How to Play Kemps

Kemps is a fast, funny team game about collecting four cards of the same rank and quietly telling your partner when you have them. You need a normal deck of cards to play; if you need one, you can find a regular deck of playing cards from Playmore. This guide uses one common version of Kemps, although house rules can vary.

Quick facts

Players	4–8 players, in teams of two
Cards	One standard 52-card deck
Goal	Make four of a kind and get your partner to call “Kemps!”
Style	Real-time card swapping with secret signals
Typical game end	A team receives five penalty letters and spells K-E-M-P-S

What you are trying to do

Your team is trying to collect four cards with the same rank. A rank is the value or name of a card, such as 7, Jack, or Ace. The suits do not matter, so the four 9s make four of a kind even though they are hearts, diamonds, clubs, and spades.

When you have four of a kind, use a secret, silent signal that your teammate already knows. Your partner watches for that signal and calls “Kemps!” The team can also try to stop an opponent by calling “Stop Kemps!” when it thinks that opponent has four of a kind. The challenge is to notice signals without making your own obvious.

What you need

You need four, six, or eight people, because every player must belong to a two-person team. Use one normal 52-card deck. You also need a table with enough room for four face-up cards in the center, plus paper and a pencil or a notes app to record penalty letters.

For a first game, choose one person to deal each hand. Partners should sit across from each other rather than side by side. With four players there are two teams; with six players there are three teams; with eight players there are four teams.

Set it up

First, decide the teams. Each pair should privately agree on a signal that means only, “I have four of a kind.” It must be silent: a small hand movement, a wink, touching your ear, or another repeatable gesture works well. Do not use spoken clues, coded comments, or signals that mean something else during the game.

Shuffle the deck. Deal four cards face down to each player. Everyone may look at their own hand, but nobody may hold more than four cards. Then place four cards face up in a row in the middle of the table. Keep the rest of the deck nearby as the draw pile for replacing the center cards.

How to play

1. Start together. Once everyone is ready, someone says “Go.” Kemps has no normal turn order. All players may act at the same time, so keep your eyes on your hand, the center cards, and the other players.
2. Swap cards quickly. If you want a face-up center card, discard one card from your hand face up and take the center card. You must still have exactly four cards. You may make another swap whenever you see a useful card. In the common version, you can take more than one center card at once only if you immediately discard the same number of cards, leaving four in your hand.
3. Touch first if there is a race. If two players reach for the same card, the first person to touch it gets it. Be careful with hands and keep the game friendly; a card is not worth a collision.
4. Refresh a stale center. If nobody wants any of the four face-up cards, the dealer sweeps those cards aside and puts four new cards face up from the deck. Players then resume swapping. The dealer may repeat this whenever the whole group is stuck.
5. Watch for a signal. If you collect four of a kind, do not announce it. Use your agreed signal and keep playing normally. Your partner should watch you without staring. Opponents may notice the signal, too, so make it natural.
6. Call “Kemps!” When your partner thinks you have four of a kind, they call “Kemps!” The hand stops immediately. You reveal your cards. If you truly have four of a kind, your team succeeds. If not, the call was wrong.
7. Call “Stop Kemps!” If you believe an opponent has four of a kind, call “Stop Kemps!” before that opponent’s partner calls Kemps. The suspected player reveals their hand. If they have four of a kind, your challenge succeeds; if they do not, your team receives the penalty.
8. Deal again. After the call is checked and the penalty is recorded, collect and reshuffle the cards. Choose the next dealer, deal four cards to each player, and place four new center cards.

How you win

Use the traditional penalty-letter scoring: when a team makes an incorrect “Kemps!” call, or an incorrect “Stop Kemps!” call, that team receives the next letter in K-E-M-P-S. When a player really has four of a kind and the opposing team correctly stops them, the team that was stopped receives the next letter instead. A successful partner call causes the other teams to receive a letter, while the successful team avoids one.

After each penalty, write the letters beside the team’s name. The first team to collect all five letters, spelling K-E-M-P-S, loses. The other teams win. If the deck runs out during a hand and nobody has made a correct call, you can treat it as a no-penalty hand and start again.

Easy first-game tips

Choose a signal that is small but easy for your partner to recognize. Try not to repeat it until you have four of a kind, because a repeated gesture can give the other teams information. At the same time, do not make your signal so tiny that your partner can never see it.

Keep only cards that help one possible four-of-a-kind set. For example, if you hold two Queens, look for more Queens rather than collecting cards of several unrelated ranks. Watch the center, but also glance at opponents who suddenly stop swapping or begin acting unusually. Finally, agree before starting whether your group will use the words “Kemps” and “Stop Kemps” exactly as written, and remember that a friendly game matters more than a dramatic grab.

Quick questions

Can I use words as my secret signal?

No. In this beginner version, the signal is silent and should mean only that you have four of a kind.

Do partners sit next to each other?

No. Partners usually sit across from each other so they can watch one another while the opposing team sits between them.