Spoons: rules, a letter keeper and a no-grab version
The Spoons card game ends in a scramble: collect four of a kind, take a spoon, and do not be the one left empty-handed. Below: how many cards and spoons your group needs, a letter keeper that tracks who is out, a no-grab version for little kids, and table cards to print.
Spoons letter keeper
Who got no spoon this round?
Rounds so far
Spoons in 30 seconds
- Spoons in the middle, one fewer than players. Four cards each.
- Everyone passes one card face down to the left and picks up the card from the right, again and again, with no turns.
- Get four of a kind? Take a spoon, quietly if you like. Once someone has taken one, anyone may grab.
- No spoon? Take the next letter of the word. Spell it all and you are out.
- Take a spoon away each round as players go out. Last player in wins.
How many cards and spoons
Spoons always number one fewer than the players still in. For the cards, pick a method. With only the sets you need, every card passed could finish someone's four of a kind, so rounds are short. With the whole deck, the dealer draws from the stock and the last player discards into a pile, which makes rounds longer.
| Players | Spoons | One set of four per player (Pagat, Wikipedia) | Whole deck (Bicycle) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 3 | 2 | 12 cards: all four Aces through 3s | One deck |
| 4 | 3 | 16 cards: all four Aces through 4s | One deck |
| 5 | 4 | 20 cards: all four Aces through 5s | One deck |
| 6 | 5 | 24 cards: all four Aces through 6s | One deck |
| 8 | 7 | 32 cards: all four Aces through 8s | One deck |
| 10 | 9 | 40 cards: all four Aces through 10s | One deck |
| 13 | 12 | 52 cards: all four Aces through Kings | 2 decks |
The full rules
Choose a dealer, set out the spoons in a small circle in the middle where everyone can reach, and deal four cards each. When the dealer says go, everyone picks one card they do not want and passes it face down to the left, then picks up the card coming from the right. Keep going at your own pace; there are no turns. In Bicycle's version the dealer draws each new card from the stock and the player on the dealer's right discards into a pile; if the stock runs out, shuffle the pile and carry on.
As soon as you hold four cards of one rank, take a spoon. You can do it quietly and wait for others to notice. Once one spoon has gone, anyone may take one, set or no set. The player left without a spoon takes a letter. Put one spoon away whenever a player goes out, deal again, and keep going until one player is left.
No-grab version for young kids
Grabbing works for teenagers and adults; with a five-year-old across the table it can end in tears or a scratched hand. These versions keep the race with no reaching. All come from Pagat or Wikipedia:
- Pig: with four of a kind, quietly touch your nose with one finger. Everyone who notices copies you. Last to touch their nose takes a letter of P-I-G (Pagat, Wikipedia).
- Tongue: the same, but stick out your tongue (Wikipedia).
- Donkey: hold your hands by your head like donkey ears, and spell D-O-N-K-E-Y (Pagat, Wikipedia).
Our own tips if you play with spoons: use plastic or wooden spoons, clear drinks off the table, keep the spoons in the very middle, and agree that a spoon in someone's hand is theirs. These are house rules, not from the sources.
Where sources differ
- Which cards. Pagat and Wikipedia use one set of four per player and set the rest aside. Bicycle deals from a full 52-card deck with the dealer drawing.
- How cards move. Wikipedia's main rules have everyone pass at the same moment; Pagat describes both that and a stock the dealer draws from; Bicycle uses the stock.
- The word. Bicycle: S-P-O-O-N. Wikipedia: S-P-O-O-N-S. Pagat: Spoons uses the same three-letter count as Pig, P-I-G.
- Who may grab first. Bicycle says the player with four of a kind goes first and then anyone may. Pagat and Wikipedia describe the same race. Penalties for grabbing without a set are a house rule.
Tips
- Keep a pair, chase a rank. With four cards, hold the rank you have most of and pass the odd ones fast.
- Watch the spoons, not the cards. Most rounds are lost by someone who finished looking at their hand after the first spoon went.
- Take your spoon quietly. The longer nobody notices, the more people are still passing when you have already won the round.
- Count the cards in play. With one set per player, if three cards of a rank have gone past you, the fourth is somewhere close.
Print table cards
This is what prints: the Spoons table cards, sized for US Letter. Use your browser's Print (Ctrl+P, Cmd+P on a Mac, or Share then Print on a phone).Another sheet on this page is set to print.
Spoons
Spoons in the middle: one fewer than players. Four cards each. Pass one card left, pick up from the right. Four of a kind: take a spoon. No spoon: take a letter.
Pig (no grabbing)
Four of a kind? Quietly touch your nose. Copy anyone who does. Last nose touched takes a letter: P, I, G.
Tongue
Four of a kind? Quietly stick out your tongue. Last tongue out takes a letter.
Donkey
Four of a kind? Hands up by your head like donkey ears. Last donkey takes a letter: D, O, N, K, E, Y.
Table rules we agreed
Word to spell: ____________
Grab without a set: ____________
Spoons: plastic or wooden only
Letters
Name ____________ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___
Name ____________ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___
Name ____________ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___
Name ____________ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___
Name ____________ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___
Name ____________ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___
Play online or at home
At home: Spoons needs the table, the cards and the scramble, so it is a game for the same room. Use the keeper above for the letters.
Online: we have not built a screen version; one phone cannot be grabbed by six people fairly. For a reflex card game you can play here, try Slapjack.
Spoons questions
How do you play Spoons?
Put one fewer spoon than players in the middle of the table and deal four cards each. Everyone passes one unwanted card to the left and picks up the card from the right, over and over, trying to collect four of a kind. Whoever gets four of a kind takes a spoon; then everyone grabs. The player left without a spoon takes a letter, and spelling the whole word puts you out.
How many cards do you use in Spoons?
Two ways work. Pagat and Wikipedia use four cards of one rank per player, so five players use 20 cards (Aces through 5s) and every card passed matters. Bicycle uses the whole deck: the dealer draws from the rest and the last player discards into a pile.
What do you spell in Spoons?
Bicycle uses S-P-O-O-N (five misses and you are out), Wikipedia S-P-O-O-N-S (six). Pagat and Wikipedia play the nose-touching version as P-I-G, three letters, for a short game.
Can you take a spoon first without four of a kind?
Bicycle says the player with four of a kind takes a spoon first, and then anyone may grab. Many tables count a spoon taken without a set as a miss; agree on that before the first deal.
Is there a version of Spoons without grabbing?
Yes. In Pig the player with four of a kind quietly touches their nose, and the last to copy them loses the round (Pagat, Wikipedia). Wikipedia also lists Tongue (stick out your tongue) and Donkey (hands by your ears). No one reaches across the table, so these suit young children.
How long does a game of Spoons take?
It depends on the word. Everyone but the winner has to spell all of it, so with six players S-P-O-O-N takes 25 to 29 rounds and P-I-G takes 15 to 17. Rounds are quick, a minute or two each.
