Garbage card game (Trash): rules and layout tracker
Garbage is a race to turn a row of face-down cards into Ace through 10, in order. One lucky draw can set off a chain that fills half your layout. Pagat calls it an American children's game and "essentially a game of pure luck", which is exactly why a six-year-old can beat a grandparent at it. The catch is that every hand you win makes your next layout smaller and harder. This page has the rules, a "what do I do with this card" helper, and a tracker for who is down to how many cards.
Garbage in 30 seconds
- Two players, one deck (more players, more decks). Deal ten cards face down to each player in two rows of five. Do not look at them.
- Top row is places Ace, 2, 3, 4, 5; bottom row is 6 to 10.
- Draw from the stock or take the top discard. Put an Ace to 10 in its place, flip the card that was there, and place that one too.
- Jacks are wild. Queens, Kings and numbers whose place is already filled end your turn: discard.
- Fill all ten places and you win the hand. Next hand you play with nine cards. Win with one card and you win the game.
What do I do with this card?
Garbage layout tracker
Game length (Pagat's main rule unless you change it)
How to play Garbage
Cards and deal
Two players use one standard 52-card deck. Pagat suggests shuffling in a second deck for three or four players and a third for five or six, so the stock does not run dry:
| Players | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Decks | 1 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 3 | 4 | 4 |
Deal each player ten cards face down in two rows of five. Nobody looks at their own cards. The top-left card is place 1 (Ace), then 2 to 5 along the top, and 6 to 10 along the bottom. Stack the rest face down as the stock.
A turn
The first player draws from the stock. Later players may take the top card of the discard pile instead. If the card is an Ace to 10 and that place is still face down, put the card face up in its place and pick up the card that was there. Place that card the same way, and keep going. Aces count 1.
Your turn ends when you hold a card you cannot place: a Queen or King, or a number whose place already has its card. Discard it face up. If the stock ever runs out, Pagat and Bicycle say to shuffle the discards (all but the top card) into a new stock.
Wild Jacks
A Jack can go face up in any place that still has a face-down card. Later, if you turn up the real card for that place, put it there and move the Jack to another face-down place. In the sketch above, a 6 would take place 6 from the Jack, which could then fill place 2, 5, 7, 9 or 10.
Winning
The first player with every place filled face up wins the hand. Shuffle and deal again, but the winner gets one card fewer: nine places, Ace to 9, so a 10 is now useless to them. Everyone else keeps their size. The winner plays first next hand. The game ends when someone wins a hand with a single place, which only an Ace or a Jack can fill.
Where sources differ
Pagat and Bicycle print nearly the same rules. The differences are in the variations Pagat collects:
- Wild cards. Kings wild instead of Jacks (then Jacks and Queens end your turn), all picture cards wild, or jokers added as extra wilds.
- Game length. First to a six-card layout, a fixed number of hands, or a set time, with the smallest layout winning.
- Who starts. The winner of the last hand, or the turn rotating to the left.
- Second chances. Some let a loser whose face-down cards turn out to be all in the right places shrink too, and some give the loser of a two-player hand three free draws.
House rules in the tools: the wild-card choice in the helper and the game-length choice in the tracker.
Tips for Garbage
- Always look at the discard first. If the top discard fits one of your face-down places, take it: it is a guaranteed start to a chain.
- Watch what you throw away. Pagat points out the next player will take your discard if it fits their layout. Late in a hand, a 7 you cannot use might be exactly what they need.
- Use the Jack on a place you are unlikely to fill. With several decks there are plenty of each number, so it rarely matters. With one deck, put the Jack where you have already seen two or three of that number discarded.
- Small layouts are hard. With one card left, only Aces and wild cards help you, so a player who is behind can catch up. Do not call the game early.
Play Garbage online or at home
Play at home: one standard deck for two players (two decks for three or four), and the tracker above.
Garbage questions
How do you play Garbage (Trash)?
Deal everyone ten cards face down in two rows of five: the top row is places Ace to 5, the bottom row 6 to 10. On your turn, draw a card. If it is Ace to 10, put it in its place, pick up the face-down card that was there, and place that one too. Keep going until you turn up a card you cannot place; discard it and your turn ends. First to fill every place face up wins the hand.
What cards are wild in Garbage?
Jacks, in Pagat's and Bicycle's rules. A Jack can go in any place that still has a face-down card. Queens and Kings end your turn. Some play Kings wild instead, or every picture card wild.
What happens after you win a hand of Garbage?
You get one card fewer next hand: nine places (Ace to 9), then eight, and so on, while everyone else stays where they were. Win a hand with a single place (filled by an Ace or a Jack) and you win the game.
Is Garbage the same game as Trash?
Yes. Pagat calls it Trash and says it is also known as Garbage or Ten; Bicycle also uses the name Trash. Some other card games share those names, so check the rules match before you play.
How many decks do you need for Garbage?
One deck for two players. Pagat suggests two decks for three or four players and three for five or six.