PISHE PASHA

GOAL OF PISHE PASHA: Your goal is to get rid of all your cards as quickly as possible.

NUMBER OF PLAYERS: 2 players

NUMBER OF CARDS: standard 52-card deck

RANK OF CARDS: King (K), Queen (Q), Jack (J), 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, Ace (A)

GAME TYPE: Shedding

AUDIENCE: Suitable for all ages

Welcome to Pishe Pasha Card Game

Pishe Pasha is an exciting card game played by two people in the United States, mainly within Jewish communities. Although the game likely originated in Europe, it has found popularity here. There are different ways to spell the game’s name, with the most common being “Pisha Pasha.” However, “Pisha Paysha” and “Persian Pasha” are also used.

THE GAME

Hey there! Let’s dive into a cool card game called Pishe Pasha. It’s a game for two players and all you need is a standard 52 card deck. Exciting, right?

First things first, the cards need to be shuffled. One of the players, known as the dealer, will do the honors. Once the cards are all mixed up, the dealer will deal out 26 cards to themselves and their opponent. Each player gets two cards at a time, and they are placed face-down.

Now, let’s talk about the ultimate goal of Pishe Pasha. It’s all about getting rid of those 26 cards! You can do this by building foundation piles in ascending order, from ace to king, for each suit. If you prefer, you can also toss your cards into your opponent’s discard pile. The choice is yours!

TIME TO PLAY

Getting Started

Alright, let’s get this game started! The player who is not dealing takes the first turn. They flip over the top card from their stockpile. If it’s not an ace, it goes straight into their discard pile. Easy peasy! After that, it’s the dealer’s turn to make a move.

But wait, there’s more to this exciting card game! Let me explain how the turns work for both the non-dealer and the dealer.

The Non-Dealer’s Turn

When it’s my turn as the non-dealer, I have to consider the cards I have in my stockpile. If my first card happens to be an ace, I’m in luck! I can start a foundation pile with it for that suit. Then, I flip over the next card from my stockpile and see if it can fit on a foundation pile. If it does, I play it there. For example, if I had an ace as my first card, the next card could be a two, and I would place it on top of the ace. This continues until I turn over a card that doesn’t fit on a foundation pile. When that happens, I have to discard that card face-up into my discard pile, and my turn is over for now.

The Dealer’s Turn

Now it’s the dealer’s turn to show off their card skills. They start by flipping over the top card from their stockpile, just like I did. What happens next depends on the card they flip over:

• If the card can fit on a foundation pile, the dealer must play it there. The goal is to build up those foundation piles!
• If the card is either one rank higher or lower than the top card in their opponent’s discard pile, it doesn’t matter what suit it is. The dealer can play that card on top of their opponent’s discard pile, adding to the excitement!

Now you know how the turns work in this amazing card game. Get ready to strategize and have loads of fun!

When playing this game, the dealer will keep flipping cards from their stockpile for as long as they can play them to either a foundation pile or their opponent’s discard pile. If they come across a card that cannot be played, they have to discard it to their own discard pile. At that point, the dealer’s turn ends and it’s their opponent’s turn to play.

What’s Next

On the non-dealer’s second turn and all subsequent turns, they have an additional option. They can choose to move the top card of their discard pile to a foundation pile if it’s possible. However, it’s not mandatory if the top card of their discard pile is just one rank higher or lower than the top card of the dealer’s discard pile.

If you don’t want to play the top card from your pile of discarded cards, you have another option. You can flip over the top card from your stack of cards that haven’t been played yet and try to play that card instead, following the same rules as before. You keep taking turns like this until you can’t play any more cards.

Now let’s talk about some other things to keep in mind while playing. If you break a rule, your opponent can say “stop.” They can then choose to make you correct your play or end your turn.

Sometimes you might miss a chance to play a card on your opponent’s pile, and that’s okay. There’s no penalty for that. In some cases, it might even be better to keep the card for yourself instead of playing it on your opponent’s pile. But once you put a card in a pile, you can’t move it.

And now, let’s talk about the end of the game.

When you finish using all the cards in your stockpile, you should turn over your discard pile and start drawing cards from there. Remember, you’ll need to start a new discard pile after doing this.

If you manage to clear both your stockpile and discard pile before your opponent does, congratulations! You win the game! Your final score will be the total number of cards left in your opponent’s stockpile and discard piles.

If you manage to clear both your stockpile and discard pile before your opponent does, congratulations! You win the game! Your final score will be the total number of cards left in your opponent’s stockpile and discard piles.