A Basic Outline of Hand 'n Foot

The Hand 'n Foot game is made up of 262 cards and is played much the same way you would play rummy or canasta. This is a truly family friendly game that can be played by almost any age. Here is a very basic and condensed version of the essentials of game play.

There is a twist on the face cards, instead of Kings, Queens and Jacks there are Lords, Ladies, Jokers, Jesters and Villains. You can play in teams with partners and two - six people can play at a time. Each player takes a total of 22 cards, 11 are for the "hand" and 11 for the "foot". The foot can not be played until the hand has been played, although the hand play strategy can be based on what one thinks may be in the foot.

The object of the game is to create three groups or more of seven cards each. Players with the highest scores after 4 rounds win. The game can take anywhere from one to three hours and is recommended for ages ten to adult and it is also preferable to have at least four players.

Game play: each player attempts to draw exactly 22 cards from the deck, if successful, add 100 points to their score. If a player is not successful, they adjust the amount of cards they have, ending with the two piles of 11. Players may only look at the bottom card in each pile in order to decide which to play first and the pile chosen becomes the "hand".

Card values are as follows; Joker-50 points, Jester-25 points, Lord-20 points, Suit cards 7-12 are worth 10 points, 1 through 6 are worth 5 points and the Villain is worth 0. The Lady has special points requirements.