Slapjack: rules and a game you can play here

How to play

What you need

One standard 52-card deck with the jokers taken out, and two or more players. A low table everyone can reach the middle of works best.

The deal

Deal the whole deck one card at a time, face down. It is fine if some players get one card more than others. Each player squares their cards into a stack in front of them and does not look at them.

Turning cards

The player left of the dealer starts, and play goes clockwise. On your turn, take the top card of your stack and turn it face up onto a single pile in the middle. Pagat's tip is to flip it away from yourself, so the other players see it a moment before you do and you get no head start.

Slapping a Jack

The moment a Jack lands on top of the pile, anyone may slap it. The first hand down wins every card in the pile. Shuffle those cards and put them face down under your stack, then play carries on. If nobody slaps in time and the next card covers the Jack, Wikipedia's rule is that it cannot be won until another Jack turns up.

Wrong slaps

Slap any card that is not a Jack and you pay one card from the top of your stack, face down, to the player who turned the card you slapped.

Running out, and winning

When your stack is empty you skip your turns, but you stay in until the next Jack. Win that slap and you are back in with the whole pile. If another player wins it, you are out. The game ends when one player holds the entire deck.

Where sources differ

• Number of players. Bicycle says 2 to 5 or more. Pagat says any number from 2, best with about 4 to 10. Wikipedia gives 3 to 4, with 2 to 8 possible.
• The won pile. Bicycle has the winner put the cards under their stack and shuffle the lot into one bigger stack. Wikipedia says to shuffle the pile and add it to the bottom. Pagat only says to add the cards face down to the bottom. Our game shuffles the won cards and puts them under your stack.
• Two hands at once. Bicycle gives the pile to the hand directly on top of the Jack. Pagat gives it to the hand underneath. Wikipedia says the first player to cover the pile takes it. All three mean the first hand down; our game takes the first slap it receives.
• Which hand. Wikipedia says to slap with the hand you did not use to turn the card. Bicycle and Pagat do not say.
• Wrong slaps. Bicycle and Pagat send one card to the player who turned the slapped card. Wikipedia gives no penalty in its main rules; its popular variation makes players call out the game's name as they slap, and a wrong call lets the others split the pile between them. Putting the card under the middle pile is not in any of the three: our game offers it as a labeled house rule.
• Out of cards. All three give one more chance at the next Jack. Only Pagat adds that a wrong slap while you wait puts you out; our game uses that.
• Covered Jacks. Only Wikipedia says a Jack covered by the next card cannot be taken until another Jack shows. Our game works that way.
• Long games. Pagat suggests an optional time limit with the most cards winning. Our game offers to end by card count after 300 cards; equal counts share the win (our rule).

Two rules are ours alone because no source covers them: if you slap your own card wrongly, the penalty card goes under the pile; and if every player still in has turned their last card and no Jack is showing, the player who turned the last card picks the pile back up as their stack while anyone waiting keeps their chance.

House rules and kid variants

None of these are in the three sources. They are common family tweaks, and the first three are switches in our game.

• Queens too (house rule). Slap Queens as well as Jacks. It doubles the slap cards from 4 to 8, so younger players get more chances to win something.
• Doubles too (house rule). Also slap when two cards of the same rank land in a row. This leans toward Snap, and it trains watching two cards at once before a child moves up to Egyptian Ratscrew.
• Penalty under the pile (house rule). The wrong-slap card goes under the middle pile, so whoever wins the next Jack gets it.
• Calm mode (ours, on this page only). The game stops after every card. Slap if it is a Jack, or press Carry on. A computer player only takes a Jack you let pass, so nobody loses a race.
• Say "Jack!" instead of slapping. For a toddler or a wobbly table, the first person to call it out wins the pile. No hands involved.

Tips

1. Know your odds. Four of the 52 cards are Jacks, so on average about one card in 13 is worth slapping. Turn on the Queens house rule and it becomes 2 in 13, which keeps a young player busier.
2. A wrong slap costs you twice. Under the Bicycle penalty you lose a card and the turner gains one, a two-card swing. Most wrong slaps happen on Queens and Kings, so look for the J in the corner.
3. Out of cards? Sit on your hands. Under Pagat's rule one wrong slap ends your game, so only move for a real Jack.
4. Match the computer to your tally. After a game, read your average slap time and set the reaction timer about 0.1 s slower than it for a close race, or faster for a challenge.
5. Start every hand at the same distance. At a real table, have everyone rest their slapping hand flat on the table edge between cards. Nobody hovers, and small arms are not at a disadvantage.

Common questions

How do you play Slapjack?

Deal out the whole deck face down so everyone has a stack they cannot see. Take turns turning your top card face up onto one pile in the middle. Whenever a Jack lands, everyone races to slap it, and the first hand on it wins the whole pile. Collect all 52 cards to win.

What happens if you slap a card that is not a Jack?

Bicycle and Pagat both say you give one card from your stack, face down, to the player who turned the card you slapped. Some families put that card under the middle pile instead; our game has both options.

Can you get back in after you run out of cards?

Yes, once. You stop turning cards but you may still slap the next Jack, and if you win it you are back in with that pile. If someone else gets it first, you are out. Pagat adds that a wrong slap while you wait also puts you out.

Who wins if two people slap the Jack at the same time?

The sources disagree. Bicycle gives the pile to the hand directly on the Jack, which is the first one down. Pagat gives it to the hand underneath, which is the same idea in other words. Agree before you start, and in our game the first slap the page receives wins.

What age is it for, and can two people play?

Bicycle lists it for ages 4 and up and for two to five or more players. It works fine with two: you race each other for every Jack, and our game lets one child play against one computer player.

How long does a game take?

It varies a lot. In 600 computer-only test games of our version, half were over within about 155 to 200 cards turned and one in ten ran past 460. That is why our game offers to end by card count once 300 cards have been turned, the way Pagat's time-limit option works.