Master the rules in minutes — or jump straight into the guided tutorial to learn by doing.
The goal is simple: be the first player to empty your hand. Whoever plays their last card first becomes the President. The last player still holding cards is the Scumbag. In later rounds, the President swaps their two worst cards for the Scumbag's two best. Don't be Scumbag!
At the start of a brand-new game, the player holding the 3♠ must lead with it. It has to be part of the very first play - you cannot hold it back. That player is you. In the next game, the Scumbag will lead.
Play moves clockwise. Each player must either play a higher single card or pass. If you pass, you have to wait until the trick is taken. Once all players have passed, the player with the highest card wins the trick and leads whatever they want.
A 2 beats any normal card and there's nothing in your hand that outranks it. Your only option is to pass. Passing means you sit out until this trick ends; the next trick is a fresh start for everyone.
The trick winner can play any single card, or more than one with the same face value.
When a pair is led, a single card is no longer enough. You must play a higher pair, or use a single 2 or Joker.
You do not have to play. Your Pass button will let you keep your cards and wait for the next round. Remember: Once you pass you must wait until the trick is won!
A single Joker is enough to trump any double, even double 2s.
A triple can only be beaten by a higher triple, a double 2 (which counts as +1 card against a triple), or a single Joker (which counts as +2 cards).
A single Joker (+2 cards) beats a double or triple outright. The one exception: a triple 2 cannot be beaten by a single Joker - that would require both Jokers!
A quad can only be beaten by a higher quad, or a triple 2 (three 2s count as +1, reaching quad strength), or both Jokers!
That covers everything: singles, doubles, triples, quads, the power of 2s, and Jokers. From here the game is yours - use what you've learned to empty your hand before anyone else. Good luck, and don't end up Scumbag!
Whoever empties their hand first becomes the President. Next hand, they give away their 2 lowest cards to the Scumbag and receive the Scumbag's 2 best cards in return.
Whoever empties their hand second becomes the Vice-President. Next hand, they give away their lowest card to the Citizen and receive the Citizen's best card in return.
Second-to-last player is the Citizen. They must give their best card to the Vice-President and receive the VP's worst card in return.
Last place is Scumbag. They swap their 2 best cards for the President's 2 worst. The silver lining: the Scumbag leads first in the next hand.
When you win a trick you must lead the next one — you can play anything you like, but you may not pass.
If someone wins a trick with their last card(s), the lead moves to the next player on the left that still has cards.
If you must pass, you just click anywhere on your cards. You can set up 'auto-pass', along with some other settings like speed and if you want hints, sounds and tooltips.
The in-game tutorial walks you through every rule with
real cards and guided prompts.