Card Games: Matching Games

In matching games players take turns to play cards to a continuously growing discard pile or to a layout. The card played must match the previous card or fit in with the other cards in some way depending on the particular game (same rank or suit, next higher rank, etc). A player who cannot play may be penalised by having to draw one or more cards from an undealt stock. The object is usually to get rid of all your cards.

There are three major groups of matching games:

• The Stops Group, in which cards have to be played on a single play pile in ascending sequence, usually in suit.
• The Eights Group, in which cards are played to a single play pile and each play has to match the previous one in rank or suit.
• The Layout Group, in which there is an arrangement of cards or piles of cards on the table, and a players add cards to this layout or move cards around the layout, respecting rules that specify how each play must match or follow on from previous or nearby cards or tiles.

Other types of outplay game, such as trick-taking, climbing and beating games also have similar restrictions on what cards can be played, but in those games the pile of played cards does not grow indefinitely, but is periodically captured, set aside or taken up by a player when certain conditions are met.