Seven

The game Seven is also called Fan Tan, Parliament, or Dominoes, depending on the person you ask. Whatever name they call it, the aim is to first get rid of all your cards so you can win.

All that is required are a deck of cards, friends to play with, and the ability to arrange cards in sequential order.

The Game Setup

• Deal out a whole deck of cards

Choose someone as the dealer and let him/her deal out a deck of 52 game cards. Lay the cards face down while dealing them to each player in a clockwise direction, one at a time. The seven cards game can be played by three to eight people.

• Arrange your hands in a suit and numerical order

Organizing the hand dealt to you helps you keep focused. You should start by arranging the cards first by suit, then in numerical order. It is ideal to begin with any twos on the distant left, then run them up to the ace on the distant right.

How to play the Seven

1. Apply Seven of Diamonds When Starting Each Round

Anyone with the seven of diamonds will place it on the table. If a player plays a seven of any suit, a “layout” begins. To form a layout, cards are laid down one after the other, next to the seven in sequential order. Your total layouts will be four, one for each suit.

During gameplay, a suit layout can only be started on the table when a player plays a seven. In certain variations of this game, someone to the dealer’s left is picked to go first, not minding the holder of the seven of diamonds.

2. Arrange the Layouts on the Table

Layouts are organized horizontally on the table. Putting suits sideways one above the other helps create a 4×13 cards grid. Better still, you can start to stack another sequence of a suit above the 6 and 8 cards to conserve space. The game will look like the solitaire setup if cards are laid vertically within their suits.

3. Take Your Turn to Put One Card Down at a Time

Each player places down a card in their turn but must be next to the one already played on the table. For instance, you either play the six or the eight card in a suit immediately after a seven is played.

Moving in the seven order means the following cards to be played are the ones descending to the two cards of that suit. This starts on the left side of the seven, and on the right side, card values rise to the ace.

For example, you won’t be able to play the jack of hearts in your hand if someone plays the ten of hearts on the table. Also, only cards that belong to the same suit can be placed together. Meaning, you can only play a six of hearts (not a six of spades) next to a seven of hearts on the table.

4. “Knock” When You Have No Cards to Play

A unique way of saying you’re passing on your turn is to knock the table. Or you can instead say “pass” when you have no playable cards.

For example, a knock occurs if only fives exist through nines on the table, and you only have twos and face cards. However, when you have a playable card, it is against the rule to pass when it’s your turn.

Winning

Continue to play around the table with the players putting one card down at a time. But when anyone plays his/her last card, that person becomes the winner of the round.

However, if you are playing just one round, then they come out as the winner. Collect all the 52 cards and start a new game.

The game rules

The following rules apply if a player starts playing with a 7:

• If you have a 7, you can place it above or below the other 7 in another suit
• You are allowed to build up or down on the 7 if you have a 6 or an 8 in a related suit. You can place it to the right or left of the 7
• If you have no move to make, place a chip in the pot and pass
• If you have cards to make a move but decide to pass, you must put three chips in the pot. A player who chooses to pass when he/she has a seven will be penalized. An extra five chips must be paid to the player with a six or an eight of the same suit

Winning Techniques

If you have an extra 7, try not to play the 7 in the suit where you have many cards. Nevertheless, the 7s will be useful if you have difficult cards in the end, such as 2s, queens, aces, or kings.