Hand and Foot Card Game Rules and Gameplay

February 15, 2022

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hand and foot game — Hand and Foot Card Game

Contents

What is the Hand and Foot Card Game?

Hand and Foot is a fun card game typically played in a rummy style. The game is closely related to the Canasta and Pennies From Heaven games and also seems to be a mix of Jack Change It and Solitaire. The hand and foot game involves the melding of cards but has no standard rules; therefore, there are several variations in rules that can accommodate many players.

The most common version of this game is played in partnership between four players but can also be played by six players in two teams or more players. If you have never played this game before, and it sounds like an exciting game, you might as well include the game in your next game night must-plays. Don’t know how to play hand and foot? Fret Not! Take a quick peek into the gameplay and simple rules and pretend like you always knew how to play this fun card game.

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How do you play the Hand and Foot Game?

Objective

The object of the game is to get rid of all cards in hand. The players are dealt two sets of cards; the first set played is called the Hand, and the set played after is called Foot.

Dealing

The game is played using five to six decks of cards, including Jokers. The cards are shuffled, and one person takes the deck. The dealer deals 11 cards, face down, to each player, clockwise, until each player has a hand. The players can pick the hand and examine the cards. After that, each player is dealt the second set of 11 cards, face down, called the foot. Cards in the foot are played when all the cards in hand have been played.

After all the cards are dealt, the players have two sets of cards, one set that they have seen – the hand, and the other set that is placed face-down – the foot.

The remaining cards are placed at the center of the table in a stock pile. The top card of the stockpile is flipped face-up to form the discard pile. The card that forms a discard pile can be any card other than a Joker, a Three, and a Deuce. If any of these three cards are at the top of the stock pile, they are placed back into the pile, and another card is drawn to form the discard pile.

Rounds

A game includes four rounds with a minimum meld requirement increasing after every round. Before your team is in the game, you should put down the cards with individual face values whose sum is at least the minimum requirement. You can also put down more than one meld to achieve the minimum requirement.

In Round 1, the play begins when the card points total at least 50
In Round 2, the play begins when the card points total at least 90
In Round 3, the play begins when the card points total at least 120
In Round 4, the play begins when the card points total at least 150

The Gameplay

Draw

The turn begins with a draw, and each player can draw from the discard pile if the topmost card is used to create a meld. If the player successfully melds the top card of the discard pile, they draw the top seven cards in the discard pile. If the player fails, they must draw two cards from the stockpile.

Melding

The players attempt to meld cards and get rid of the cards first from the Hand and then the Foot. To meld the cards, you can form a set of 3-7 cards of the same rank and place them face-up. The meld must not have less than three or over seven cards. Moreover, a meld doesn’t belong to an individual but collectively belongs to a team. When the players form a meld of up to seven cards, it becomes a Book or a Closed Pile. You can also use Jokers and Deuces to form melds along with four natural cards, excluding the red and black 3s.

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Types of Melds:

Natural or Clean Meld: A meld of seven cards of the same rank (red book) is called a clean or natural meld.

Dirty or Wild Meld: A meld containing a minimum of four same rank cards and at least one wild card is called a dirty meld or a wild meld. For instance, five 9s and two wild cards (black book).

Red Book: All the natural cards are red books that don’t include wild cards.

Black Book: At least four natural cards and wild cards are called black books.

Discard

The turn ends with a discard by a player. The discard pile is blocked if a player discards a black 3, and no player can draw from the blocked pile.

Going Out

Any player can end the round by getting rid of all cards and after the team has made a clean meld, a dirty meld, and picked the foot stack. The player can ask the partner for permission to go out. Depending on what is in their hand, the partner can decide whether to let the player go out or continue the round.

End Game

The game ends in two circumstances – when a player successfully goes out or when the stockpile is over and the players don’t wish to draw cards from the discard pile. If a player doesn’t permit their team partner to go out, the player must-have two cards left after melding – one to continue playing with and one to discard.

In the end, players evaluate their scores of books and melds, including any bonuses. The team with the highest points after four deals is declared the winner.

Scoring

The round ends after a player goes out and the score is then evaluated. The card values in the game of hand and foot are as follows:

Wild card books made from jokers and 2s carry 1500 points
Red books carry 500 points
Black books carry 300 points
Jokers (wild cards) are worth 50 points
Aces are worth 20 points
Deuces (wild cards) are worth 20 points
Eights through Kings carry 10 points
Fours through Sevens carry 5 points
Black Threes carry 5 points
Red Threes carry 100 points
Going out is worth 100 points

The points from the team’s remaining cards in hand are deducted from the points of the cards played by the team to arrive at the score.