Slap Jack (1934)

Slap Jack is a standard deck playing card game for youngsters and adults. Even the youngest of children can join in the fun and even play by themselves.

Number of players: Two to eight, each for himself.
The Deck: Standard 52 card pack.

The Deal: Any player is able to deal first. Just shuffle and deal out cards, one at a time to each player in rotation until all have been used. The cards need not come out even. Each player squares up his hand into a neat pile in front of him without looking at the cards which are face down.

Object of the game: To win all the cards by being the first to slap each jack as it is played to the center.

The play. Each player in turn, starting from the dealer's left, is required to lift one card from the pile in front of him and place it face up in the center of the table. The players must turn up the card away from him and not toward him; he must not see it earlier than any other player. At the same time, the play should be made with a swift movement so the other players may not see the denomination of the card before he does.

If the card played to the center is a jack, the first player must slap his hand down on it, take it, and with it, all cards below it in the center of the table. The player who wins these cards must turn them face down and shuffle them with the cards in his hand still remaining on the table in front of him, in order to form a new hand.
Suppose more than one player slaps at a jack. The one whose hand is lowest (directly on top of the jack) is declared winner of the pile. If a player has no more cards left, he remains in the game until a jack is next turned, and he may then slap at the jack in an effort to get a new hand. Should he fail to win, the player is declared out of the game. The play continues until one player possesses all the cards. That player is then made the winner! NOTE: If a dealer's card is exposed, then all the cards must be shuffled before they are again placed face down. If a player slaps at any card in the center other than a Jack, he is required to give one card, face down, to the player of that card.