Slapjack

Slapjack rules

Slapjack is a simple card game for 2 or more players, and often the first card game kids learn. Everyone takes turns flipping cards onto a pile. When a Jack lands on top, the first player to slap it wins the whole pile. The goal is to be the last player with cards. Here is how to play Slapjack, step by step.

1. Deal: a standard 52-card deck (no Jokers) is dealt out one at a time until it is gone. Some players may get one more card than others. Nobody looks at their cards; keep them in a face-down stack.
2. Flip: going around the table, each player turns over the top card of their stack and puts it face up on the pile in the middle. A player with no cards is skipped.
3. Slap the Jack: when a Jack is on top of the pile, slap it! The first hand on the pile takes every card in it, shuffles them, and puts them face down under their own stack. The player who took the pile flips next.
4. Buried Jack: if nobody slaps the Jack and the next card is played on top of it, that Jack can't be slapped any more. It stays in the pile and goes to whoever wins the next Jack.
5. Win: the last player left in the game wins.

When to slap (and when not to)

Only Jacks count. Suits don't matter: the Jack of Spades, Hearts, Clubs and Diamonds are all the same. Queens and Kings look a bit like Jacks, so take a good look before you slap.

Wrong slaps

• Slapping a card that isn't a Jack: you give the top card of your stack to the player who played that card. They put it under their stack.
• Slapping your own card: if the card you slapped by mistake was played by you, there is nobody to give the card to, so on this page it goes face down under the pile. It belongs to whoever wins the next Jack.
• Two players slap at once: in a real game, the hand at the bottom (touching the pile) wins. On this page, the earlier slap wins.
• Empty pile: slapping an empty pile does nothing.

Running out of cards

When your stack is empty you are not out yet. You stay in the game until the next Jack is turned, and that Jack is your last chance: slap it first and you take the pile and are back in. If another player takes that Jack, or nobody slaps it and the next card covers it, you are out of the game. On this page, a player with no cards who slaps wrong is also out, because they have no card to give. The last player left wins.

Slapjack for 2 players

With two players the rules are the same, and every Jack is a one-on-one race. When one player runs out of cards, the other keeps flipping alone until a Jack comes up: if the player with no cards slaps it first, they are back in; if not, the game is over. On this page you can also play with 3 or 4 players (the computer takes the other seats).

Tips

• Keep your eyes on the pile, even on your turn: your own card can be a Jack, and you can slap it too.
• Don't jump at Queens and Kings: they look a bit like Jacks, so take a good look first. Every wrong slap hands a card to the other player.
• Pick the right speed: on Easy the computer slaps slowly and often misses the Jack, on Normal it is a fair match for a beginner, and on Hard it is quick and rarely wrong.

FAQ

• What is the difference between Slapjack and Egyptian Rat Screw? In Slapjack you slap only Jacks. In Egyptian Rat Screw you slap Doubles (two of the same rank in a row) and Sandwiches (the same rank with one card between), and face cards start challenges. Slapjack is the simpler game and the better one to start with.
• What is the difference between Slapjack and Snap? In Snap you shout “Snap!” when two cards in a row show the same rank. In Slapjack the only thing to watch for is a Jack.
• Can you play Slapjack with 2 players? Yes. The rules are the same with two players, and every Jack becomes a one-on-one race against the computer.
• What age is Slapjack for? Bicycle lists it for ages 4 and up. Kids only need to recognise the letter J on a card.
• What other names does Slapjack have? It is also called Slaps or Heart Attack.

How to play on this page

• You play against 1 to 3 computer players (2 players by default). Tap your deck or Flip to flip a card. Tap the pile or the big SLAP button to slap. On a computer you can also press F to flip and Space to slap.
• Pick the computer's speed: Easy, Normal or Hard. The “2 players” button opens the players setting. Your wins are saved on this device for each speed and number of players.
• The bar below the pile tells you what to do next. A seat with no cards shows “Next Jack or out”.