How To Play Slap Jack

Slap Jack is a fast card game. It works well for children as well as grown adults. The goal is simple. You win all the cards, similar to the card game War.

All the cards are dealt out face down, even if a player has an extra card. Each player stacks their cards in a pile face down and nobody is allowed to look at them. Players sit in a ring with their piles in front of them.

Players take turns. They flip the top card from their pile into the center so everyone can see it. The next player then flips the top card from their stack in the center stack. It’s up to the players how fast or slow they want to play, but faster is better.

Players watch the stack. They wait for a Jack to show. When a Jack is shown, a player must immediately slap it. Thus the name of the game. The first hand on the Jack wins the whole center stack. The player to first slap the Jack adds those cards to the bottom of their pile.

If nobody slaps the Jack before another card is played, it’s too late. If a player slaps a card that is not a Jack, they give one card from their pile to the player who laid the last card. Players keep the game fair with clear calls.

Play continues until one player holds all the cards. If players run out of cards they still can slap a Jack played. Even if one player is throwing cards in the middle stack, other players still have the opportunity to slap a Jack played. When one player finally holds all the cards that player wins.

Keep your eyes on the stack. Hold your hand ready to slap. Stay steady to avoid wrong slaps. Be sure to laugh when the play gets wild.

Slap Jack is quick and bright. You can learn it in one round. You can teach it with ease. It brings sharp hands and sharp eyes.

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