Canasta (Canastra) – Rules

Play Canasta (Canastra) against the computer

1. Overview

What is it about? Canasta comes from Uruguay and became a worldwide craze in the 1950s. You collect cards of the same rank and lay them out in front of you as melds. Jokers and twos help as wild cards. Seven cards of one rank form a canasta and bring big bonuses. The fight over the discard pile makes the game exciting.

2. Cards and material

• Pack: 2 × 52 cards plus 4 jokers = 108 cards.
• Wild cards: The 4 jokers and the 8 twos. They replace any natural card (except threes).
• Threes: Red threes (hearts, diamonds) are bonus cards. Black threes (clubs, spades) block the discard pile.
• Card values:

• Face up and face down: Hand cards concealed. Melds, red threes and the top discard face up. The stock face down.
• Extra material: Pen and paper for the score.
• Dealer: Shuffles, has the pack cut and deals. The deal passes clockwise.

3. Preparation and start

1. Choosing the dealer: Everyone draws a card; the highest deals.
2. Shuffling: The dealer shuffles all 108 cards.
3. Cutting: The player on the right cuts.
4. Dealing: Everyone gets 11 cards (with two: 15) one at a time clockwise.
5. Stock: The rest goes face down in the middle. The top card is turned up to start the discard pile. If it is a wild card or red three, another card goes on top and the pile is frozen.
6. Red threes: Anyone holding a red three lays it face up at once and draws a replacement from the stock.
7. Start: The player to the dealer's left begins.

Start example: Player 2 deals. Everyone gets 11 cards. Player 1 holds the 3 of hearts and lays it out at once – and draws a new card for it.

4. Goal and winning

• Hand: A player goes out by melding or discarding all their cards. Their team needs at least one canasta to do so.
• Game: The first team to reach 5000 points wins. If both teams pass 5000 in the same hand, the higher total wins.
• Tie: With exactly equal scores, play another hand.

5. Play in detail

A turn has three steps.

1. Draw: Take the top card of the stock – or take the whole discard pile (conditions below).
2. Meld (optional): Lay out new melds or add cards to your team's melds.
3. Discard: Place exactly one card face up on the discard pile.

Melds.

• A meld has at least 3 cards of equal rank, e.g. three sevens. Suits don't matter.
• Every meld needs at least 2 natural cards and at most 3 wild cards.
• There are no melds of wild cards only and no sequences (7-8-9).
• Each team may meld each rank only once; further cards are added to that meld.
• Canasta: a meld of 7 or more cards. Without a wild card = natural (red) canasta, with a wild card = mixed (black) canasta.

Initial meld. A team's first meld must reach a minimum count (card values added up):

Taking the discard pile.

• You must use the top card at once in a meld: with two matching natural cards from your hand or (if the pile is not frozen) with one natural card and a wild card, or by adding it to one of your melds.
• The pile is frozen as long as your team hasn't melded yet or a wild card lies in it. Then you may only take it with two natural cards from your hand.
• If a black three is on top, nobody may take the pile.
• Whoever takes the pile gets all its cards.

Example with Players 1 to 4. Players 1 and 4 are a team, Players 2 and 3 the other.

1. Player 3 discards the 9 of clubs. Player 1 holds two nines and a joker, but his team hasn't melded yet.
2. The team's initial meld needs 50 points. Nine + nine + nine = 30, plus joker 50 = 80. That's enough.
3. Player 1 takes the discard pile: the 9 of clubs goes with his two natural nines – allowed even on a frozen pile. Adding the joker he melds four nines (80 points).
4. Six more cards were in the pile. Player 1 takes them all into his hand and then discards a card.
5. A few turns later Player 4 adds three more nines: a mixed canasta. Now Players 1 and 4 may go out.

6. Scoring

At the end of each hand every team counts:

• Recording: One column per team; add up each hand.
• End: As soon as a team reaches 5000 points.

7. Special rules and situations

• Black threes: May only be melded when going out (3 or 4 of them, no wild cards). Discarded, they block the pile for the next player.
• Wild card discarded: Placed crosswise; the pile stays frozen until someone takes it.
• Asking before going out: A player may ask their partner “May I go out?” The answer is binding.
• Stock exhausted: The hand ends when the stock is used up and nobody must or can take the discard. Nobody gets the going-out bonus.
• Last card a red three: The player who draws it lays it out; the hand ends at once.
• One card left: A player with only one card may not take a discard pile that consists of a single card.
• Mistakes: Illegal melds are taken back; an initial meld that is too low costs 100 penalty points.
• Common mistakes: trying to go out without a canasta; putting more than 3 wild cards in a meld; forgetting that the pile is frozen.

8. Variants

Standard in this description: 4 players in teams, 11 cards, target 5000, one canasta to go out.

When playing against the computer on cardgames.zone you play with four and a partner opposite (11 cards, one canasta to go out) or with two (15 cards, two canastas to go out); target 5000 or 2500 points.

9. Tips for beginners

1. Meld early: Only once your team has melded does the discard pile become easier to take.
2. Collect pairs: Two equal natural cards in your hand are the key to the discard pile.
3. Save wild cards: Use jokers to complete a canasta.
4. Dangerous discards: Don't throw ranks your opponents are collecting.
5. Black three as a brake: When the pile is big, a black three blocks the next player.
6. Red threes: They only count plus once your team has melded.
7. Plan going out: Going out ends the hand – meld as many cards as possible first.

10. Summary in 10 steps

1. 108 cards, 4 players in two teams.
2. Everyone gets 11 cards; one card is turned up.
3. Lay out red threes at once and draw replacements.
4. Turn: draw or take the pile, meld, discard one card.
5. Melds: at least 3 of a rank, at least 2 natural cards, at most 3 wild cards.
6. The initial meld needs a minimum (50 / 90 / 120).
7. Take the pile only if the top card goes into a meld at once.
8. 7 cards = canasta (natural 500, mixed 300).
9. Go out only with at least one canasta (+100).
10. Card values and bonuses count; first to 5000 wins.

11. Frequently asked questions

May I meld a sequence like 7-8-9?

No. Canasta only has melds of equal rank.

How many wild cards may a meld have?

At most three – and there must always be more natural cards than wild cards (at least two).

When is the discard pile frozen?

As long as your team hasn't melded, and whenever a wild card is in it. Then you may only take it with two natural cards of the same rank from your hand.

Can you play Canasta with two?

Yes. Everyone gets 15 cards and needs two canastas to go out.

What is a red three worth?

100 points, all four together 800. But if your team has melded nothing, they count minus.

How long does a game take?

To 5000 points usually one to three hours.

Origin & history

Developed in 1939 in Montevideo (Uruguay) by Segundo Santos and Alberto Serrato; spread via Argentina and Brazil and triggered a mass boom in the USA in the early 1950s. Still a family classic in Germany today; played as Canastra in Brazil.