Getting Started

So you have an interest in the Hand n Foot game, but you are still a little unsure about how to begin.  After all, there are a lot of cards to be played, and with two sets of hands per player it can get a little tricky.  What hand gets played first? Who starts the play? How do you distribute the cards?

Hand n Foot is played with a total of 262 cards.  The object is to play 22 cards, with 11 cards in the Hand pile and 11 cards in the Foot pile.  You are trying to make at least 3 groups of 7 cards each, and you must play the Hand first and then the Foot.  Thus, after the cards have been shuffled each player attempts to pick exactly 22 cards from the deck.  If you are able to successfully gather that many cards on your very first try you get an extra 100 point bonus added to your score.  This, of course, is not easily done, so then you have to alter your hands until you have exactly 22 cards, either by picking more cards up from the shuffled deck or by placing some back.  Once you have a full 22 cards, you divide them into two piles of 11 cards each.  All this is done without looking at the cards.  Now you have your two sets.  To determine which is which, you may look at the bottom card of each stack.  However, you may only look at the bottom card. From this card you must chose which stack will be your Hand and which will be your Foot, keeping in mind that the Hand must be played out before you can play the Foot. Once this is done, then you take the top card off of the shuffled deck and place it face up next to it.  This will become your discard stack.  One slight catch is that the card that is showing in the discard stack must be a playable card to start with, so it can’t be a wild card, a lady, or a villain.

Now your game is all set up and you are ready to begin.  Whether you chose to play your game in partners or as a single player, you are sure to have an interesting and challenging game ahead of you.