RAILROAD CANASTA

Have you ever played Railroad Canasta? It’s a really fun trick-taking card game that you can play with 2 or more people. The goal of the game is simple: be the first to reach a score of 20,000 points before your opponents do.

SETUP

Let me explain how to set up the game. To begin, you’ll need a deck of cards. The first dealer is chosen randomly, and after each round, the dealer position moves to the left.

Once you have the dealer, shuffle the deck thoroughly. Then, each player draws a hand of 13 cards. But wait, there’s more! After that, each player also draws an additional 11 cards, but they are not allowed to look at these cards. These mysterious 11 cards are known as the Kitty.

Now that everyone has their cards, there’s one last step. Take the remaining cards from the deck and place them face-down in the middle. This is the draw pile. Then, flip over the top card of the draw pile and put it face-up beside the draw pile. This is the discard pile, where players will be putting cards they don’t want.

Card Rankings and Point Values

Before we start playing, let me tell you about the card rankings and points. In Railroad Canasta, all suits are ranked from highest to lowest: Ace, King, Queen, Jack, 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, and 4.

Did you know that jokers and twos have a special power in the game? They are what we call wild cards, which means they can be played as any card you need. Pretty handy, right? But be careful, because you can only have up to 3 wild cards in a meld or canasta. Gotta keep things fair!

Now, let’s talk about red threes. When you draw a red three, you have to put it with your melds right away. It’s like a VIP card that demands immediate attention. And here’s an interesting rule: if the first card in the discard pile is a red three, the whole pile freezes. Yep, it’s like time stands still till someone comes along and grabs that pile. And guess what? That lucky person has to meld the red three right away! But don’t worry, red threes don’t count towards your meld requirements. They just have their own special role in the game. If you want to learn more about scoring, keep on reading!

Hey there! Let’s talk about black threes in the game of Canasta. They’re pretty interesting, so listen up!

Usually, black threes cannot be added to melds (you know, those groups of cards you make), unless you’re ready to go out. When you’re about to go out, you can meld as many black threes as you want. Just remember, no wild cards are allowed in these melds. Oh, and here’s a cool thing: black threes can have more than 7 cards, unlike any other melds. But, unfortunately, they don’t give you any bonus points like canastas do. And one more thing, when you discard a black three, it freezes the discard pile, but only until the next turn. Once the next card covers the black three, the freeze is over.

Now, time to talk about the values of the cards. Each card has a certain value, which is important for creating different melds. Let’s break it down:

• Jokers: 50 points each.
• 2s and Aces: 20 points each.
• Kings through 8s: 10 points each.
• 7s through 4s and black 3s: 5 points each.

Now, here’s a heads up – the red 3s are a bit special, so let’s keep it brief and save the details for later, okay? Cool!

CANASTAS AND MELDS

So here’s the deal. A meld is when you put together three or more cards that you can add to later. But hold on, there’s a catch – you can’t have more than seven cards in a meld. Once you hit that magic number, bam! It becomes a canasta. But wait, there’s more! You can’t have two melds of the same rank at the same time. Got it? Good.

Now, let’s talk about canastas. A canasta is basically a completed meld that has not just any old number of cards, oh no – it’s got to have exactly seven cards. And it falls into one of four categories. We’ve got Red canastas, Black canastas, Wild canastas, and Sevens canastas.

So let’s break it down. Red canastas are made up of seven cards, and all of them have to be the same rank. No wild cards allowed in this party. And hey, they’re worth a big 500 points each. You can spot ’em by the red card sitting pretty on top of the pile.

Canastas come in different types, each with its own set of rules and point values. One type is the Black canasta, which consists of both natural and wild cards of the same rank. A Black canasta is quite valuable, worth a total of 300 points. To create a mixed meld, which is a combination of natural and wild cards, you need to have at least 2 natural cards and no more than 3 wild cards. You’ll know it’s a Black canasta when there is a black card on top of the canasta.

Another type is the wild canasta. As the name suggests, this canasta contains 7 wild cards. Each wild card within a wild canasta is worth 1000 points. Keep in mind that wild canastas don’t include any natural cards.

The third type is the seven canasta. This canasta is made up of seven 7s and cannot contain any wild cards. A seven canasta is worth 1500 points.

Meld Requirements

So, here’s the deal. Before you can start melding in each round, there are a few requirements that you need to meet. Those cards we talked about earlier? Yeah, they play a role in calculating the score of your melds. The points associated with those cards come into play when determining how valuable your initial melding needs to be in order to be considered legal.

Now, when it comes to making your initial meld, you have some flexibility. You can make as many melds as you need in order to meet the requirements. That means you can start multiple melds, each consisting of three or more cards. It’s all about finding the right combination to reach the goal.

If your score is negative, you only need a meld worth 15 or more points to start playing. For scores between 0 and 4995, your initial melds must be worth 50 or more points. With a score of 5000 to 9995, your initial melds must be worth at least 90 points to play. If your score is between 10000 and 14995, your initial melds must be worth 120 or more points to play. And if your score is 15000 or more, your initial melds must be worth 150 or more points to play.

Only the cards within the melds being played count towards their initial value. Red threes and previous canastas do not count towards meld requirements.

GAMEPLAY

When we play the game, the person sitting next to the dealer starts. Then we take turns clockwise. When it’s my turn, I do a few things. First, I draw two cards from the pile of cards that are not yet in anyone’s hand. Or, if I want, I can take the whole pile of cards that have already been discarded by other players (I’ll explain that later). After I draw my cards, I can start a group of cards called a meld. I can also add cards to any melds that I’ve already started. Finally, I have to get rid of one card from my hand by putting it face-up on the pile of discarded cards.

Once I finish a non-black canasta (that’s a specific kind of meld), I get to look at a pile of extra cards called a kitty. After I look at the kitty and discard another card, I can add the kitty cards to my hand.

Discard Pile

We use the discard pile a lot in this game.

You can put any card on the discard pile, except for sevens. We can only discard sevens when everyone has a meld of seven cards.

If the discard pile is frozen, I can’t draw from it. The discard pile freezes temporarily when a black three is discarded on top of it or until it’s unfrozen by discarding a wild card on it.

When a wild card is discarded, it’s placed sideways to show that it’s frozen. To unfreeze it, I need to draw the entire pile.

If I have two natural cards that match the top card of the discard pile, I can draw from the pile whether it’s frozen or unfrozen. However, I must immediately meld the top card with the two cards from my hand. I should also meet my meld requirement if I haven’t already. After melding, I can draw the rest of the discard pile into my hand. Any red threes I draw must be played with my melds.

When the discard pile is not frozen, you can take the top card only if you have a meld of fewer than 7 cards of the same rank. You must immediately play this card to the meld.

Ending the Round

There are three ways to end the round. You can go out (described below), the stock may run out and you want to draw or have to draw from it, or finally, you have a hand full of sevens and at least one player has not completed a canasta of sevens.

When the draw pile is empty, it doesn’t automatically end the round. The round can continue as long as the active player is willing and able to draw the top card of the discard pile. Once they are unable or no longer wish to, if a player tries to draw from the empty stock, the round ends.

It’s highly unlikely to end the round with a hand full of 7s. You can’t purposely play to end the round this way; instead, strive to keep a legal discard. The only way for this situation to arise is if you draw into it. However, if it does happen, you can meld all your sevens, and since you have no legal discard, the round will come to an end.

Going Out

To go out, you need to have at least one completed canasta of each type. If you don’t, you’re unable to go out or make any move that would leave you with no cards in hand.

To go out, you must meld all the cards in your hand except one. This last card will be discarded, thereby leaving you with no cards at the end of your turn. Just remember, your final discard cannot be a 7.

Scoring

Once the round ends, the scoring process begins.

So, let’s talk about scoring in the game of Canasta. It’s quite interesting! If a round ends with someone going out, they get an extra 100 points added to their score. Pretty cool, right?

After that, each player gets points for the cards in their melds, any bonus points earned for completed canastas, and any melded red threes. Oh, I’ll explain what canastas and red threes are in a bit, so don’t worry!

Now, here’s the twist – each player has to subtract the points from the remaining cards in their hands, including the ones in the kitty. It can be a bit tricky, but that’s where strategy comes in!

Alright, let’s talk about those red threes. They are worth a whopping 100 points each! If you meld them with your cards, you score these bonus points. But if they were sitting in your kitty, they don’t count. Gotta keep an eye on those!

If the round ends without anyone going out, the scoring is pretty much the same, except no one gets the 100-point bonus. Still, there are plenty of points to be won!

Now, Let’s Wrap It Up

When you play the game, it’s all about reaching 20,000 points. That’s the magic number that signals the end of the game. If you’re the only one who hits that goal, you’re the winner, plain and simple. But what happens if more than one player gets to 20,000 points? Well, in that case, it’s a race to see who has the most points. The player with the highest score takes home the victory. But what if there’s a tie? Don’t worry, we’ve got you covered. When there’s a tie, the game keeps going with additional rounds until a clear winner emerges. So, keep playing, keep scoring, and don’t stop until you’re the last one standing!

Hey there, I’m Amber! I’m a writer from Austin and a huge fan of gaming. I’m a gaming master, or at least I like to think so. When I’m not conquering virtual worlds, you can find me cuddling with my dogs, tending to my plant collection, or rolling dice in a game of Dungeons & Dragons. Gaming is my passion, and I’m here to share that passion with you.