No.248
Sevens
Japanese name: 七並べ
Materials
- A standard 52-card deck, without jokers
How to play
- Shuffle and deal the whole deck. Place all four sevens in the middle, leaving room to extend a row on either side of each suit's seven.
- Agree who starts and the direction of play. Play one card on each turn. It must extend either end of its own suit's row by one rank. Initially only a six or an eight can be played.
- Count ace as 1 and jack, queen and king as 11, 12 and 13. For example, if hearts run from 5 to 8, the next heart must be the 4 or 9, placed at the appropriate end.
- If you cannot play, pass. This introductory version allows unlimited passes, but requires you to play one card whenever you can.
- The first person with no cards wins. Others continue until every row runs from ace to king. Choose a different starting player next time.
Ways to adapt
Preschool children: arrange one suit together. Younger primary school children: play with hands face up. Older primary school children: play the full introductory version.