Hand and Foot Rules, the Boyd/Pooley version

Objective

Have the highest points total at the end of the game. A full-length game has four rounds.

Card Values

Ace and Two = 20 points each

Black Three = 100 points each

Red Three = 300 points each

Four to Nine = 5 points each

Ten to King = 10 points each

Joker = 50 points each

Wild Cards

Twos and Jokers are wild

Books

A completed book is a stack of 7 cards of the same denomination, regardless of suit. Red books and books of threes cannot contain any wildcards, and black books must contain at least one wildcard. A black book can contain a second wildcard, but must have a minimum of two regular cards for each wildcard at all times. Additional regular cards may be added to completed books, but no wildcards may be added to any completed book. Incomplete books (books with less than 7 cards) are not worth anything. Completed books have the following values:

Black Books = 300 points each

Red Books = 500 points each

Book of Threes = 1000 points each

Rounds

A full-length game has four rounds. Each round is identical except for the minimum card values required to lay down, which are as follows:

1st round = 50 point minimum

2nd round = 90 point minimum

3rd round = 120 point minimum

4th round = 150 point minimum

Setup: Each round is played with a number of decks that is one greater than the number of players. The decks, including any jokers, are shuffled together thoroughly and placed in a single stack, which is called the Pool. A starting player is selected by any method. In subsequent rounds the starting player will be the one immediately to the left of the starting player from the previous round.

Dealing: Beginning with the starting player and continuing around the table in a clockwise manner, each player attempts to draw exactly 22 cards from the top of the stack. Any player successfully drawing exactly 22 cards is awarded 100 points. After counting the number of cards, each player should return excess cards or draw additional cards to end up with 22. Without looking at any of the cards, players separate their cards into two stacks of 11 cards each. One of these stacks is the player's Foot, and is set aside for the moment without being looked at. The other stack is the player's Hand, and can be looked at immediately.

Play: Play proceeds in turns, beginning with the starting player and continuing around the table in a clockwise manner. Turns are described in their own section below. Discarded cards are placed face-up in a single stack next to the Pool. This stack is called the Discard. The Discard should be arranged so that only the top card is visible. Looking through the Discard to see what is beneath the top card is not allowed. If the Pool is depleted, cards should be taken from the bottom of the Discard, shuffled, and used to replenish the Pool. Play ends when one of the players has played through his Hand and Foot, has completed the minimum book requirement, and has discarded his final card (See Going Out, below).

Counting: Once play is complete, book and card values are totaled and reported to the scorekeeper. Book points are awarded for completed books only. Card points are awarded for all cards that were played, including those in completed books, with the exception of threes. Card points are subtracted for all cards remaining in a player's Hand and/or Foot, including threes. The scorekeeper totals each player's points from the round, adds them to the total of any previous rounds, and announces the new scores.

Turns

A player begins a turn by drawing two cards from the Pool, and ends it by placing one card into the Discard. Neither of these actions are optional, though the player may opt to draw cards from the Discard instead of the Pool in certain circumstances, described below. The player must have at least one unplayed card remaining after discarding. The only time players are allowed to discard or play their final card is to go into their Foot or to end the game.

Playing Cards: Cards are played face-up in front of the player, arranged in books. Red and black books must be started with a minimum of 3 cards each. In black books, one of those cards may be a wildcard. Books of threes cannot be played until they are complete (7 cards), so they represent a high number of negative points until completed. Players can change their minds about whether and how to play cards during a turn, but, once played, cards cannot be picked up or rearranged on subsequent turns.

Laying Down: To begin playing cards, the player must lay down the minimum card value for the current round in a single turn. Book values do not toward this minimum, even if completed books are laid down. Just as when counted at the end of the round, threes have no individual card values when played as a book.

Drawing from the Discard: The player can choose to draw 5 cards from the Discard at the beginning of the turn instead of 2 cards from the Pool. To do this, the player must have already laid down in the current round, and must lay down a new book using only unplayed cards and the top card from the Discard. The player should draw the top card from the Discard, play it, and then draw 4 additional cards from the Discard. This means that the player must have at least two unplayed cards that match the top card in the Discard (to start a red book), or one matching unplayed card and one wildcard (to start a black book). Drawing from the Discard is not allowed when the top card is a three or a wildcard. Books of threes must be formed by drawing threes from the Pool in regular play or from excess cards gained in a Discard draw for another book.

Going into the Foot: The player moves into the Foot by playing or discarding the final card of the Hand. If the final card from the Hand is played, the player can move into the Foot as a continuation of the same turn, using one of the cards from the Foot to discard at the end of the turn. If the final card from the Hand is discarded, the player must wait until the next turn before playing any cards from the Foot.

Going Out: The player goes out upon playing or discarding the final card of the Foot. Going out is only allowed after the player has completed 2 red books and 3 black books. The player does not have to go out simply because it is possible. Upon going out, the player receives a 100 point bonus and the round is over.