PENNIES FROM HEAVEN

Hey there! Let me tell you about a fun and exciting card game called Pennies From Heaven. It’s a game for 6 players, and the aim is for your team to score 20,000 points before the other team.

This game is played with two teams, each consisting of 3 players. Your teammates will be seated between two opposing players, creating an interesting dynamic!

SETUP

To begin, we randomly select the first dealer. The dealer position then rotates to the left for each new deal.

We start by shuffling the deck thoroughly. The dealer will then proceed to deal 13 cards to each player. But wait, there’s more! The dealer will also give each player an additional 11 cards. These 11 cards are special and should not be looked at just yet. We call them the foot.

The remaining deck is placed in the center as a draw pile. To start things off, the top card from the draw pile is turned over and placed face up, creating the discard pile.

Card Rankings and Point Values

Now, let’s talk about the card rankings and point values. In this game, Ace is the highest-ranking card, followed by King, Queen, Jack, 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, and 4. Ace reigns supreme!

When playing card games, jokers and twos have a special role: they act as wild cards and can be used to represent any other card. However, it’s important to keep in mind that you can never have more than 3 wild cards in any meld or canasta.

Red threes are another type of card that requires special attention. As soon as you draw a red three, you must immediately place it with your melds. If the first card in the discard pile happens to be a red three, the pile becomes frozen. This means that whenever a player draws from the pile, they must also immediately meld the red three. It’s worth noting that red threes do not count towards your meld requirements. If you’re unsure about the scoring system, don’t worry – we’ll go over it later.

Unlike red threes, black threes have a different set of rules. They cannot be placed in melds unless a player is going out. When a player is going out, they have the option to meld 3 or more black threes (without using any wild cards). If a black three is discarded to the discard pile, it freezes the pile only until the next turn, when it is covered by the next discard.

Hey there! Let’s talk about the values of each card in Canasta. We have different cards, and each one is worth a certain number of points. Now, pay attention! Jokers are super valuable, worth a whopping 50 points each. We also have 2s and Aces, which are worth a cool 20 points each. Kings through 8s are worth 10 points each, while 7s through 4s and black 3s are worth 5 points each. But hold on, there’s something special about red 3s. We’ll get to that in a moment, so stay with me!

Let’s talk about Canastas and melds!

A meld is a group of three or more cards that you can add to later. Keep in mind that a meld cannot have more than 7 cards in total. Once you reach 7 cards, it becomes a canasta! Oh, and here’s an important rule: you can’t have two melds of the same rank at the same time. But guess what? Once you complete a meld of a certain rank, you can start another one of the same rank if you’d like.

Now, what’s a canasta, you ask? Well, a canasta is a special kind of meld. It’s a completed meld that has exactly 7 cards and falls into one of four categories. We’ve got Natural canastas, Mixed canastas, Wild canastas, and Sevens canastas. Each one is unique and has its own rules, which we’ll explore in detail.

Did you know that there are different types of canastas in the game? Let’s take a look at each one and their point values.

First, we have the natural canasta. This type of canasta is formed by having 7 cards of the same rank, with no wild cards. Each natural canasta is worth 500 points. Pretty valuable, right?

Next up, we have the mixed canasta. This is a combination of natural cards and wild cards, all of the same rank. A mixed canasta is worth 300 points. But here’s the catch: when you start forming a mixed meld, you need to have at least 2 natural cards. And remember, you can never have more than 3 wild cards in a mixed canasta.

If you want to go all out on points, the wild canasta is for you. This type of canasta contains a whopping 7 wild cards and is worth 1000 points. Talk about a big score!

Finally, we have the seven canasta. This one is made up of seven 7s and cannot contain any wild cards. A seven canasta is super special and worth 1500 points. You don’t want to miss out on those points!

Now, let’s talk about meld requirements. These are the rules you need to follow when forming your canastas:

Before we can begin melding in each round, there are some requirements that we need to meet. When creating melds, the points associated with the cards we use play a role in scoring. The value of our initial meld is determined by our team’s current score. In order for our initial meld to be considered legal, it must reach a certain value. To meet this requirement, we can make multiple melds if needed. This means we can start several melds, each consisting of three or more cards.

If your score is negative, you only need a 15-point meld to start the game. If your score is between 0 and 4995, your initial meld must be worth at least 50 points. For scores between 5000 and 9995, your initial meld should be worth at least 90 points. If your score is between 10000 and 14995, your initial meld should be worth 120 points, and if your score is 15000 or more, your initial meld should be worth 150 points.

Red threes and previous canastas do not count towards your meld requirements. Only the cards within the melds you are playing count towards their initial value.

GAMEPLAY

So, here’s how the game works. It all starts with me, sitting to the left of the dealer, and then we go clockwise from there. On my turn, I’ll do a few things in a particular order. First, I’ll grab two cards from the draw pile. But if I feel like it, I can also take the whole discard pile instead. Just a little trick I have up my sleeve. Next, I can start a new meld or add more cards to any melds that my team has already started. And finally, to wrap things up, I’ll choose one card from my hand and put it face up on the discard pile. That’s it for my turn! Now it’s your go.

Oh, and once I’ve completed a canasta of my own, I get to take a peek at my foot. But it’s not enough to just have six cards in a meld. Oh no, I have to play the seventh and final card to complete the canasta and make it count. And only then can I throw my discard for the turn. After that, I’m free to pick up my foot and merge it with my hand.

Now let’s talk about the discard pile for a sec.

This pile is pretty important in the game. We’re gonna be using it quite a bit.

So, here’s the deal. You can toss any card you want into the discard pile, except for sevens – those need a special rule. Both teams have to have a seven canasta before anyone can throw a seven into the pile. Fair enough?

Just one thing: if the discard pile is frozen, you can’t draw from it. And what makes it freeze? Well, if someone chucks a black three on top, or if a wild card is thrown in, the pile freezes up. You’ll need to unfreeze it by discarding another wild card. Got it?

Now, when a wild card is tossed in, we put it sideways to show that it’s frozen. And let me tell you, once it’s in that state, the only way to unfreeze it is to draw the whole pile. Yeah, you heard right – the whole thing. Can you handle that?

When you’re playing Rummy, there are some rules about drawing cards from the discard pile. If the pile is frozen or unfrozen, you can draw from it if you have two natural cards that match the top card of the pile. But remember, if you do this, you have to immediately meld the top card with your two cards. And don’t forget to meet your meld requirement if you haven’t already. After that, you get to draw the rest of the discard pile to add to your hand. Any red threes you find along the way have to be played with your team’s melds.

However, if the pile is not frozen, you can only take the top card if you have a meld of fewer than 7 cards of the same rank. But just like before, you have to play this card to your meld right away.

Now, let’s talk about ending the round.

If you’re playing a game of canasta, there are three ways the round can come to an end. First, a team can declare that they’re going out, which I’ll explain in a moment. Second, the stock of cards in the draw pile can run out, and a player wants to draw from it or is forced to draw from it. Finally, if one player has a hand full of sevens and the other team hasn’t completed a canasta of sevens, the round ends.

If the draw pile is empty, it doesn’t automatically mean the round is over. The round can continue if the active player is willing and able to draw the top card from the discard pile. But once they can’t or no longer want to do that, and a player tries to draw from the empty stock, that’s when the round ends.

It’s not very common to end the round with a hand full of 7s. We aren’t allowed to purposely play in a way that would make the round end like this. We have to try to keep a legal discard. The only way it can happen is if we draw into it. But if it does happen, we can meld all our sevens and the round will end since we don’t have a legal discard.

Time to Finish

To finish the game, our team needs to have at least one completed canasta of each type. If we don’t have them, we can’t finish or make any move that would leave us with no cards in hand.

When we’re ready to finish, we can ask one of our teammates if they’re okay with it. We can only ask one person, though. And if we do ask, we have to follow what they say.

When you want to go out, you need to merge all the cards in your hand except for one. Then, you’ll discard that last card, leaving you with no cards at the end of your turn. Just remember, your final discard cannot be a 7.

SCORING

Once the round is over, it’s time to start scoring.

If someone from your team went out to end the round, you’ll score an extra 100 points for your team. After that, both teams will score points for the cards they melded, any bonus points for completing canastas, and any red threes they melded (we’ll talk about that later). Then, both teams will subtract the points from the remaining cards in their teammates’ hands, including the foot.

When it comes to playing Canasta, it’s important to understand that red threes can either help or hurt your score. Let me explain how.

If your team completes a seven canasta, all melded 7s become really valuable – worth 100 points each. And if you manage to hold all 8 red threes, they’re worth a whopping 1000 points in total! Amazing, right?

But here’s the catch: if you haven’t completed a seven canasta or you didn’t meld the red threes (which can happen if they were in your foot and you never picked it up), each red three will cost you negative 100 points. Ouch! That means if you melded all 8 and didn’t complete a seven canasta, you’ll lose a total of negative 1000 points.

Now, what happens if the round ends without any player going out? Well, the scoring is the same as before, but neither team will get the 100-point bonus for going out.

END OF GAME

The game comes to a close when a team manages to accumulate 20000 or more points by the end of a round. In the event that both teams surpass this goal, the team with the higher score emerges as the winner. However, in the event of a tied score, additional rounds are played until a conclusive winner is determined.

I’m Amber (They/Them), an Austin-based writer and gaming enthusiast. I consider myself a gaming maestro while also harboring a deep affection for dogs, plants, and the world of Dungeons & Dragons.

I’m Amber (They/Them), an Austin-based writer and gaming enthusiast. I consider myself a gaming maestro while also harboring a deep affection for dogs, plants, and the world of Dungeons & Dragons.