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HOW TO PLAY THE CARD GAME FAN-FAN

Number of Players: 3 to 8.

The Deal: One at a time until all the cards have been dealt. It doesn't matter if some players get more cards than others.

Object: To get rid of all of your cards.

The Play: Each player in turn, beginning with the player at the dealer's left, must play a card if possible. If he cannot play a card, he must put a counter into the middle of the table. (All players should be given the same number of counters to begin a game.)

The possible plays are: Any 7; or any card in the same suit and in sequence with a card previously played.

For example, suppose that the player at the dealer's left put the 7 of spades down on the table. The next player may put down a new 7 or may play the 8 of spades so that it covers half of the 7 of spades. The second player, instead, may play the 6 of spades so that it just half covers the 7 of spades. If the 8 of spades has been played, the next player has the right to put down the 9 of spades. Once the 9 of spades has been played, the next player has the right to put down the 10 of spades.

This process continues. At any turn, a player may put down a new 7 or may continue a sequence that builds up from a 7 to a King or down from a 7 to an Ace. The King is the highest card that may be played on a sequence and the Ace is the lowest card that may be played on a sequence.

The play continues until somebody gets rid of all of his cards. That player then collects all the counters in the middle of the table. In addition, each loser pays out one counter for each card left in his hand.

Skillful Play: It is usually easy to get rid of cards of middle size, such as 8's, 9's, 6's or 5's. It is usually hard to get rid of very low or very high cards, such as Aces, deuces, or Queens or Kings.

The way to play skillfully is to force the other players to build up to your high cards or down to your low cards. You can't always do this, but you can try.

If you have the 8 of spades, nobody can play the 9 of spades or any higher spade until you have first put down your 8. If a player who has high spades finds no chance to play them, he must play something else at his turn. This other play may be just what you need to reach your own very low cards or your own very high cards.

This shows you the general strategy. You play as much as possible in the suits that will lead to your very high cards or to your very low cards. You wait as long as possible before playing in the suits in which you have only middle-size cards. If you have just a little luck, you will get rid of your very high cards and your very low cards fairly early. You will then be able to get rid of your middle-size cards in the last suit, catching the other players while they still have the very high cards and the very low cards in that suit.

Related terms include speed the card game and fun card games.