Last Updated on March 19, 2025 by The Official Game Rules Team

What’s the Point? The Cactus Card Game is a strategic card game where players compete to collect the most points by playing character and action cards wisely. With unique abilities, tactical decisions, and opportunities to outmaneuver opponents, every turn is a chance to change the game. Whether you’re stealing points, swapping cards, or blocking an opponent’s move, the key to victory is maximizing your score before the game ends. Perfect for players who enjoy a mix of strategy and fun, What’s the Point? The Cactus Card Game keeps everyone engaged until the final card is played!

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How to Play What’s the Point? The Cactus Card Game

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Objective

The goal of What’s the Point? is to collect the most points by strategically playing cards and using character abilities. The player with the highest score at the end of the game wins.

• The number of points needed to win depends on the number of players:
  • 2-3 players: 10 points
  • 4-5 players: 6 points
  • 6 players: 5 points  
• Earn points by:
  • Playing certain Action Cards.  
  • Matching and playing 3 Character Cards.  

Setup:

Remove all the Point Cards (30) from the deck and set them aside to form a point pile.  

1. Shuffle the Playing Cards and deal 5 cards face down to each player.  
2. Place the remaining Playing Cards face down to form a draw pile.  
3. Pick a player to go first.
   • Example criteria: whoever is wearing the most green, the youngest player, whoever owns the most cacti, etc.  
4. Play continues in a clockwise rotation.  

Gameplay:

1. During your turn:
   • You can play as many Action Cards as you want. There is no limit.  
   • You may also choose not to play any cards.  
2. Playing Action Cards:
   • Play an Action Card by placing it face up on top of the discard pile and follow the instructions on the bottom of the card.  
3. Ending Your Turn:
   • There are two ways to end your turn:
     • Earning a point
     • OR you draw a new card.  
4. Earning Points:
   • Your turn automatically ends any time you earn a point.  
   • Some Action Cards let you earn or steal a point, OR you can match and play 3 Character Cards.  
   • After you follow the instructions on the Action Card, you can play more cards.  
   • Some Action Cards end your turn immediately after they are played. Those cards are: FREE POINT, STEAL A POINT, DRAW 3.  
   • You DO NOT get to draw a new card from the draw pile or play any more cards, after earning a point.
   • When you earn points, take a point card and display it in front of you so everyone can see (make sure to leave space for your next point card!)
5. Drawing a New Card:
   • If you don’t want to play any more Action Cards and you didn’t earn any points, you must draw a new card from the draw pile to end your turn.
   • Take the newly drawn card and place it into your hand.  
   • You must wait until your next turn to play that new card you just drew.  
6. Character Cards:
   • Character Cards are played by laying a completed set face up in the discard pile and then collecting the number of points earned.  
   • A complete set consists of 3 CHARLIES, 3 SPIKES, or 3 WALTERS.  
   • 3 CHARLIES are worth 1 point.  
   • 3 SPIKES are worth 2 points.  
   • 3 WALTERS are worth 3 points.  
   • Earning points from playing a set of Character Cards will end your turn.  

Wild Cards:

The WILD card can be used as a replacement for any of the Character Cards (CHARLIE, SPIKE, or WALTER).  

Playing 3 WILD cards together as a set will earn you 3 points.  

Stop Cards:

Stop the action of any players Action Card.  

You CANNOT stop a set of Character Cards.  

STOP cards can be played at any time throughout the game by any player, however, they must be played within a reasonable timeframe of the Action Card you are trying to stop.  

A STOP card can also be played on another STOP card to negate it, and so on.  

Action Cards (and How to Play Them):

• FREE POINT:
  • Playing this card will earn you 1 free point from the point pile and ends your turn.  
  • If this card is STOPPED, you will NOT earn a point and it will still be your turn.  
• SEE AND STEAL:
  • Privately look at another player’s hand and take 1 card of your choice.  
  • To prevent other players from viewing the cards, you can pass them under the table, behind players’ backs, or hand the cards over face down.  
  • This card can NOT be STOPPED after the player’s hand has been privately looked at.  
• STEAL A POINT:
  • Steal 1 point from another player. That point is now yours.  
  • If a STOP card is played, you must return the stolen point AND it is still your turn because you did not earn a point.  
  • This card ends your turn when you earn the point.  
• SWAP HANDS:
  • Force any two players to swap their hands. This could include you.  
  • Once the two players have swapped hands, it is still your turn.  
  • This can be ANY two players playing (so yes, this could include you).  
  • This card can NOT be STOPPED after the hands have been swapped.  
• STEAL A CARD:
  • Have another player privately fan out their cards.  
  • Choose a random card to “steal” and add it to your hand.  
  • Players are allowed to shuffle their hand before a card is stolen.  
  • This card can only be STOPPED before any cards have been taken.  
• REQUEST A CARD:
  • Choose any player and request ANY card from them.  
  • If they have the card you requested, they are required to give it to you. Use the Honor System!  
  • If they do not have the card you requested, then you are out of luck. You do not get to keep requesting cards. That action is over.  
  • This card can NOT be STOPPED after the requested card has been given to that player.  
• DRAW 3:
  • Draw 3 new cards from the draw pile.  
  • This card can only be STOPPED before any cards have been drawn.  
  • Your turn ends once you have drawn all three cards.  

Winning the Game

The first person to reach the point goal wins the game!

• 2-3 players: 10 points
• 4-5 players: 6 points
• 6 players: 5 points  

Other Rules:

• You can’t hide points. Your points must be clearly visible to every player at all times.
• When a player is starting their turn with ZERO cards in their hand, they are required to draw 3 new cards and immediately end their turn.  
• Should you run out of cards from the draw pile, the person with the most points will shuffle the discard pile and place the cards face down, forming a new draw pile.