How To Play Foot And Hand Card Game

How to Play Foot and Hand Card Game

Okay, let’s get ready to dive into the exciting world of Foot and Hand! This card game is a super fun variation of Canasta, and it’s perfect for playing with friends and family. It might sound a little complicated at first, but trust me, once you get the hang of it, you’ll be hooked. We’re going to break down everything you need to know, from setting up the game to figuring out how to score. So, grab your cards, and let’s get started!

What You Need to Play

Before you can start playing Foot and Hand, you’ll need a few things. Don’t worry, it’s mostly just cards!

The Essentials

• Cards: You’ll need several decks of standard playing cards. Usually, you’ll use four to six decks for four players, and maybe a bit more if you have a bigger group. Make sure to take out all the jokers before you start playing.
• Players: Foot and Hand works best with four or more players, usually played in partnerships. You can play with as few as two players but it gets more fun with more.
• Paper and Pencil: To keep score, you will need some way to write down points during gameplay.

Optional, but Helpful

• Card Tray or Holder: Some people like to use a card tray to keep their cards organized, especially when you get a lot in your hand. It’s not necessary, but it can be handy!
• Playing Surface: A good table or surface where you have enough space to spread out your cards is important.

Setting Up the Game

Now that you have all your equipment, let’s get the game ready for playing. This part is really important, so pay close attention!

Dealing the Cards

The person who will deal the cards is chosen randomly or decided among your group. After that, the dealer will shuffle all the decks together.
Here’s how the dealing works:

• The Foot: Each player gets a “foot,” which is a pile of 11 cards dealt face down. Don’t look at these yet! You’ll be needing them later. This is placed to one side of the player.
• The Hand: Each player also receives a “hand” of 11 cards face down. These are the cards you’ll start playing with. You can pick these up and look at them.
• The Stock Pile: The rest of the cards are placed face down in the middle of the table to form the stock pile. This pile is where you’ll draw from when you need more cards.
• The Discard Pile: The top card of the stock pile is turned face up next to the stock pile. This starts the discard pile.

Choosing Partners

Usually, Foot and Hand is played with partners. If you have four players, each person forms a partnership. If you have more than four players, you’ll make two teams of equal number of players. Partners sit across from each other at the table.

The Basic Gameplay

Okay, here’s the heart of the game! Let’s learn how to play Foot and Hand card game. The goal is to score points by making sets of three or more cards of the same rank and by using all your cards in your hand and foot before other teams. Here is a breakdown of each turn:

Starting Your Turn

On your turn, you always start by doing this:

• Draw a Card: You can pick up the top card from the stock pile. Or, if you want to take all of the discard pile, you can do it under the following rules which we are going to learn later.

Making Melds

The goal of Foot and Hand is to create melds. A meld is a set of cards of the same rank (same number or face card). Here’s a closer look:

• Three or More: A meld must contain at least three cards of the same rank, such as three sevens, three kings, or three fours.
• No Mixing Ranks: You can’t mix different ranks in a single meld. If you have a 5, 6, and 7, that won’t work because they are different ranks.
• Using Wild Cards: A wild card, such as twos and jokers, can be used to make a meld.

Laying Down Melds: When you have a meld of three or more cards you can lay it down in front of your team’s area to score points. You should keep these melds visible to everyone at the table.

Adding to Melds: After your team lays down a meld, you can add more cards of the same rank to that existing meld. For example, if your teammate already put down a meld of three queens, you can add two more queens to that meld.

The Discard Pile and Pick-Ups

The discard pile plays an important role in Foot and Hand. Here is how you can use and be impacted by it:

• Discarding: After you draw and make melds (or if you can’t make any) you must discard one card face up onto the discard pile.
• The Pick-Up Rules: You can pick up the whole discard pile instead of drawing from the stock pile, but here are the restrictions:
  • Have Matching Rank: To take the discard pile, you must have at least two cards of the same rank as the top card of the discard pile. If the top card is a 7, you must have two 7s in your hand to take the discard pile. You also have to use them by adding them to a new meld or to a meld you already placed on the table in your first turn after pick up.
  • No Wild Card Pick-Up: If a wild card like a 2 or a joker is on top of the discard pile, you can’t pick up the discard pile.

Going Out

The main goal is to “go out” in Foot and Hand. Here is what it means:

• Using Your Hand: First, you need to get rid of all the cards in your hand. You do this by creating melds and discarding all your cards.
• Picking Up Your Foot: Once you have no cards in your hand, you get to pick up your “foot” of 11 cards that have been waiting for you since the beginning of the game.
• Going Out: After picking up the foot you can continue playing with these new cards, and when you get rid of them all, then your team has “gone out”. Your team has won that round!

What about Canastas?

A canasta is an important part of Foot and Hand. It’s a special type of meld:

• Seven or More Cards: A canasta is a meld of seven or more cards of the same rank.
• Two Types of Canastas: There are two kinds of canastas:
  • Natural Canasta: A natural canasta contains seven or more cards of the same rank and has no wild cards (2s or jokers).
  • Mixed Canasta: A mixed canasta contains seven or more cards of the same rank and includes at least one wild card.
• Scoring More Points: Canastas are important for scoring more points, which we will discuss later.

Dealing with Wild Cards

Wild cards make Foot and Hand interesting! Here is how you can use them:

• Twos and Jokers: Wild cards in Foot and Hand are the number 2 and the jokers from the decks.
• Substitute: Wild cards can be used as a substitute for any other card rank. If you have two 6’s and one 2, you can make a meld using that two as a 6.
• No Melds Alone: You cannot make a meld only with wild cards. You need at least two regular cards of the same rank in your meld, and then you can add a wild card to complete it.

Scoring in Foot and Hand

Scoring is what determines who wins the game! Here’s how scoring works:

Card Values

Each card has a different point value that you use to calculate the total score.

Melds and Canastas Points

Here are the points that you receive by making a meld or a Canasta:

End-of-Round Scoring

At the end of each round, teams calculate the score.

• Counting Points: Add up the total number of points from all the cards in your melds and canastas that you have made. Also add up the points from the canastas you made and for going out.
• Subtracting Penalties: Subtract points for any unmelded cards left in your hand or foot at the end of a round. If you don’t use it, a three is a -100 penalty, for all other unmelded cards you subtract points as per the card point system table, described earlier.
• Total Score: Add the points, subtract penalties, and record the score for the round.

Winning the Game

The game continues for several rounds. The first team to reach a certain score, usually 5000, is the winner. You can choose how long you want the game to be before you start playing.

Tips and Strategies

Here are some tips that can help you be a better Foot and Hand player:

• Plan Ahead: Think about what melds you want to make and try to keep the cards that can help you complete them.
• Watch the Discards: Pay attention to the cards being discarded by other players, as it can give you hints about what they may be collecting.
• Don’t Be Greedy: Sometimes taking the discard pile can hurt you by adding too many cards that you don’t need. Only pick up discard if you need them.
• Prioritize Canastas: Try to make canastas quickly because they give more points.
• Communicate with your Partner: Even if you can’t talk during the play, communicate with your melds and discards to help each other.

Foot and Hand card game might seem a bit much when you read it all at once, but once you start playing, it’s easy to understand. This guide should provide all the key things you need to have a great game.