Hand and Foot card game
How to play Hand and Foot
Hand and Foot is a Canasta-style rummy game popular at family gatherings across North America. Each player gets two piles of cards: a hand to play first and a foot to play once the hand is gone. Rules vary from family to family; here are the ones this game uses.
Setup
Four decks with jokers are shuffled together. Each player is dealt 11 cards for the hand and 11 for the foot. One card starts the discard pile.
Your turn
- Draw two cards from the draw pile, or pick up the discard pile: if you hold two natural cards matching the top discard, meld them with it and take the next six cards too.
- Meld as many cards as you like. A meld is 3 to 7 cards of the same rank.
- Discard one card to end your turn.
Melds and wild cards
- Jokers and 2s are wild. A meld needs at least two natural cards, fewer wild cards than natural cards, and no more than three wild cards.
- 3s can't be melded. Discard them; red 3s cost 100 points if they're left in your hand at the end.
- Your first meld each round must meet the minimum: 50, 90, 120 and 150 points in rounds 1 to 4.
- Seven cards make a book. No wilds is a clean book (500 bonus); with wilds it's a dirty book (300 bonus).
The foot and going out
When your hand is empty, pick up your foot and keep going. You can go out once you've played through your hand, are in your foot, and have at least one clean and one dirty book. Going out earns 100 bonus points and ends the round.
Scoring
| Card | Points |
|---|---|
| Joker | 50 |
| 2 and Ace | 20 |
| 8 through King | 10 |
| 4 through 7, black 3 | 5 |
| Red 3 left in hand | −100 |
Each round, add the points of your melded cards and book bonuses, add 100 for going out, and subtract the points of cards left in your hand and foot. After four rounds, the highest total wins.
Strategy
- Save wild cards to finish books that are one or two cards short.
- Build your clean book first; it's worth more and needs patience.
- Don't rush into your foot late in a round if your opponent is close to going out; foot cards count against you.
- Watch the discard pile. Throwing a card your opponent has a pair of hands them seven cards.
Questions
How many decks do you need for Hand and Foot?
Usually one more deck than the number of players, with jokers. This two-player version uses four decks including jokers.
What is a clean book and a dirty book?
A book is a meld of seven cards of the same rank. A clean (or natural) book has no wild cards and scores 500 bonus points. A dirty book includes wild cards and scores 300.
What are the meld requirements for each round?
In this version your first meld of the round must total at least 50 points in round 1, 90 in round 2, 120 in round 3 and 150 in round 4.
What happens when you empty your hand?
You pick up your foot, the second 11-card pile, and keep playing. To go out, you must have played through your foot and have at least one clean and one dirty book.