Shithead

Get rid of all your cards: first the ones in hand, then the three face-up cards on the table, last the three face-down cards, played blind. On the pile in the middle you play a card equal to or higher than the last one; whoever cannot picks up the whole pile. There is no winner: the last player left holding cards loses, is the Shithead and deals the next game.

It is also called Palace or Karma. It probably comes from northern Europe, perhaps from the Swedish game Vändtia, and in the late twentieth century it spread around the world among backpackers. The rules change a lot from table to table: this is the most common version, and the special cards most often added are under Variants.

Deck

★★52 cards: the jokers are removed; with six they stay in, see Variants

In hand

3 each, in hand

On the table

???in front of each player 3 face-down cards with 3 face-up cards on top, the rest of the deck face down in the middle

1. The dealer The first time, pick one at random; from the next game on, whoever lost deals.
2. The face-down cards The dealer gives each player three face-down cards, one at a time, laid in a row on the table without looking at them.
3. The face-up cards On each face-down card the dealer places one card face up.
4. The hand The dealer gives each player three cards in hand and puts the rest of the deck face down in the middle: it is the stock you draw from.
5. The swap Before play starts, each player swaps as many cards as they like between their hand and their face-up cards. Face-down cards are never looked at.

Cards rank like this, suits do not matter. The 2 and the 10 sit outside the order, because they go on any card (How to play, steps 5 and 6).

1. Who starts The first player, going from the dealer's left, who was dealt a 3 among their face-up cards, before the swap, starts. If there is none, whoever is first to call one in hand starts; if nobody has a 3, look for a 4 the same way, and so on.
2. The turn Play goes clockwise. You put on the pile one card, or several cards of the same rank together, equal to or higher than the last play: that is beating the pile. On an empty pile any card will do.
3. Drawing After playing, whoever has fewer than three cards in hand draws from the stock back up to three, while the stock lasts. Whoever has more does not draw.
4. Picking up the pile Whoever cannot or does not want to play picks up the whole pile, and their turn ends there. The next player starts a new pile.
5. The 2 A 2 goes on any card, and any card can go on a 2.
6. The 10 A 10 can be played at any time, on an empty pile too, and it burns the pile: the cards are set aside and never come back into play. Whoever played it draws, if needed, and plays again on the empty pile: from the face-up cards, if the hand is empty and the stock is gone. If it was their very last card, they go out, and the next player starts the pile.
7. Four of a kind When the top four cards of the pile are of one rank, played together or one after another, even by different players, the pile burns as with the 10 and whoever played the fourth plays again, as after the 10.
8. The face-up cards Once the stock and the hand are both gone, you play from your face-up cards as from the hand, several face-up cards of the same rank together too. Whoever starts the turn with cards in hand plays from the hand only. Whoever cannot or does not want to beat the pile with a face-up card still puts one of their choice on the pile and picks up everything; then they play from the hand until it is empty again.
9. The face-down cards Once the face-up cards are gone, you turn a face-down card of your choice straight onto the pile. If it beats the pile it stays and the turn passes, or you play again if it is a 10 or the fourth of a kind; if not, you pick up the whole pile, that card included.
10. Going out Whoever has no cards left, neither in hand nor on the table, goes out of the game and the others play on. With the last face-down card you go out only if it beats the pile or lands on an empty pile; if not, you pick it up with the pile.
11. The Shithead The last player left holding cards loses: they are the Shithead, and they deal the next game.

• In the swap, put the high cards, the 2 and the 10 among your face-up cards and keep the low ones in hand: you will play the face-up cards with nothing else to choose from.
• Keep the 2 and the 10 for when you cannot beat the pile, instead of wasting them on a low card.
• A small pile picked up on purpose early costs little; a big one picked up at the end can lose you the game.
• Watch the others' face-up cards: you already know what they will play at the end, and you can keep a card they cannot beat.