Are you looking for a new card game that’s easy to learn but still offers a fun challenge? Look no further than Trash, also known as Garbage or Rubbish! This game is perfect for players of all ages. It’s fast-paced, strategic, and can get quite competitive. Whether you're planning a family game night or just need a quick game with friends, Trash is a great choice. Let’s dive into the rules and learn how to play!
The main goal in Trash is simple: be the first player to arrange your cards in a sequence from Ace to 10. You will start with ten cards, and through skillful drawing and discarding, you'll try to replace your face-down cards with the correct numbered cards in order. Sounds easy, right? Let’s see!
Before you can start playing, you need to set up the game properly. Here’s how:
- Deal the Cards: For each player, deal ten cards face down. Arrange these cards in two rows of five. This layout of ten cards is your "trash pile" that you need to clean up!
- Form the Stock Pile: Place the remaining cards face down in the center of the table. This becomes the stock pile, the source of new cards during the game.
- Create a Discard Pile: Leave space next to the stock pile for a discard pile. This pile will grow as players discard cards they can't use.
Now you’re all set and ready to play Trash!
Knowing the value of each card is key to playing Trash effectively. Here’s a quick guide:
- Aces: Aces are low and always count as the number 1. You need to place an Ace in the first position of your sequence.
- Numbered Cards (2-10): These cards are worth their face value. A 2 goes in the second position, a 3 in the third, and so on, up to 10 in the tenth position.
- Jacks: Jacks are special! They act as wildcards. This means a Jack can represent any number from 1 to 10. If you draw a Jack, you can place it in any position you need to complete your sequence.
- Queens and Kings: Queens and Kings are unplayable cards in Trash. If you draw a Queen or a King, you can't use it to replace any of your face-down cards. You must discard them.
Keep these card values in mind as you play. Knowing which cards to look for and how to use them is crucial for winning.
Let's walk through a typical turn in Trash. The gameplay is straightforward, making it easy to pick up quickly.
- Start Your Turn: On your turn, you must draw a card. You have two choices:
- Draw from the Stock Pile: Take the top card from the face-down stock pile.
- Draw from the Discard Pile: Take the top card from the face-up discard pile. You can only choose this option if there is at least one card in the discard pile.
- Use the Drawn Card (If Possible): After drawing a card, check if you can use it to replace one of your face-down cards.
- Matching Number: If you draw a card that matches a position in your sequence (e.g., you draw a 3 and need a 3 in the third position), you can place it face up on that position, replacing the face-down card.
- Wildcard Jack: If you draw a Jack, you can place it in any position where you are missing a card, from position 1 (Ace) to position 10 (10).
- Replace and Flip: When you place a drawn card onto a position, flip the face-down card that was there face up. This flipped card is now in play, and you can try to place it in its correct position in the same turn, if possible. This can create a chain reaction!
- Discard Unusable Cards: If you draw a card you can't use (like a Queen or King), or if you draw a card that matches a position you've already filled, you must discard it. Place the card face up on the discard pile, ending your turn.
- Continue to the Next Player: Once you have discarded or used all possible cards in your turn, the turn passes to the player to your left.
Example Turn:
Let’s say it’s your turn, and your layout looks like this (F = Face-down card, number = face-up card):
Position: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Cards: F F 2 F F 6 F 8 F F
You draw from the stock pile and get a 4.
- You can place the 4 in the fourth position, replacing the face-down card there.
- Flip over the face-down card you replaced in the fourth position. Let's say it's a 7.
- Now you have a 7, and you need a 7 in the seventh position. You can place the 7 in the seventh position, replacing that face-down card.
- Flip over the face-down card in the seventh position. Let's say it's a King.
- Kings are unplayable. You must discard the King onto the discard pile.
- Your turn ends.
Your layout now looks like this:
Position: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Cards: F F 2 4 F 6 7 8 F F
You made progress by placing the 4 and the 7! The next player takes their turn, trying to do the same.
The first player to get rid of all their face-down cards and complete their Ace to 10 sequence wins the round. Here’s exactly how it works:
- Complete Your Sequence: As you play, you will replace your face-down cards with their matching numbered cards or Jacks. The round ends the moment a player successfully fills all ten positions with cards in sequence from Ace to 10.
- Declare "Trash!": When you complete your sequence, immediately declare "Trash!" to signal that you've won the round.
- Fewer Cards in the Next Round: The winner of the round gets an advantage in the next round. In the next hand, the winner will play with one fewer card. For example, if you won the first round with 10 cards, you will only use 9 cards in the next round. Deal yourself 9 cards in two rows (e.g., 5 in the first row, 4 in the second). All other players still play with 10 cards.
- Continuing Rounds: Keep playing rounds. Each time a player wins a round, they reduce their starting number of cards by one for the next round. Other players continue to play with the same number of cards they had in the previous round.
- Winning the Game: The game continues until a player is down to playing with just one card and wins that round. To win the entire game, a player with only one card must draw either an Ace (for position 1) or a Jack (wildcard for position 1) on their turn and place it to win.
Example Game Progression:
- Round 1: Everyone starts with 10 cards. Player 1 wins.
- Round 2: Player 1 plays with 9 cards. All other players play with 10 cards. Player 3 wins.
- Round 3: Player 3 plays with 9 cards. Player 1 plays with 9 cards. All other players play with 10 cards. Player 1 wins again.
- Round 4: Player 1 plays with 8 cards. Player 3 plays with 9 cards. All other players play with 10 cards. And so on…
- Final Round: Eventually, a player will be playing with just 1 card. If they win this round, they win the entire game of Trash!
This decreasing number of cards for each round winner adds a fun dynamic to the game and makes each round progressively faster for the leading player.
Want to add a little twist to your Trash games? Here are some popular variations you can try:
Instead of arranging your cards in two rows of five, you can arrange them in a single row of ten. This is a simpler layout, especially for younger players, and it can also save table space. The rules remain the same, just the card arrangement changes.
If you want to play a quicker game, you can decide to play to a smaller number of cards. For example, instead of playing down to one card, you could play until a player wins with a layout of six cards, five cards, or even fewer. This makes for faster rounds and a shorter overall game.
Jacks aren't the only cards that can be wild! You can experiment with different wild card rules:
- Kings as Wildcards: Make Kings wild instead of Jacks. This changes the strategy slightly, as you now have different cards to aim for as wildcards.
- All Face Cards Wild: Make Jacks, Queens, and Kings all wildcards. This makes the game potentially faster and more unpredictable, as there are more wildcards in play.
If you are teaching very young children or players completely
