plays.
6. Running out of face-down cards: when your face-down stack is empty, you keep playing using only your face-up card until you shed that one too.

Winning

The first player to play away every card in their stack AND their face-up card wins the round. Play usually continues briefly to decide second and third place, but the round's champion is the first out.

• Instant win: on the play that empties your last card, declare 'out!' and the round ends.
• Stalemate: if every player's face-up card is unplayable and no foundation can accept any turned card, the player with the FEWEST face-up + face-down cards combined wins the round. Re-deal and play again.
• Match play: first to win 3 (short), 5 (standard), or 10 (long) rounds wins the match. Because rounds are short, best-of-5 is the most common format.

Common Variations

• Build both ways: foundations can be built up from Ace or down from King on their own piles. Players choose per play which direction to follow. Adds decision making and a dash of strategy.
• Spread of three: each player keeps three face-up cards instead of one, choosing which to play each turn. Slower but more thoughtful.
• Simultaneous play (Nerts style): no turns; everyone plays as fast as they can, shouting 'out!' on the last card. The cards-forbidden-to-hold rule still applies.
• Nominated Ace start: instead of waiting for Aces to arise, the dealer sets out four Aces (one per suit) from the deck before dealing the remaining 48 cards. Standard foundations are fixed from the first flip.
• Block play: if you flip a card that duplicates a foundation top, you may immediately lay it out as a 'block' so the next player cannot play on that foundation for one turn. A popular kids' house rule.
• Speed giveaway: only one foundation pile is built at a time; when it reaches King, a new Ace is required to start the next. Makes rounds longer and creates traffic jams.

Scoring (Optional Match Play)

• Standard match: no point scoring; first to win the agreed number of rounds wins the match.
• Penalty scoring: at the end of each round, losers count the cards left in their stack plus face-up card. First to accumulate 50 penalty points is eliminated.
• Golf scoring: each player's remaining card count is their round score; lowest total after 9 rounds wins. Winner of each round scores zero.

Tips and Strategy

• Eyes on your stack, not the table. The moment your face-up card lands, flip the next one quickly; dead time is lost ground.
• Track foundation tops in peripheral vision. You do not need exact suits, only the top rank. '3 on the left, 7 on the right' is enough to know if your card plays.
• Be first with Aces. When an Ace is on top of your stack, play it even before your legal turn window ends; waiting loses tempo.
• Cards blocked by a King are dead. A King closes a foundation. If your turned card matches any dead foundation, you are stuck until another opens.
• The compulsion rule matters. If you miss a play, opponents may call it out and you forfeit that turn's remaining plays. Practice stays sharper than talk.
• Stack order is fate. With no choice about what to flip, most of Give Away is the deal. Do not agonise over bad luck; the next round is only minutes away.

Glossary

• Foundation: a centre pile built up (or up-and-down in some variants) from Ace to King.A♠K♠
• Face-up card: the single top card of your stack that you can play on your turn.
• Face-down stack: your private undealt cards; you never look at them until they are flipped.
• Compulsion to play: the rule that if a legal play exists, you must make it; holding back is illegal.
• Out: the call made when a player plays their last card to end the round.
• Stalemate: the situation where no player can play and the round ends by count of remaining cards.
• Block: in the 'block play' variation, a duplicate card laid over a foundation to freeze it for one turn.