Pig Card Game

Pig is a very simple and enjoyable game that can be played by a large number of players. Up to 13 players can play using a standard deck of 52 cards. If there are more than 13 players a second deck can be used, accommodating up to 26 players.

The Object
Be the first player to hold a set of four cards of the same rank.

What You'll Need
A set of four matching cards per player. If playing with less than 13 players divide the deck and only use enough matching sets for the amount of players.

Setting up the Game
Shuffle the cards. Players sit in a circle facing each other and are each dealt 4 cards.

Playing the Game
Players take one card from the four they were dealt and passes it the player to their left. They then receive a card passed from the player on their right. All players simultaneously pass a single unwanted card face down to their left, and then take the card that the player to their right passed to them. This continues until someone collects four of a kind.

Winning The Game
When a player collects four of a kind they say nothing. Instead they quietly touch the end of their nose with their index finger and stay in that position. Once a player touches his or her nose, all the other players may do the same, even if they themselves do not have four of a kind.

The last player to touch his or her nose is out. It's fun to see how many players are so busy looking at that cards that they don't even notice what everyone else is doing.

Many people play using the rule that the loser now drops out of the game, and the next deal is played with one fewer player - of course four cards of one rank must be removed from the deck each time a player drops out. When there are only two players left, they are the joint winners.

There are many variations to this game played around the world. One of the more popular is called Spoons. The rules and instructions can be found here.

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