Blast

A Shithead variation, contributed by Kyle St Hilaire (ICEMASTER14@msn.com)

Number of Players:

2-4 (4 being the best)

Cards:

52 card pack (cards rank from King (high) to Ace (low)

Deal:

Shuffle the pack and deal three cards face down in a row; players do NOT look at these cards; then followed by three cards face up, one on each of the three cards dealt before. Finally deal four cards (if playing with two or three players) to each player. However, if playing with four, you deal three instead of four. Players may look at these cards. The remaining cards are placed in the center to form a stock; the top card is turned face up right next to the stock to be the start card for play.

Object of the Game:

To run out of cards

Play:

At the beginning, players may switch any cards in their hand with the three face up cards, but it's the only time they can. The player to the dealer's left starts off by trying to put a card lower than the face up card next to the stock. If he CAN, he puts a card over the last card to form another card for the next player to try and get lower than. As soon as he does that, he then draws a card from the stock and it goes to the next player, who will try to get a card lower than the player before him put down.

EXAMPLE: The turned up card is a Queen of Hearts. The first player has a Jack, Seven, Ace, and Four. He would be wise not to play the lowest card in the game (the ace), and put down the Jack because it's lower than the Queen and he's saving his ace. So players should always play their highest card that's lower than the center card and keep on doing that.

If however, a player CANNOT put a card lower than that card, he takes the pile and places it in is hand and it continues with the next player, etc.

You always draw a card if you have less than you started with (four or three). But if you pick up the pile and have five or six, you do NOT draw any cards.

When a player can put a card lower than that - let's say he puts down a seven - but in his hand he has another, he may put down two at the same time. Players may put down as low as a single card to as many as four of the same rank, however, this is called a Blast, which is described later.

After all cards have been played, then players take the top three cards and use them in play. Once those have been played, then all should be left is three face down cards. A player just takes one of the three face down cards and plays it in play, the next and the last until he runs out of cards. The first player to run out of cards wins the game.

Blast:

THREE OR FOUR BLAST: This blast consists of three or four cards.

EXAMPLE: A player plays a nine, the next plays two eights, and then the next player plays one eight (or two if he has any). When three or four [equal ranked] cards are in a row, the player shouts Blast and the whole pile is placed aside. The player, who just blasted it, goes again, and the game keeps going on and on.

TEN BLAST: A ten is the best card in the game, it works like a three or four blast but only one of tens causes a blast. A ten should only be played if you can't play a card lower than the turned up card; once that happens, a player then says Blast just like before. After that, the player gets to go again, and the game is continued.

END GAME:

After one player has run out of cards, he wins and the game goes on until second place then third, and forth (if your playing with that many players). Then the game is over.