Beggar My Neighbor

GOAL OF BEGGAR MY NEIGHBOR: Don’t be the first to run out of cards.

NUMBER OF PLAYERS: 2 players

NUMBER OF CARDS: Standard 52-card deck

CARD RANKS: Ace (high), King, Queen, Jack, 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2

GAME TYPE: Adding Up

AUDIENCE: Suitable for all ages

INTRODUCING BEGGAR MY NEIGHBOR

Hey, have you heard of Beggar My Neighbor? It’s a super fun card game that kids love! Some people call it Strip Jack Naked, while others know it as Taxes. Did you know it even makes an appearance in Charles Dickens’ novel Great Expectations? That means this game has been around since the 1840s, or maybe even earlier, back in Britain.

HOW TO PLAY

The deck of cards is divided evenly between both players. Each player has their own pile of cards placed face-down in front of them. The game starts with the player to the left of the dealer. They turn over the top card from their pile, revealing it face-up in the middle of the playing area. The players take turns placing their cards on top of this pile. The cards in Beggar My Neighbor come in two types: ordinary cards (numbered 2-10) and penalty/court/pay cards (Ace, King, Queen, Jack). The game continues until a penalty card is flipped over. When this happens, the player’s opponent has to ‘pay’ by playing a certain number of cards one after the other. Here are the rates:

– An Ace requires the opponent to play 4 ordinary cards.

– A King requires the opponent to play 3 ordinary cards.

– A Queen requires the opponent to play 2 ordinary cards.

– A Jack requires the opponent to play 1 ordinary card.

After I serve my penalty, I get to collect the entire pile in the middle, adding it to my own stack. It’s a sweet reward for enduring the punishment.

But hold on! If I happen to play another penalty card while I’m still being penalized, my initial penalty becomes void and now it’s the other player’s turn to suffer.

The goal is to collect the entire deck. Once I achieve that, I am the winner! On the flip side, if I’m the one who runs out of cards first, I lose.

If you had a blast with Beggar my Neighbor, you should definitely give Slapjack a whirl!

If you had a blast with Beggar my Neighbor, you should definitely give Slapjack a whirl!