How to Play Egyptian Rat Screw

Egyptian Rat Screw is a 2+ player card game where players try to collect all of the cards in a 52-card deck to win. Start the game by choosing a dealer and having them deal out all of the cards evenly face-down, one at a time. Players don’t look at the cards in their pile. Starting to the left of the dealer, the first player flips the top card on their pile face-up in the center of the playing area. If they play a number card, the player to their left goes next. Play continues clockwise until someone plays a face card or an ace. At that point, the next player must play a face card or an ace for the round to continue. The number of chances they get to play a face card or an ace depends on the previous card played. If it was an ace, they get 4 chances. If it was a king, they get 3 chances. If it was a queen, they get 2 chances. If it was a jack, they get 1 chance. If the player doesn’t play a face card or an ace, the player who played the last face card or ace collects all of the cards in the middle and adds them to the bottom of their pile. The player who won the middle pile then starts the next round. Players can also win the middle pile by slapping it when certain card combinations come up. These card combinations include: 2 consecutive cards of the same rank (a Double); 2 cards of the same rank with 1 card of a different rank between them (a Sandwich); the most recently played card is the same rank as the first card played in that round (a Top Bottom); 2 consecutive cards that add up to 10; 4 consecutive cards in ascending or descending order (a Four in a Row); and a queen and king played consecutively (a Marriage). The first player to slap the middle pile when one of these combinations is played wins the pile and starts the next round. The game continues clockwise until one player has won all of the cards. Whoever gets all of the cards first wins the game! To learn how to play with the slap rule, keep reading!