The game of "Snap" is popular with children, noisy and liable to go on forever! A fast game for the whole family, it requires quick reflexes and sharp observation. Then again, you can just play it for fun!
Number of Players: 2+
Age Range: 6+
Type of Game: Noisy, Physical
Cards: Special snap cards are easy to find, although an old, standard deck can also be fun to use. Use two decks for more than three players.
Aim: To win all the cards.
Instructions: Deal out all the cards, face-down. 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. The next player does the same, starting a pile of his own.
Continue until a player notices that two cards on top of any of the face-up piles are the same. Shout “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, at any point, a player runs out of face-down cards, he simply overturns his face-up pile and starts again.
If two players shout “Snap!” at exactly the same time, they form a snap pool, with the two matched piles of cards placed together, face-up, 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 should pay every player one card from his face-down pile.
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.
