Slapjack rules

Slapjack is a card game for 2 or more players that young children can play. Players take turns turning cards onto one pile in the middle. When a jack shows up, everyone slaps it, and the first hand on the jack takes the whole pile. Collect every card in the deck to win.

Also called Slaps.

Keep score Print the sheets

A jack lands on the middle pile. The first hand to slap it takes all 4 cards.

Players: 2 or more. Best with about 4 to 10.
You need: A standard 52-card deck, without the jokers
Deal: All the cards, face down, one at a time. Some players may get 1 more card than others. Nobody looks at their cards.
Goal: Win all 52 cards by being first to slap each jack
Game ends: When one player has every card. That player wins.
Playing time: About 15 minutes

Quick start

Deal the whole deck face down, one card at a time. Some players may get 1 card more than others. Square your cards into a pile and do not look at them.
Starting on the dealer’s left and going clockwise, each player turns their top card face up onto one pile in the middle. Turn it away from you so you do not see it first.
When a jack turns up, everyone slaps it. The first hand on the jack takes the whole middle pile and shuffles it into their own pile.
If you slap a card that is not a jack, give your top card, face down, to the player who turned that card.
If you run out of cards, you stay in until the next jack. Slap it first and you are back in. If someone else wins it, or you slap a wrong card first, you are out.
Keep playing until one player has all 52 cards. That player wins the game.

Rule sheet and score sheet

Print the whole game on one page, and a score sheet made for Slapjack. Both are free PDFs for Letter paper.

Download the rule sheet

PDF, 1 page. The whole game on one page.

Download the score sheet

PDF, 1 page, landscape. Laid out for Slapjack.

Setup

2 or more players, each playing alone. It plays best with about 4 to 10.

You need: A standard 52-card deck with the jokers taken out.

The 52 cards
In the set	Count
Jacks	4
All other cards	48
Total	52

Only the jacks matter. Any of the 4 jacks can be slapped, whatever its suit.

Use a standard 52-card deck with the jokers taken out.
One player shuffles and deals all the cards face down, one at a time, to each player in turn. The hands do not have to come out even.
Square your cards into a neat face-down pile in front of you. Do not look at them.
Leave room in the middle of the table, within everyone’s reach. The cards will be turned up there.

How many to deal
Players	Each player gets	Notes
2	26 cards	Every player gets the same number.
3	17 cards	1 player gets 18.
4	13 cards	Every player gets the same number.
5	10 cards	2 players get 11.
6	8 cards	4 players get 9.
7	7 cards	3 players get 8.
8	6 cards	4 players get 7.
9	5 cards	7 players get 6.
10	5 cards	2 players get 6.

Your pile

Face down. Do not look.

Each other player’s pile

Face down

After the deal: every player has a face-down pile, and the middle of the table is empty.

How to play

Players take turns adding one card at a time to a single pile in the middle. Everyone watches that pile for jacks.

Turn a card onto the middle pile

The player on the dealer’s left goes first, and play goes clockwise. On your turn, take the top card of your pile and turn it face up onto the middle pile. Turn it away from you, so the other players see it before you do.
- Do not peek at the card before you turn it. Turning it away from you keeps you from getting a head start on a jack.
- Everyone plays onto the same pile. It keeps growing until someone wins a jack.
Slap a jack

When a jack lands on the pile, any player can slap it with one hand. The first hand on the jack wins the jack and every card under it. If several players slap, the hand touching the jack, at the bottom, wins.
- The player who turned the jack can slap it too. The first hand on the jack wins, whoever turned it.
- Close slaps cause arguments. A very competitive group may want someone to judge them.
Add the pile to your cards

The winner turns the cards face down, puts them under their own pile and shuffles everything together into one pile. Play goes on with the player on the winner’s left.
- Some groups skip the shuffle and put the won cards at the bottom of your pile. There is more on this under Variants.
Slapping a card that is not a jack

If you slap any card that is not a jack, you pay a penalty. Give the top card of your pile, face down, to the player who turned that card. That player puts it at the bottom of their pile.
- A player with no cards left who slaps a card that is not a jack is out of the game. See the next step.
Running out of cards

When you play your last card, you stay in until the next jack. You skip your turns but can still slap. If you win that jack, you are back in the game. If someone else wins it, you are out. Slapping a card that is not a jack before then also puts you out.
Win all the cards

Keep playing until one player has all 52 cards. That player wins the game.
- Some groups set a time limit. When time runs out, the player holding the most cards wins. Agree on it before you start.

Example: a wrong slap, then a jack

Ana, Ben and Cal sit in that order going clockwise. Ana turns the 9 of clubs. Ben turns the queen of hearts, and Cal slaps it. It is not a jack, so Cal gives his top card, face down, to Ben, who puts it under his pile. Cal turns the jack of diamonds. Ana and Ben both slap, and Ana’s hand is the one touching the jack. She takes all 3 cards in the middle and shuffles them into her pile. Ben, on her left, turns the next card.

Ben turns a queen

Cal slaps it. Not a jack.

Cal pays Ben

Cal’s top card, face down

Cal turns a jack

Ana’s hand is first. She takes all 3 cards.

The middle pile at two moments, with the last card played on top, and the card Cal pays as a penalty.

Scoring

Slapjack has no points. You win by collecting every card in the deck.

The player who wins all 52 cards wins the game.

Nothing is written down during a game, because the cards keep the count. To play a match, mark the winner of each game on the score sheet and add up the games at the end.

Scorekeeper

Slapjack has no points. This counts the games each player wins, so you can play a match. It works in this browser, keeps the game if the page reloads, and needs no account.

Other ways to play

House rules and other versions

No shuffle: Put the cards you win face down at the bottom of your pile without shuffling them in.
Time limit: Agree on a time limit before you start. If nobody has won every card when time is up, the player holding the most cards wins.
Say “Slapjack”: You must say “Slapjack” as you slap. If you slap the jack first but stay silent, you do not get the pile. If you say it on a card that is not a jack, the other players split the middle pile evenly between them.
Irish Snap: Some people call this game Slapjack. The dealer turns a card and says “Ace,” the next player “Two,” and so on up to King and back to Ace. When the card matches the call, everyone slaps. The last hand down takes the pile, as does anyone who slaps a card that does not match. The last player holding cards loses.

Rule questions

How many people can play Slapjack?

2 or more, with one 52-card deck. It plays best with about 4 to 10. All the cards are dealt, and the hands do not have to be the same size.

Can you look at your cards in Slapjack?

No. Your cards stay in a face-down pile, and you play them from the top. When you turn a card, turn it away from you so you do not see it before the others.

Who wins if two people slap the jack at the same time?

The player whose hand is touching the jack. That hand is at the bottom of the stack of hands, because it landed first.

What is the penalty for slapping a card that is not a jack?

1 card. Give the top card of your pile, face down, to the player who turned the card you slapped. They put it at the bottom of their pile. If you have no cards left, a wrong slap puts you out of the game.

What happens when you run out of cards?

You stay in until the next jack. You skip your turns but can still slap. Win that jack and you are back in. If someone else wins it, you are out. A wrong slap before that jack also puts you out.

Can the player who turned the jack slap it?

Yes. The first hand on the jack wins the pile, whoever turned it. That is why you turn your card away from you, so you get no head start.

What if nobody slaps a jack before the next card covers it?

The jack stays in the middle pile and can no longer be slapped. Whoever wins the next jack takes it along with the rest of the pile. The main rules we checked do not cover this, so agree on it if it comes up.

Which hand do you slap with?

The main rules we checked do not say. One rule is to slap with the hand you do not use to turn your cards.

Do you shuffle the cards you win?

Yes, in the main rules. Put them face down under your pile and shuffle everything together. Some groups put the won cards at the bottom without shuffling. Agree on it before you start.

Who plays next after someone wins a jack?

The player on the winner’s left turns the next card.

Is Slapjack the same as Egyptian Ratscrew?

No. Egyptian Ratscrew is a different game with its own rules. Slapjack has been described as a cross between it and Beggar-My-Neighbour. In Slapjack, only jacks are slapped.

Words used in Slapjack

Pile: Your face-down cards. You play from the top and put the cards you win underneath.
Middle pile: The single face-up pile in the middle of the table that everyone turns cards onto.
Slap: Bringing your hand down on the middle pile to claim a jack.

What you need

A standard deck of playing cardsOne 52-card deck is enough for any number of players.Find it on Amazon (A standard deck of playing cards, opens in a new tab)
Plastic playing cardsOptional. Slapping is hard on paper cards, and plastic ones last longer.Find it on Amazon (Plastic playing cards, opens in a new tab)

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Checked against

These rules are written in our own words from Bicycle Cards and checked against Pagat. Sources last checked on October 12, 2026.

First source: Bicycle Cards, Slapjack. The player counts, dealing all the cards one at a time with uneven hands allowed, not looking, the dealer’s left starting, slapping a jack, the hand on top of the jack winning, shuffling won cards in, the 1-card penalty, running out of cards and the goal of winning all the cards.
Second source: Pagat, Slapjack / Irish Snap. Clockwise play, turning the card away from yourself, the best player counts, the player on the winner’s left going next, the penalty card coming from the top and going to the bottom, being put out by a wrong slap with no cards, the ending, the referee note, and the no-shuffle, time limit and Irish Snap variants.

Other sources we used (1)

Wikipedia, Slapjack. The name Slaps, the middle pile within everyone’s reach, the playing time, a covered jack, the slapping hand, the Say Slapjack variant, a second description of Irish Snap and the link to Egyptian Ratscrew.

Where the sources differ (11)

Topic	Bicycle Cards	Pagat	This page
Number of players	2, 3, 4 or 5+. No upper limit and no best number.	Any reasonable number from 2 upwards, probably best with about 4 to 10.	2 or more, best with about 4 to 10. The data needs a top number, so it uses 10, Pagat’s upper bound for the best range. Wikipedia gives 3 to 4, with 2 to 8 possible.
The deal	One card at a time, face down, until all are dealt. Hands need not come out even. Players do not look.	Divide the pack roughly equally. Each player keeps a face-down pile.	Follows Bicycle. The two agree in substance.
Who starts and which way play goes	The player on the dealer’s left starts. No direction is stated.	Play goes clockwise. Who starts is not stated.	The dealer’s left starts and play goes clockwise, taking one point from each.
Turning the card	The card is placed face up in the center. Nothing about which way to turn it.	Best turned away from the player, so the others see it a moment before the player does.	Follows Pagat.
Cards won from a jack	Turned face down, put under the winner’s pile and shuffled in to make one larger pile.	Added face down to the bottom of the winner’s pile. Shuffling is not mentioned.	Shuffling is the main rule, from Bicycle. Wikipedia also shuffles, but only the won cards, before adding them to the bottom. Pagat’s way is given as the No shuffle variant and in a rule question.
Several players slap at once	The hand directly on top of the jack wins.	The hand underneath, touching the card, wins.	The same rule in different words: the lowest hand, touching the jack, wins. The page says touching the jack, at the bottom.
Who plays after a jack is won	Not stated.	The player to the left of the winner.	Follows Pagat.
Penalty for a wrong slap	Give one card, face down, to the player of that card. Which card is not stated.	Give the top card of your pile face down to the player of that card, who adds it to the bottom of their pile.	Follows Pagat, which agrees with Bicycle and adds the detail.
Running out of cards	You stay in until the next jack and can slap it. If you fail to win that pile, you are out.	The same, and a wrong slap before then also puts you out.	Both rules, with Pagat’s wrong-slap rule.
Ending	The goal is to win all the cards.	The player with all the cards wins. An optional time limit gives the game to whoever holds the most cards.	All the cards wins. The time limit is a variant.
Other games on the page	None. Links to other Bicycle games only.	Irish Snap, a different game that was described to Pagat under the name Slapjack.	Irish Snap is a variant, following Pagat. Wikipedia describes a similar game that starts with the first player instead of the dealer and does not say what is called after the king.

What on this page is our own

The playing time is an estimate. The 15 minutes comes from Wikipedia’s summary box.
The hand sizes for 3 to 10 players are our arithmetic from dealing all 52 cards one at a time.
The top player count of 10 is the upper end of Pagat’s best range. No source sets a hard limit.
That the player who turned a jack may slap it is our reading. Both main sources give the pile to the first player to slap and make no exception.
The line that young children can play follows Bicycle listing the game under Family & Kids.
That play goes on in the usual order after a wrong slap, as in the example, is our reading. No source says.
The example and the pieces pictured at the top of the page are our own.
The notes under What you need describe products and are not rules.

Spotted a mistake? Email [email protected] and we'll check it against the sources.