February 9, 2023
Golf and Garbage
Here are two great games for when the internet is down! All you need is a deck of cards and the determination to crush your friends.
Golf (2+ players)Alright, Tiger Woods. We know you’ve tried the sport, but have you tried the card game? Like the actual sport’s rules, the goal of the card game Golf is to accumulate the least points possible.Scoring Each numeral card scores face value (Ace = 1, Two = 2, etc.) Each Jack or Queen scores 10 points. (Gross! You don’t want points.) Each King scores zero points. Each Joker subtracts 13 points. (Me-ow! The lower your score, the better.) Each player will be dealt six cards face down and will set them up in two rows of three cards, while the remainder of the deck sits in the middle, along with the discard pile. The player to the left of the dealer starts, and play continues clockwise.Everyone begins by flipping two of their cards face up. Each round, you may replace a card from your hand. You can do this by either drawing from the middle or taking the top card off the discard pile. NOTE: You are not allowed to look at the card you are replacing if it’s face down! No sneak peeks, Tiger. If you decide that you don’t want either card from either pile, you can take a chance and take neither—but you must flip one of your own face down. If you have double of one card in the same column (example, a queen on top and a queen beneath), their collective points cancel out. This is good! They equal zero and won’t count toward your score.The game ends when one player has flipped all their cards face up. Once they have, everyone else gets one more turn to replace their cards or be forced to flip. NOTE: Going out first does not mean you win! Tally up your points, and voila, you’ve Golfed!Garbage (2+ players) Otherwise known as Trash, this popular and easy-to-learn card game doesn’t involve any actual trash. The goal is to be the first person with a complete sequence of Ace to 10. Every time you complete your run, your next hand will have one less card. The game continues until a player makes it completely down the line and only needs one card to win!Scoring Each numeral card scores face value (Ace =1, Two = 2, etc.) Each Jack or Queen is worthless to your sequence. (Garbage, some would say) Each King and Joker can be a stand-in for ANY card in your sequence.Each player begins with 10 cards and lays them face down, while the remainder of the deck sits in the middle, along with the discard pile. The player to the left of the dealer starts, and play continues clockwise.On your turn, you may choose either a card from the middle or from the discard pile. If you draw a card that can’t go anywhere, place the card in the discard, and your turn ends. If you draw a card that can fit, place it in the correct spot and see if the card you’re removing fits somewhere else in your sequence. (For example, I replace a facedown card with an 8. The facedown card was a 3, and I use it in my sequence. My play continues until I can’t replace anything else.)Once the first person has completed their sequence, everyone else has one turn to replace and try to finish their own. Any cards still face down must be flipped at the end of your final turn. And that’s it! Now you know how to take out the trash.