Slapjack is a reflex game with one rule: when a jack turns up, slap it. Everything else is just flipping cards. It needs no reading, no counting, and no strategy, which makes it a good first game for small children. A game takes about 10 minutes.

What You Need

Players: 2-6. Four is ideal.
Deck: One standard 52-card deck. Suits do not matter.
Extras: A flat table everyone can reach. Trim fingernails are appreciated.

Key Terms

The pile: The face-up stack building in the middle of the table.
Slap: Bringing your hand flat down on the pile to claim it.
False slap: Slapping when the top card is not a jack, which costs you a card.

Setup

Deal the whole deck out face down, as evenly as possible.
Keep your cards in a face-down stack. Nobody looks at their cards at any point.

How to Play

Going clockwise, each player flips their top card face up into the middle of the table. Flip it away from yourself so you do not see it first.
Play continues quickly around the table, building a pile.
The moment a jack lands on top of the pile, everyone tries to slap it. The first hand down takes the whole pile and adds it face down to the bottom of their stack.
That player then starts the next pile.
If you slap when it is not a jack, you pay one card from your stack face down to the bottom of the pile.
When you run out of cards you are not immediately out - you stay in and may still slap a jack to get back in. If you miss the next jack, you are out for good.

Scoring & Winning

There is no score. You are playing for cards.
Players who run out and then miss a jack drop out.
The last player holding cards - eventually all 52 of them - wins.

Example

A jack is flipped into the middle. Three hands come down at once, but yours is underneath the others, so you take the pile and start the next one.

Variations

Slap doubles too: allow slapping when two cards of the same rank land in a row, which speeds the game up considerably.
Sandwiches: allow slapping when the same rank appears with one card between them.
Penalty of two: a false slap costs two cards instead of one.

Tips for New Players

Keep your slapping hand away from the table between cards. Hovering over the pile is considered cheating.
Flip your card away from you so you learn it is a jack at the same moment everyone else does.
Slap flat and slap the pile - a fingertip touch does not count in most groups.