How to play
Sevens is played by four players with an ordinary 52-card deck: you, Grandma, Grandpa and Cousin each get 13 cards. In Finland the game is called Ristiseiska, “the seven of clubs”, after the card that starts it: whoever has the seven of clubs plays it on the table, and play goes clockwise.
Once the seven of clubs is down, the other sevens can be played at any time. Next to each seven go cards of the same suit, in order: down 6, 5, 4 and so on to the ace, and up 8, 9, 10 and so on to the king. The cards you can play rise up in your hand.
- If you can play, you must.
- Whoever plays an ace or a king gets to play one more card right away.
- If you can’t play, you ask the previous player, Cousin on your right, for a card. The giver chooses which card to give. When Grandma can’t play, she asks you, and you choose the card to give her.
A round ends when someone gets rid of all their cards, even if the last one goes by giving it away. The game is saved after every move, so you can carry on later where you left off.
Scoring
A game lasts five rounds. Each round you score 13 points minus the number of cards left in your hand, and the winner of the round gets 10 points more. Whoever has the most points wins the game, and your points count toward your best score. Grandma, Grandpa and Cousin play a little more cleverly round by round.
Tips
- Hold back sevens and cards that would only open a long row for the others. Play them once you have cards of your own behind them.
- First play the cards that open the way for your own cards in the same suit.
- When you give a card away, give one that is far from being playable. The player who gets it will have to wait a long time to play it.
- If you can’t work out the best card, you can buy a hint with a token, and it shows you.
