Swoop
Introduction
The game of Swoop, also sometimes known as Swipe, Swoosh or Swish appeared in North America in the second decade of the 21st century. It seems likely that it was inspired by the popular game Shithead, with which it shares several features: each player has a hand of cards and some cards face up and face down on the table, the aim is to get rid of all these cards by playing them to the central pile, this pile can be cleared by playing a 10 or completing a four of a kind, and a player who does not play an appropriate card at their turn (in this game an appropriate card is one that is equal to or lower than the top card of the play pile) must pick up the play pile and add it to their hand. The new features of Swoop include a much larger hand size, the use of multiple decks, a change of objective whereby each deal has a winner - the first player to run out of cards - rather than a single loser, and scoring based on cards remaining in the other players' hands.
This page is based on a contribution from Ernest Petti, who learned the game from friends in Vancouver.
Players and Cards
Swoop can be played with 3 to 8 players, using a number of standard 52-card packs each with two jokers. 3 or 4 players use 2 decks (108 cards), 5 or 6 players use 3 decks (162 cards) and 7 or 8 players use 4 decks (216 cards).
Suits are irrelevant and the cards rank from low to high A-2-3-4-5-6-7-8-9-J-Q-K. 10's and jokers are special cards with no particular rank.
The direction of play is clockwise.
The Deal
19 cards are dealt to each player. Without first looking at these cards each player places four of their cards face down in a row on the table in front of them. These are sometimes known as "mystery cards". They then place four more cards face up on the table, one on top of each mystery card. They pick up their remaining 11 cards to form their hand, which they look at while keeping the cards hidden from the other players.
While it would be possible for a dealer to distribute the cards as in most card games, it seems to be usual in this game for the cards to be thoroughly mixed in a heap face down on the table after which each player takes 19 cards for themselves.
The undealt cards are set aside and not used in the play.
The Play
The first player in the first deal may be chosen by any convenient method that may be agreed. One popular method is for each player to draw a card from the pile of cards that were set aside during the deal, and whoever draws the highest card begins (in case of a tie the tied players draw again). In subsequent deals the turn to start the play passes clockwise around the table.
Players take turns to play cards on top of a face up 'play pile' in the centre of the table. Each play consists of from one to four cards, which may come from their hand or the face up cards on the table or a combination of both. When more than one card is played together they must be equal to each other in rank. The consequences depend on the rank of the card(s) played as follows.
- If the rank of card(s) played is equal to or lower than the top card of the play pile the new cards are placed on top of the play pile.
- If the cards played are higher in rank than the top card of the play pile, the player must pick up the whole of the existing play pile and add it to their hand before playing these higher cards to begin a new play pile.
- If the play pile was empty then the played card(s) simply begin(s) a new play pile.
The turn then passes to the next player in clockwise order unless there was a swoop or the player ended the game by playing their last card.
The Swoop
A swoop occurs when a player adds cards to the play pile in such a way that the top four cards of the play pile are equal in rank. In this case the whole play pile is set aside out of play and the same player takes another turn. This can be achieved either by playing a set of four equal cards from hand, or by playing sufficient cards equal to the top card of the play pile to make the number of equal cards up to four.
A 10 or a Joker can be played on any turn irrespective of what is in the play pile. This also causes a Swoop - the whole play pile along with the 10 or Joker is set aside out of the game and the player takes another turn.
The play pile should be kept slightly fanned so that players can see at least how many equal cards are on top of it.
Players are not allowed to create a set of more than four equal cards on top of the play pile. For example if there are three 8's on top of the pile the next player cannot play a pair of 8's together. They can play one 8 for a swoop and then use their free turn to play their other 8 (or any other card or set they wish) to begin a new play pile.
Since each swoop gives the player a new turn, it is possible for a player to play several swoops in succession if they have the requisite cards.
If a player plays four equal cards that are higher than the top card of the play pile, the player must first pick up the play pile before playing their set of four higher cards as a swoop, and setting them aside. They can then use their extra turn to play more cards, which may include cards they picked up from the play pile. Example: the play pile is Q-Q-9-9-9-7. The next player holds K-K-K-K-Q-Q-9-7-5. This player can play K-K-K-K picking up the pile and making a swoop with the kings. The player can then continue with two more swoops - four queens and four nines - and end their turn by playing the pair of sevens.
Mystery Cards
In order to win the game it is necessary to get rid of not only all your hand cards and face up table cards but also your four face down "mystery cards". A mystery card cannot be played until the face up card that covered it has been played.
A mystery (face down) card can only be played as the first card of a turn (either the first card of the player's initial turn or the first card of an extra turn earned as a result of a swoop). The player flips the unknown mystery card face up and must immediately play it. If the player has other cards of the same rank in hand or face up on the table, these cards may be added to the mystery card and played as a set. The consequences of this play are the same as for normal plays - for example if the mystery card turns out to be higher than the top card of the play pile the player must pick up the play pile and play the mystery card (and any matching cards added to it) in its place.
The Scoring
When one player runs out of cards, the other players total the value of the cards remaining in their hands. The scores for cards are
- Ace: 1 point each,
- 2-9: face value,
- Jacks, Queens, Kings: 10 points each,
- 10s and Jokers: 50 points each.
Each player keeps a cumulative score over a series of deals and the game ends when any player or players reaches 500 points or more. The player with the lowest score at this point is the winner.
Variations
Alternate Scoring
For easier arithmetic, some play with different card scores:
- Ace-9: 5 points each,
- Jacks, Queens, Kings: 10 points each,
- 10s and Jokers: 20 points each.
Deal Variants
The number of hand cards may vary - for example some play with 20 cards each: 12 in hand, 4 mystery cards and 4 face up table cards.
Some play with only face down cards on the table and all the other cards in the players' hands. Others play a simpler version with hand cards only and no cards dealt to the table.
Only Jokers are Swoop cards
Some play that the only Swoop cards are the jokers. The 10s are just ordinary cards worth 10 points ranking between the 9 and the Jack.
Swoop with more than 4 cards
Some play that a swoop can be made with a set of at least four equal cards on top of the play pile, not necessarily exactly four.
Commercial Versions
As often happens in North America, some people have produced commercial versions of this game using custom decks. For example:
- Swipe: https://playswipe.org/
- Swoop: https://swoop-cards.com/