How to Play Screw Your Neighbor

Screw Your Neighbor is a quick, funny card game about making one good choice and hoping you are not left with the lowest card. To begin, you need a normal deck of cards; you can find a regular deck of playing cards from Playmore. This guide uses one common version of the game, although house rules can vary from one family or group to another.

Quick facts

Fact	Details
Players	3–10
Cards	One standard 52-card deck
Goal	Avoid holding the lowest card
Starting lives	Three per player
Typical length	About 15–30 minutes

What you are trying to do

Your goal is to stay in the game longer than everyone else. Each round, every player has one card. You may keep your card or try to exchange it with the player on your left. At the end of the round, everyone reveals their card. The player or players with the lowest card lose one life. A life is simply one chance to remain in the game. Lose all three lives and you are out.

Card rank means the order used to compare cards. In this game, the ace is low, then come 2 through 10, followed by jack, queen, and king as high. Suits do not matter. Therefore, an ace is the most dangerous card, while a king is the safest card.

What you need

Gather three to ten players, one standard 52-card deck, and a table or other steady playing surface. Give every player a way to track three lives, such as three marks on paper or a note in a notes app. Choose a dealer for the first round by having everyone draw one card. The player who draws the highest card deals first; if there is a tie, the tied players draw again.

Set it up

Have everyone sit in a circle so each person has a clear player on the left. The dealer shuffles the deck and deals one card face down to each player. Do not look at another player’s card. You may look at your own card when your turn begins.

Before the first round, everyone starts with three lives. Keep the unused cards in a face-down pile in the middle. This pile is called the stock, which means the cards left after dealing.

How to play

1. Start to the dealer’s left. The player immediately to the dealer’s left looks at their card. They must choose either to keep it or try to exchange it with the player on their left.
2. Make the exchange. If the next player has an ordinary card, that player must accept the exchange. The two players pass their cards, and the exchange cannot be undone. You do not get to peek at the other card before deciding.
3. Stop at a king. If the player whose card you want to exchange has a king, that player turns the king face up and refuses the exchange. The player who tried to exchange keeps their original card. A face-up king remains protected for the rest of that round.
4. Continue clockwise. Play moves around the circle, with each person taking a turn. The player who comes immediately after a protected king cannot exchange with that king, so they must keep their own card.
5. Let the dealer finish. The dealer acts last. The dealer may keep the card they were dealt or draw the top card from the stock. If the dealer draws a king, the dealer must keep the original card instead, so the drawn king returns to the stock or is set aside according to the group’s agreed procedure. For a simple first game, return it to the bottom of the stock.
6. Reveal together. Once the dealer has made a choice, everyone turns their card face up. Compare ranks, ignoring suits.
7. Remove a life. The player with the lowest card marks off one life. If two or more players tie for the lowest rank, all of those tied players lose one life. This tie rule is a common version, so agree on it before the game begins.
8. Deal again. Collect all cards, shuffle them, and pass the dealer position clockwise to the next player. Only players who still have at least one life take part in the next round.

How you win

A player who loses their last life is eliminated and stops receiving cards. Keep playing rounds until only one player remains. That final player is the winner. If the only remaining players tie for the lowest card and would all lose their last life, they keep those last lives and play another round together without losing a life; the highest card in that extra round wins. Groups may choose a different tie solution, but deciding before it happens keeps the ending friendly.

Easy first-game tips

Remember the basic ranking: ace is low and king is high. When your turn comes, a low card is usually worth exchanging because the next player might hold something better. However, an exchange is not guaranteed to help. If you hold a queen, jack, or 10, keeping it may be sensible, especially if the player on your left seems likely to have a low card.

Pay attention to revealed kings. Once a king is face up, it acts like a shield, and the player before it cannot take it. Also notice which players are down to one life. They may make bolder choices because one more low card could eliminate them. Most importantly, make decisions quickly and keep the mood light: the fun comes from the suspense of not knowing what card is moving around the circle.

Quick questions

Is an ace higher than a king?

No. In Screw Your Neighbor, the ace is the lowest card and the king is the highest.

Can I exchange with a player who has a king?

No. That player reveals the king and keeps it, so you keep the card you already hold.