Fan Tan

This game and its variants might also be known as Sevens, Stops, or Parliament.

Objective: Be the first player to get rid of all your cards. Take the pot!

Setup: For 3-6 players with 1 standard deck. Randomly select a dealer to deal out all the cards to players. Since the amount of cards may not be even, players with 1 fewer card than others should add a chip to the pot.

Betting: Ante up! If you are in the round, you owe 1 chip to the pot before play begins. Any time you cannot play on your turn, add another 1 chip to the pot.

Play: Starting with the player left of the dealer, and continuing clockwise, play one card. If you cannot, add a chip to the pot instead. If you can play, you must play. You may start a suit with a seven, or you may build off an existing 7 or the same suit in sequential order up or down. If you run out of chips, you must finish playing cards in the current round but you cannot win.

Example: In the game below, Player 4 has won the pot by being the first to get rid of all his cards.

“Sevens” Variant Scoring: Instead of using chips to bet, simply count your remaining cards at the end of each round. These “points” are your score for the round. Keep a running total of all players’ points. When a player reaches 100 points, the game is over, and the winner is the player with the fewest points.

“Parliament” Drinking Game: Every time you would add a chip to the pot, take a drink!

Two Players: Deal 8 cards to a discard pile before dealing the remaining cards all out to both players. Use 15 chips in a betting variant.