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Egyptian Ratscrew
Egyptian Ratscrew (sometimes abbreviated to ERS, and also known as Egyptian War, Bloodystump, Ratslap or Slap) is a modern American card game in the matching family, popular among children. It resembles the 19th-century British card game Beggar-my-neighbour, but includes the additional element of "slapping" certain card combinations when they are played. This slapping concept may have been borrowed from the game Slapjack.
The game is played with a standard 52-card deck, or with multiple standard decks shuffled together for larger groups. The number of players is limited only by each participant's ability to reach the central pile. Cards are dealt as evenly as possible, and Jokers may be introduced for variations in gameplay or to ensure an even deal.
Players are prohibited from viewing their cards, even when playing from their hand. The player to the dealer's left begins by placing a card face-up from the top of their deck, starting the central discard pile. When playing, cards must be flipped away from the player, revealing the card to all participants at the same time. Penalties may be incurred if a player reveals a card toward themselves first.
Joker can also reverse the order.
Play proceeds around the circle, with each player laying down a card onto the central pile, one at a time. This continues until a face card or Ace is played, designating that player as the "challenger". The next player, the "challenged", is given a set number of chances to play a face card or Ace to continue the challenge: four chances for an Ace, three for a King, two for a Queen, and one for a Jack. In some variations, the order of chances is reversed for Kings and Jacks. The challenged player must play one card at a time, either placing another face card or exhausting their allowed chances. If they succeed, the next player must respond; if not, the challenger who played the original face card wins the pile. The player who wins a pile begins the next round. Piles are added to the winner's deck, face-down and unshuffled. Victory is achieved by the player who collects all the cards in play.
In addition to the basic progression of play, players should agree beforehand on specific card combinations that, when played, entitle whoever slaps the pile first to claim it. The simplest and most common combination is the Double (two cards of equal rank). Other common combinations include:
Additionally, slaps can be added for other types of conditions, such as suit/colour (the same three/four times in a row, respectively), or for being the same as the initial card (e.g. a 3 at any time when if first card played was a three; to make this less common, a suit/colour can also be specified, e.g. a red three if the first three played was red). Another condition that can be added is when meeting a challenge if the number of the card played (e.g. the second card played) matches the card's value (in this case, a two), then this is slappable. For even more confusion, jokers can be differentiated, e.g. the red joker is an instant slap but the black joker challenges with 13 chances.
For a legitimate slap, the player to react the fastest and slap the pile first claims the pile. If multiple players slap simultaneously with no discernible victor, then the player whose hand is under all of the others or has the most contact with the cards by comparison takes the pile.
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Egyptian Ratscrew
Egyptian Ratscrew (sometimes abbreviated to ERS, and also known as Egyptian War, Bloodystump, Ratslap or Slap) is a modern American card game in the matching family, popular among children. It resembles the 19th-century British card game Beggar-my-neighbour, but includes the additional element of "slapping" certain card combinations when they are played. This slapping concept may have been borrowed from the game Slapjack.
The game is played with a standard 52-card deck, or with multiple standard decks shuffled together for larger groups. The number of players is limited only by each participant's ability to reach the central pile. Cards are dealt as evenly as possible, and Jokers may be introduced for variations in gameplay or to ensure an even deal.
Players are prohibited from viewing their cards, even when playing from their hand. The player to the dealer's left begins by placing a card face-up from the top of their deck, starting the central discard pile. When playing, cards must be flipped away from the player, revealing the card to all participants at the same time. Penalties may be incurred if a player reveals a card toward themselves first.
Joker can also reverse the order.
Play proceeds around the circle, with each player laying down a card onto the central pile, one at a time. This continues until a face card or Ace is played, designating that player as the "challenger". The next player, the "challenged", is given a set number of chances to play a face card or Ace to continue the challenge: four chances for an Ace, three for a King, two for a Queen, and one for a Jack. In some variations, the order of chances is reversed for Kings and Jacks. The challenged player must play one card at a time, either placing another face card or exhausting their allowed chances. If they succeed, the next player must respond; if not, the challenger who played the original face card wins the pile. The player who wins a pile begins the next round. Piles are added to the winner's deck, face-down and unshuffled. Victory is achieved by the player who collects all the cards in play.
In addition to the basic progression of play, players should agree beforehand on specific card combinations that, when played, entitle whoever slaps the pile first to claim it. The simplest and most common combination is the Double (two cards of equal rank). Other common combinations include:
Additionally, slaps can be added for other types of conditions, such as suit/colour (the same three/four times in a row, respectively), or for being the same as the initial card (e.g. a 3 at any time when if first card played was a three; to make this less common, a suit/colour can also be specified, e.g. a red three if the first three played was red). Another condition that can be added is when meeting a challenge if the number of the card played (e.g. the second card played) matches the card's value (in this case, a two), then this is slappable. For even more confusion, jokers can be differentiated, e.g. the red joker is an instant slap but the black joker challenges with 13 chances.
For a legitimate slap, the player to react the fastest and slap the pile first claims the pile. If multiple players slap simultaneously with no discernible victor, then the player whose hand is under all of the others or has the most contact with the cards by comparison takes the pile.
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