Egyptian Rat Screw

Learn Egyptian Rat Screw in five steps

1. You and Mina each start with 26 face-down cards. Nobody can see their next card.
2. Take turns flipping one card into the middle. Use Flip Card on your turn.
3. A jack gives the opponent 1 chance to flip another face card or ace. A queen gives 2, a king 3 and an ace 4. A new face card sends a fresh challenge back.
4. If the opponent runs out of chances or cards without answering, the last face-card player collects the middle pile and leads again.
5. Slap a double or sandwich before Mina to take the pile, even during a challenge. Win by owning all 52 cards.

Two patterns at this table

Double: the top two cards have the same rank, such as 5, 5. Sandwich: the top and third card match with a different rank between, such as 5, 7, 5. Suits do not matter. The three visible positions show Earlier, Previous and Top card.

We use these two patterns only, with no jokers, marriages, top-bottom matches or sums of ten. Other groups add those as house rules. A valid slap takes priority over collecting a face-card challenge.

Choose a comfortable pace

Before the first flip, choose Relaxed, Standard or Quick for Mina. Her reaction delay is 1.4 to 2 seconds on Relaxed, 0.75 to 1.2 seconds on Standard and 0.4 to 0.7 seconds on Quick. She does not inspect unrevealed cards. Pattern help identifies doubles and sandwiches; turn it off for a recognition challenge.

Wrong slaps and comebacks

A wrong slap puts two of your cards, or all you have if fewer, face down beneath the pile. Those penalty cards do not form visible patterns. You cannot slap again until another card is flipped. If you run out of cards, you may still win a pile with a correct slap. An incorrect slap while holding no cards eliminates you.

A player with no cards is skipped during ordinary flips. Running out while answering a face-card challenge loses that challenge. The game ends only when one player owns all 52 cards.

Controls and saving

Flip Card and Slap Pile stay in the same place. On a keyboard, Tab and Enter operate the buttons; F flips and S slaps when focus is not on another control. Sound is optional. Hidden tabs and restart dialogs pause the game and preserve the remaining computer reaction time. Progress saves after accepted moves. Complete matches while signed in to record your results.

Beginner strategy

Look at ranks, not suits. Remember the card before the latest flip so you can recognize a sandwich. Resist slapping every face card: a face card starts a challenge, but is not a slap pattern by itself.

More quick card games

Try Trash, Crazy Eights or Sevens.