Snap is popular, noisy and liable to go on
forever! A fast game for the whole family, requiring quick reflexes and sharp
observation.
Number of Players:
2+
Age Range:
6+
Cards:
Special snap cards are easy to find, although an old, standard deck can also be
fun to use (two decks are preferable for more than three players).
Instructions:
One player deals out all the shuffled cards around the group until there are no
more left (it doesn’t matter if some players have more than others). The players
don’t look at their cards, but hold them in a stack in front of them, face down.
To begin, the player to the left of the dealer takes his top card, turns it over
and places it face up next to his own pile. Then, the next player does the same,
starting a pile of his own. If, at any point, a player runs out of face-down
cards, he simply overturns his face-up pile and starts again.
This is continued until a player notices that two cards on top of any of the
face-up piles are the same, such as two Queens or two Fours. If a player notices
this, he shouts “snap!”. The first to do so receives all the cards in both of
the matched piles and adds them to the bottom of his own face-down pile. The
game then continues, with the person to the left of the winner continuing play.
If two players shout “snap!” at exactly the same time, they form a snap pool,
with the two matched piles of cards placed together in the centre. Play then
continues as normal, until someone turns up a card which matches the top card in
the snap pool. Whoever then shouts “snap pool!” fastest takes the whole pool.
If a player incorrectly calls “snap!” at any point, he can either pay every
player one card from his face-down pile or have his entire face-down pile
overturned and taken into the centre as the new snap pool.
If a player runs out of both face-up and face-down cards, he is out. The winner
is the player who ends up with all the cards.
Variations:
Easy Snap
Extremely good for younger children, this variation of the game has only one
central, face-up snap pile. The players each add a new card to the snap pile
until the top card matches the one beneath it. The first player to shout “snap”
takes the whole central pile and adds them to the bottom of his own face-down
stack.
If a player runs out of cards, he is out. The winner is the player who ends up
with all the cards.
Speed Snap
This is a very fast version of the game, with everyone turning their cards over
at the same time, instead of in turn.
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