How to Play Egyptian Rat Screw

Egyptian Rat Screw is a fast, noisy card game of memory, timing, and quick hands. You need a normal deck of cards to begin, and you can find a regular deck of playing cards from Playmore. This guide uses one common beginner version; house rules can vary, so agree on your slap patterns and penalty before the first deal.

Quick facts

Players	2–6
Ages	About 8 and up
Cards	One standard 52-card deck; leave jokers out
Goal	Collect every card
Style	Turn-taking with face-card challenges and pile slapping

What you are trying to do

Your aim is to win the middle pile and eventually hold the entire deck. Most cards are played one at a time, face up, into that pile. The exciting part comes when someone plays an ace or face card—jack, queen, or king—or when the cards form a pattern that may be slapped. A successful slap lets the fastest player take the pile.

You do not need to win every turn. You only need to stay alert and take chances when the rules give you an opening. Even after your personal pile is empty, you can usually slap back into the game by winning a middle pile.

What you need

Use one shuffled, standard 52-card deck with the jokers removed. You also need a flat surface where everyone can safely reach the center. Keep hands away from the pile until a legal slap appears, and decide which hand everyone will use if you want to make close calls easier to judge.

Set it up

Choose a dealer. The dealer deals all the cards face down, one at a time, around the table until the deck is used. The piles may not be perfectly equal when the player count does not divide evenly; that is fine. Each player squares their cards into one face-down pile and must not look through it.

The player to the dealer’s left goes first. Keep your face-down pile in front of you, and turn cards over from the top so that only the new card is visible. Do not fan or rearrange your cards.

How to play

1. Play a card. The first player turns their top card face up into the center. Play moves clockwise, with each player turning over one card in turn. Number cards—2 through 10—simply continue the sequence.
2. Start a face-card challenge. If someone plays a jack, the next player has one chance to play an ace or face card. A queen gives the next player two chances, a king gives three, and an ace gives four. A chance means one card turned face up.
3. Continue or award the pile. If the challenged player plays another ace or face card, the challenge moves to the next player, using the new card’s number of chances. If they fail to play one within their allowed chances, the person who played the last ace or face card wins the entire center pile. That player places the won cards face down beneath their personal pile and starts the next round.
4. Watch for a slap. Any player may slap the center pile when one of the agreed patterns appears. The first hand clearly touching the pile wins it. For a beginner game, use these patterns: a double, such as 7 followed by 7; a sandwich, such as 4, 9, 4; top-bottom, when the newest card matches the first card of the pile; a marriage, meaning a king directly beside a queen or a queen directly beside a king; a total of 10 from nearby cards, such as 3 and 7; or a run of four ranks in order, such as 5, 6, 7, 8. For the total-of-10 pattern, count an ace as 1 and picture cards as 10 only when your group has agreed to that interpretation; the simplest first game can leave this pattern out.
5. Resolve a wrong slap. If you slap when no legal pattern is showing, add two cards from your face-down pile to the bottom of the center pile. Turn them face down, one at a time, without changing the visible top card. If you have only one card, add that one. A player without cards can still attempt a legal slap, but a wrong slap does not give them a free return.
6. Repeat the rhythm. Play keeps moving around the table. A player who has no face-down cards does not take ordinary turns, but remains eligible to slap. When that player wins a slap, they collect the pile and rejoin normal play on their next opportunity.

How you win

The winner is the player who ends up with all 52 cards. A game can look nearly finished and then change in one quick slap, so do not remove a player just because their pile is empty. If two hands land together, use a calm ruling agreed before play—for example, the hand with more fingers on top wins. If it is impossible to tell, return the cards and replay the moment rather than arguing.

For younger players, it can help to announce every legal pattern aloud during the first round. Once everyone understands the rhythm, stop announcing and let reactions do the work. Keep the cards in neat piles so the next player can turn over a card quickly without scattering the center.

Easy first-game tips

Start with only doubles, sandwiches, and marriages as slap patterns. Those are easy to see and reduce accidental slaps while new players learn. Add top-bottom and four-card runs in a later game. Before dealing, say the challenge numbers together: jack is one, queen is two, king is three, and ace is four.

Turn cards away from yourself and place them toward the center, so everyone has a fair view. Do not hover your hand over the pile; keep it back until you are ready to slap. Most importantly, play quickly but safely. A sharp tap is enough, and a clear table keeps the game fun for everyone.

Quick questions

Can I play after my cards run out?

Yes. You stay in the game as a potential slapper. Win a legal slap, and you take the center pile and return to play.

What happens if a face-card challenge fails?

The player who played the last ace or face card takes the whole center pile and begins the next round.