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Official Shithead Rules
Here's a breakdown of the rules for Shithead, a fast-paced and sometimes chaotic card game. Also known as Palace, Karma, China Hand and Ten-Two Slide:
Objective
The goal is to get rid of all your cards before anyone else. The last player holding cards is crowned the glorious (or perhaps not-so-glorious) "Shithead."
Setup
1. Deal the Cards: Deal all the cards in the deck evenly to each player, face down. Players should hold their cards in a hand without revealing them to others.
2. Starting Player: Decide who goes first, you can use a simple method like flipping a coin or playing a quick game of rock, paper, scissors.
3. Discard Pile: Place one card face up in the center of the playing area to start the discard pile.
Gameplay
On your turn, you have two options:
Play a Card (Mandatory): You must play at least one card face up onto the discard pile. This card can be:
Any Single Card: You can play any single card from your hand.
Matching Rank (Optional): If the top card on the discard pile is already face up, you can play multiple cards of the same rank (e.g., two Queens or three Sevens) onto the pile.
Draw a Card (Optional): If you cannot or don't want to play any cards from your hand, you can choose to draw one card from the remaining deck and add it to your hand.
Special Cards:
Twos (Wild Cards): A Two acts as a wild card and can be played on any card on the discard pile. It doesn't have to match the rank. However, the next player must play a Two or draw two cards from the deck as a penalty.
Tens (Skip Turn): A Ten forces the next player to skip their turn and draw one card from the deck.
End of Turn:
After playing a card(s) or drawing a card (or both), your turn ends. Play continues clockwise to the next player.
Winning the Game
The game continues until one player gets rid of all their cards. That player is declared the winner and everyone else left holding cards shares the glorious (or not-so-glorious) title of "Shithead."
Notes/Variations
Fast Paced: Shithead is a quick and easy game to learn, but the strategic use of twos and tens can add depth to the gameplay.
Alternative Rules: Some variations of the game might:
Allow players to play multiple cards of consecutive rank (e.g., playing a Queen after a Jack).
Introduce a "hand limit" where players can't hold more than a certain number of cards in their hand at once.
Shithead can be a loud and boisterous game, so be prepared for some laughs (and groans) depending on who gets stuck with the most cards!
