The goal
With your partner, meld cards of the same rank, grow them into canastas of seven, and go out. First team to 5,000 wins.
Setup
Four players in two partnerships, partners opposite. Two decks plus four jokers: 108 cards.
The deal
Deal 11 cards each. The rest is the stock; turn its top card up to start the discard pile (turn more if it is wild or a red three). Red threes go face up in front of you (a dealt one on your first turn) and are replaced from the stock.
A turn
- Draw the top card of the stock, or take the whole discard pile by melding its top card straight away.
- Meld if you want: three or more cards of the same rank, at least two natural and at most three wild. You can add to your team’s melds.
- Discard one card face up to end your turn.
Special cards
- 2s and jokers are wild. Red threes are bonus cards: 100 each, 800 for all four.
- A black three on the pile blocks the next player. A wild card in the pile freezes it: take it only with two natural cards matching the top card.
- Your team’s first meld must count 50 or more (15 below zero, 90 from 1,500, 120 from 3,000).
- You may only go out once your team has at least one canasta.
Scoring
- Natural canasta 500, mixed canasta 300, going out 100.
- Card values: joker 50, ace and 2: 20, king to 8: 10, 7 to 4 and black 3: 5.
- Add your melded cards, subtract the cards left in both partners’ hands.
- Red threes count minus if your team has not melded.
Winning
The first team to reach 5,000 points wins.
House rules
- Two-player Canasta. Deal 15 cards each. When you draw from the stock, take two cards but discard only one. You need two canastas to go out.
- Three-player Canasta. Deal 13 cards each. Draw two from the stock and discard one. The first player to take the discard pile plays alone; the other two become partners against them.
- Going out concealed. Meld your whole hand in one turn, including a complete canasta, without having melded before. Going out then scores 200 instead of 100.
