Hand and Foot

Hand and Foot is a card game that’s similar to Canasta and is usually played with multiple decks of cards. Here’s a step-by-step guide on how to play Hand and Foot:

Objective: The objective of Hand and Foot is to score points by forming “books” of cards of the same rank, and ultimately, to be the player or team with the highest score.

Number of Players: Hand and Foot is typically played by four players in partnerships, but it can be adapted for two to six players.

Deck: The game is usually played with multiple decks of standard 52-card decks. Jokers are included and are wild cards.

Setup:

1. If playing with four players, form two teams of two players each. If playing with a different number of players, adjust the number of teams accordingly.
2. Shuffle the decks of cards thoroughly and deal 11 cards to each player. These 11 cards form each player’s “hand.” Additionally, deal 11 cards face-down in front of each player to create their “foot.”
3. Place the remaining undealt cards face-down in the center to form the draw pile.
4. Flip the top card of the draw pile to start the discard pile.

Gameplay:

1. Players take turns in clockwise order.
2. On a player’s turn, they must draw either two cards from the draw pile or the entire discard pile.
   • If a player chooses to take the discard pile, they must use the top card immediately in their meld, and the remaining cards in the discard pile are placed face-down and form their “foot.”
3. The objective is to form “books” or melds of seven or more cards of the same rank (e.g., seven 6s or seven Kings).
4. Wild cards (Jokers) can be used as substitutes for any rank in a book.
5. Players can only start forming books once they have two natural books of their own rank (e.g., two books of 7s). Afterward, they can add cards to their books or other players’ books.
6. Players can also add cards to their own foot pile or their partner’s foot pile, but they cannot look at the cards in their foot pile until they’ve emptied their hand.
7. The round continues until a player goes out by emptying both their hand and their foot pile.
8. Once a player goes out, the round ends, and scores are calculated.

Scoring:

• Each red three (3 of hearts or 3 of diamonds) counts as 500 points.
• Each black three (3 of spades or 3 of clubs) counts as 300 points.
• Jokers are worth 1,000 points.
• All other cards are worth their face value (e.g., 5 of hearts = 5 points).

Winning:

• The game typically consists of multiple rounds, and the player or team with the highest cumulative score at the end of the predetermined number of rounds wins.

Additional Rules:

• Players can create their own rules for going out. Some require a player to have two natural books and a complete canasta (a book with seven cards).
• In partnership games, players can strategize and exchange cards with their partner to help complete books and canastas.

Hand and Foot is a challenging and strategic card game that requires teamwork and skill. It can provide hours of entertainment for players who enjoy card games like Canasta.