SWOOP!
INSTRUCTIONS
Supplies: 3 Decks of cards
Score sheet and pencil/pen
Purpose:
● Be the first player to play all of your cards to win the hand.
● The game ends when a player reaches a predetermined score (i.e, Score 250-500
for 3 - 6 players; score 100-250 for more than 6 players)
● The player with the lowest score at the end of the game wins.
Set-up:
● Spread the cards out on the table facedown (“Old Man Shuffle”)
● Each player draws one card. The player with the highest card goes first. Aces count
as a “1”.
● Each player then draws 19 cards from the pile to use as their hand.
● From the 19 cards, each player places 4 piles of 2 cards each in front of them. The
bottom 4 cards are face down and the 4 top cards are face up. The face down cards
are “mystery” cards and remain face down until they are played.
● The remaining 11 cards make up the player’s hand.
● The remaining cards from the deck are placed out of play and are not used until the
next hand.
● Choose a score keeper.
Playing a Hand:
● Play cards to the middle of the table based on number (value) of the card. Suits do
not matter.
● You may play as few or as many matching cards as you hold in your hand and/or
are on the 4 piles on the table in front of you.
● 4 or more of the same card is a SWOOP and the cards are removed from the
playing area.
● Jokers and 10 cards are SWOOP cards and automatically SWOOP the pile.
● When a player SWOOPs the pile, they play again and continue to play as long as
they can SWOOP the cards. If the player is unable to SWOOP the pile, then their
turn ends.
SWOOP!
INSTRUCTIONS
Playing a Hand (continued):
● When playing cards, the player must play a matching card or a card lower in value
than the card previously played (i.e., if 7s are played, the next player must play a 7
or a card lower in value).
● If a player is unable to play a matching or lower value card, they must play a higher
value card to the middle of the table. The player then picks up the pile and places it
into their hand. There is no limit to how many cards you may hold in your hand.
● Play continues to the player’s left.
● Play ends when a player has used their last card.
● Remaining players then score their hand based on the cards they are still holding
and/or on the table in front of them.
Mystery Cards: The 4 face down cards on the table in front of each player are “mystery”
cards are remain face down until they are played. Therefore, when a player plays a face
up card from the pile, they do not turn over the “mystery” card.
Scoring:
● Aces and cards 2-9 = 5 points
● Face cards = 10 points
● Jokers and 10s = 50 points
Winning the Game: The player with the lowest score at the end of the game wins!
