Slap Jack
BGG rank
BGG #31,670
BGG rating
3.4

Slap Jack

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Rules assistance for Slap Jack

Plain-language explanations of turns, card effects and disputed situations, with saved question history.

  • 30 min
  • 5+
  • Complexity 1.0/5

Rules assistant for Slap Jack

What would you like to know?

Answers come from the official rulebook, with the page to check.

Slap Jack is a board game released in 1934 for 2–8 players, 30 minutes per game, and ages 5 and up.

About the game

Slap Jack is a standard deck playing card game for youngsters and adults. Even the youngest of children can join in the fun and even play by themselves. Number of players: Two to eight, each for himself. The Deck: Standard 52 card pack. The Deal: Any player is able to deal first. Just shuffle and deal out cards, one at a time to each player in rotation until all have been used. The cards need not come out even. Each player squares up his hand into a neat pile in front of him without looking at the cards which are face down. Object of the game: To win all the cards by being the first to slap each jack as it is played to the center. The play. Each player in turn, starting from the dealer's left, is required to lift one card from the pile in front of him and place it face up in the center of the table. The players must turn up the card away from him and not toward him; he must not see it earlier than any other player. At the same time, the play should be made with a swift movement so the other players may not see the denomination of the card before he does. If the card played to the center is a jack, the first player must slap his hand down on it, take it, and with it, all cards below it in the center of the table. The player who wins these cards must turn them face down and shuffle them with the cards in his hand still remaining on the table in front of him, in order to form a new hand. Suppose more than one player slaps at a jack. The one whose hand is lowest (directly on top of the jack) is declared winner of the pile. If a player has no more cards left, he remains in the game until a jack is next turned, and he may then slap at the jack in an effort to get a new hand. Should he fail to win, the player is declared out of the game. The play continues until one player possesses all the cards. That player is then made the winner! NOTE: If a dealer's card is exposed, then all the cards must be shuffled before they are again placed face down. If a player slaps at any card in the center other than a Jack, he is required to give one card, face down, to the player of that card.

Editions

  • Spank The Berry BirdENParker Brothers1979
  • Slap JackENWhitman1965
  • Slap JackENRussell Manufacturing Company1935
  • Slap JackENRussell Manufacturing Company1934
  • Slap JackENHoyle Products
  • Slap JackENWestern Publishing Company

Publishers

  • Parker Brothers
  • (Public Domain)
  • Whitman
  • Target Games
  • Western Publishing Company
  • Hoyle Products
  • Russell Manufacturing Company
  • Family Card Games

Questions and answers

Slap Jack supports 2–8 players according to the catalogue. This range comes from the publisher’s listed player count, so the game can be set up for any group size within it. Some setups, rules and scoring details may still vary by player count, so check your edition’s rulebook for the exact configuration.