Jordan & Sophia’s
Favorite Card Games
Thank you so much for joining us for our wedding — it means the world to have you here.
We put together a few of our favorite card games, and we hope you get to play them with your loved ones (and maybe even with us sometime soon!).
If you do break out a deck, send us a photo of you playing — it would truly make our day!
Have fun, and enjoy!
xo, S & J
GIN RUMMY
Players: 2+
Goal: Be the first to reach 100 points by forming sets (three or four of the same rank) and runs (three or more cards in sequence, same suit).
How to Play:
Deal 10 cards to each player. Flip one card face-up to start the discard pile; the rest form the draw pile.
On your turn, draw (from the top of the draw pile or the discard pile).
Then discard one card.
Keep building sets and runs in your hand.
When you can reduce your unmatched cards (“deadwood”) to 10 points or fewer, you may knock.
After knocking, both players lay down their sets/runs. Opponent may “lay off” cards that continue your sets/runs.
Lowest deadwood wins the round; score the difference.
Winning: First to 100 points.
EGYPTIAN RAT SCREW
Players: 2–6
Goal: Win all the cards.
How to Play:
Deal the entire deck evenly. Keep your cards facedown in a stack — no peeking.
Players take turns flipping the top card into the center pile.
If the card is a face card or Ace, the next player must flip a face card within a set number of tries:
Ace: 4 chances
King: 3 chances
Queen: 2 chances
Jack: 1 chance
If they succeed, they “win” the pile. If they fail, the person who played the original face card wins it.
Slap Rules: If certain combos appear (you can list only one or two to keep it simple), fastest slap wins the pile:
Double: Two of the same rank in a row
Sandwich: Same rank with one card in between (e.g., 7–K–7)
Winner of the pile adds those cards to the bottom of their stack.
Winning: Last player with cards.
BASTRA (Greek Card Game)
My Yiayia’s favorite!
My grandmother taught me Bastrá when I was little, and it became one of our sweetest traditions. I hope it brings you just as many laughs and memories.
Players: 2–4
Goal: Capture the most cards and special scoring cards (especially 7♣).
Setup:
Remove no cards — use the full 52-card deck. Deal 4 cards to each player and place 4 cards face-up in the center.
How to Play:
On your turn, play one card from your hand.
You may capture cards from the center by matching rank (e.g., play a 5 to take all 5s) or by using Jacks, which capture all center cards.
If your play captures everything, that's a "BASTRA" (or "bástra") — worth +10 points.
If you cannot capture, you must place your card in the center.
When all players run out of cards, deal another 4 each and continue.
When the deck is gone, the player who made the last capture collects any leftover cards.
Scoring (simple version):
Most cards: +3
Most spades: +1
7♣ (“the big one”): +1
10♦: +1
Each Bastrá: +10
Winning: Highest total after all cards are played.
KING’S CORNER
Players: 2–4
Goal: Get rid of all your cards by building solitaire-style piles in the center.
Setup:
Deal 7 cards to each player. Place 4 cards in a cross shape on the table — these are the foundation piles.
How to Play:
On your turn, you may do the following in order:
Draw one card.
Play cards onto the foundation piles, building descending and alternating colors (like red queen on black jack).
Kings start new piles in the corners (hence the name).
You can move whole piles onto each other if they fit the descending-alternating rule.
When you clear a foundation pile, you may start a new pile there with any card from your hand.
Winning: First to play all of your cards.