Trash
Trash is a fun and simple game that kids often love to play. The goal of the game is to arrange all the cards in your hand from Ace to 10 in the correct order.
The Cards & The Deal
If you’re playing with two people, you’ll need one standard deck of 52 cards. For 3-4 players, use two decks. And if you have 5-6 players, grab three decks.
To decide who deals the cards, each person picks one card from the deck. The person with the lowest card becomes the dealer.
Once you’ve determined the dealer, collect all the cards, give them a good shuffle, and then deal out ten cards to each player. Keep the cards face down. Arrange the cards in two rows of five. The top row is for cards A – 5, and the bottom row is for cards 6 – 10. The remaining cards form the draw pile, which you place in the middle of the table.
In this game, I’m happy to say that Jacks play a special role. They’re wild, which means they can be placed in any spot on the layout. Now, Queens and Kings are a bit different. They act as stop cards that bring an end to your turn. That’s important to keep in mind as you strategize your moves.
Okay, let’s get into how the game is played. We start by determining the first player, who will be the one sitting on the left side of the dealer. This lucky player gets to draw the top card from the draw pile. What happens next depends on the card they drew.
If the card they drew is an Ace through Jack, they need to place it face up in the correct position on the layout. For example, if they drew a 4, it needs to go in spot number four on the top row. Now, here comes the exciting part. A Jack can be placed in any available spot on the layout. It’s like a free pass to wherever it wants to go!
After placing the card from the draw pile, the player takes a look at the card that was face down in that spot on the layout. They flip it over and put it in the correct position. This continues until the player can’t find a spot for a card anymore. Once that happens, it’s time to say goodbye to the card and end your turn by discarding it. Don’t worry, there will always be more cards to draw and more turns to play. Just keep your eyes on the layout and plan your moves wisely. Good luck!
So here’s how it goes – I start by drawing a card from either the draw pile or the discard pile. Then, I try to place that card in my layout. And I keep doing this until I can’t find a spot for the card.
Now, here’s the deal with Jacks – they’re wild! So, I can put them anywhere I want in my layout. But I can also use a Jack to replace another card that should be there. Then, I can move that Jack to a different spot in my layout. Pretty cool, right?
But watch out for Queens and Kings, my friend. If I draw or expose one of those, it’s game over. I have to discard it right away and my turn ends. Tough luck.
Wrapping it Up
Once you have all ten cards in your layout, the round is done and we start a new one. I’ll collect the cards and we’ll deal ten new ones to everyone. However, the winner of the previous round only gets nine cards this time. Their goal is to have A-9 on their layout. Rounds continue until someone has only one card left in their layout.
How to Win
The winner of the game is the first person who fills their layout with an Ace or Jack when they have only one card left.
The winner of the game is the first person who fills their layout with an Ace or Jack when they have only one card left.