Canasta is a card game for four players in two partnerships, using two standard decks plus four jokers for 108 cards. Your goal is to form melds of three or more cards of the same rank, score bonus points for canastas (melds of seven cards), and be the first partnership to reach 5,000 points. This overview covers the basic rules, scoring, and key terms so you can start playing.
Setting Up and Partnerships
Classic Canasta is usually played by four people in two partnerships. Partners sit across from each other. You'll need two standard decks of cards plus four jokers, for a total of 108 cards. Choose a dealer and shuffle all cards together. Deal a few cards to each player. The remaining cards form the stock. The top card of the stock is turned face up to start the discard pile.
In Canasta, jokers and 2s are wild cards. Wild cards can stand for any rank you need when forming melds. Red threes are special: they score 100 points each and are laid down immediately when you receive them. They are not part of your hand and do not count toward melds.
Making Melds and Canastas
A meld is a set of three or more cards of the same rank. You can add wild cards to a meld, but a meld must always contain at least two natural cards of that rank. For example, you could meld three kings, or two kings plus a joker. Melds are placed face up on the table in front of you.
A canasta is a meld of exactly seven cards of the same rank. There are two types:
- Natural canasta, no wild cards, scores 500 bonus points.
- Mixed canasta, includes one or more wild cards, scores 300 bonus points.
You score these bonus points immediately when you lay down the canasta. Canastas count toward the requirement for going out (see below).
Card Values and Scoring
Every card has a point value. At the end of each round, you add up the point values of all cards in your melds. The values are:
- Jokers: 50 points each
- 2s and aces: 20 points each
- Kings through eights: 10 points each
- Sevens through fours: 5 points each
Red threes score 100 points each, but they are laid down immediately and do not go into your hand. Black threes have no point value but have a special role: they can block the discard pile. When a black three is on top of the discard pile, no one can take cards from it.
The Discard Pile and Frozen Pile
During play, each player in turn draws one card from the stock or takes the entire discard pile (unless it is blocked). When you discard a wild card (joker or 2) onto the discard pile, the pile becomes frozen. A frozen pile can only be taken by a player who already has a meld of the same rank as the wild card. For example, if the pile is frozen with a joker on top, you can only take it if you have a meld of jokers (which is unlikely), in practice, this means the pile is usually frozen for the rest of that turn. Black threes can also freeze or block the pile by being placed on top; no one may take the discard pile while a black three is on top.
Going Out and Winning the Round
A partnership needs at least one canasta (a meld of seven cards) before it is allowed to go out. Going out means playing all your remaining cards in melds and discarding your last card. You can also go out by melding all your cards without a final discard. When a partnership goes out, the round ends immediately. All other players score the point values of their melds, but the partnership that went out scores their melds plus a bonus of 100 points for going out.
If you cannot go out because you lack a canasta, you must keep playing until you either form a canasta or the stock runs out. The game is usually played to 5,000 points. The first partnership to reach or exceed that total wins.
Variants and Where to Play
Canasta originated in Uruguay in the late 1930s and became a craze in the United States in the early 1950s. Over time, many variants have developed. One popular variant is Hand and Foot, where each player gets two sets of cards: a hand and a foot. Other variants include Two-Handed Canasta, Samba, Bolivia, and Modern American Canasta.
Playing Online
If you want to practice or play with others, canasta.now lets you play Canasta online free against computer opponents, in partnership or two-player form, with a daily deal and live multiplayer. No download or sign-up is required. It also offers Hand and Foot, Samba, Bolivia, Modern American Canasta, and other variants. For more rules and tips, you can visit klondikesolitaire.info.