How to Play

A quick simultaneous-passing children's card game where each player races to collect seven cards of one suit and shout the title phrase.

My Ship Sails is a simultaneous-passing card game in which each player is dealt seven cards and races to collect a seven-card flush of a single suit. Every turn, every player secretly picks one unwanted card from their hand and, on a count, passes it face down to the player on their left. At the same time each player picks up the card arriving from their right. The first player to hold seven cards of one suit shouts "My ship sails!" and wins the deal. Rounds take only a minute or two, so the game is usually played as a short match, first to an agreed number of round wins.

Players

Four to seven players, each for themselves. Four to six plays well; seven is the hard maximum because every player needs a seven-card hand and the 52-card deck becomes tight.

Card Deck

• One standard 52-card pack, no jokers.
• Card ranks and values do not matter; only suits (spades, hearts, diamonds, clubs) count.
• For 4 players use 28 cards (each suit 2-8, or any chosen contiguous run); for 5 players use 35 cards; for 6 use 42; for 7 use 49 cards. Trim lowest ranks first so each player can be dealt a full hand of seven cards.

Objective

Be the first player to assemble a hand of seven cards all of the same suit and call out "My ship sails!" to end the round.

Setup and Deal

1. Choose a dealer by drawing for the lowest card (or any quick method; the deal rotates to the left each round).
2. Trim the deck so the number of cards used is exactly seven times the number of players, removing the lowest ranks first.
3. Shuffle and deal seven cards face down to each player, one at a time.
4. Players pick up their hands in secret; there is no stock pile or discard pile.

Gameplay

1. Choose a target suit. Look at your hand and pick the suit you hold the most of; this becomes the suit you are trying to collect.
2. Select a card to pass. Pick one card (not of your target suit, unless you have no better option) and place it face down in front of you.
3. Pass simultaneously. When every player is ready, each player slides their face-down card to the player on their left on an agreed signal (a count of three works for children).
4. Pick up. Receive the card arriving from your right and add it to your hand, keeping it at seven total.
5. Check for victory. If your hand is now seven of one suit, call "My ship sails!" immediately and show your hand.
6. Continue if no one wins. Repeat the pick-and-pass cycle until someone completes a flush.

Resolving Simultaneous Wins

• If two players call "My ship sails!" on the same pass, the first to call wins.
• If both calls are simultaneous, compare the ranks in each player's flush: the player whose flush has the highest single card wins.
• If still tied (rare in a trimmed deck), the players reveal and compare the next highest card, and so on; a perfectly identical flush is impossible because every card is unique.

Scoring and Match Play

• The winner of each round scores 1 point.
• A match is typically played to 3 or 5 round wins; the first player to the target wins the match.
• Some houses award a bonus point for the fastest win of the match (fewest passes to completion), tracked with a counter.

Winning

A round is won the instant a player completes seven cards of one suit and successfully calls out. A match is won by reaching the agreed number of round wins.

Common Variations

• Pass two: Each player passes two cards per turn instead of one; speeds the game and makes suit flipping more chaotic.
• Pass right: Players pass to the right instead of to the left; often used when a session starts alternating passing direction each round.
• My star shines: The same game under a different traditional name, especially in Scotland and some English provincial traditions.
• Ochse, leg dich! (Austrian/German variant): Uses a 32-card skat pack and requires collecting all eight cards of one suit.
• Whehee / Wizzy Wizzy Wee: Historical three-card version from 17th-century England (ancestor game), played with small hands of three and a target of three same-suit cards.

Tips and Strategy

• Commit to your strongest starting suit on the first pick; dithering slows you by one or two passes compared with a player who commits early.
• Track which cards arrive from your right to infer what your right-hand neighbour is not collecting. If they pass you the same suit repeatedly, that suit is safe to hoard.
• Pass the suit you see your left-hand neighbour discarding first. Handing them their target suit hands them the win; handing them a suit they have already discarded is harmless.
• If you are dealt two mid-sized suits (for example, 4+3), pick the one whose missing cards are the ones most commonly passed by children of the age you play with; hearts and diamonds travel more because of their bright colour.
• Once you have six of your target suit, hold a low card of another suit as a safety pass so you never have to cough up your sixth same-suit card by accident.

Glossary

• Target suit: The suit a player is trying to collect seven of.
• Pass: The simultaneous one-card swap between each player and their left neighbour.
• Flush: Seven cards of one suit; the winning condition.
• My ship sails: The traditional call uttered to claim the round.
• Trimmed deck: The subset of the standard deck used to ensure 7 cards per player across 4 to 7 players.