The goal
Claims is played by 2 to 7 players with a standard 52-card deck and no printed jokers. Every round each player gets 5 cards. Each turn you get rid of some cards and pick one up, trying to bring your total down. Points you are left with add up over the rounds, and the lowest total at the end of the match wins.
Card values
| Card | Points |
|---|---|
| Ace | 1 |
| 2 to 10 | Face value |
| Jack | 12 |
| Queen | 13 |
| King | 14 |
| Any card of the joker rank | 0 |
There is no card worth 11. After the deal one card is turned face up, and every card of its rank is worth 0 for that round. The joker card itself stays out of play, and it changes every round.
How a turn works
- Burn: put one card on the pile, or several of the same rank at once, like three Kings. Cards of different ranks never go together, and there are no runs.
- Draw: take one card, blind from the deck or the card the previous player just burned. You can never take back the card you burned yourself.
- Claim: from your second turn of a round, with a total of 10 or less, you can claim instead of playing. Everyone shows their hand.
Claiming
From your second turn of a round, you can claim at the start of your turn, before burning, when your hand total is 10 or less. Nobody can claim on their first turn. Claiming replaces your turn and ends the round at once: every hand is revealed.
If no other player is at or below your total, the claim succeeds: you add 0 and everyone else adds their hand. If anyone is at or below you, the claim fails: you add 50 for each of them instead of your hand, and they add their hand as usual. A tie counts against the claimer.
The match
After every round, each player adds their points to a running total. A Classic match plays to 300 and a Short match to 150. Hit the target exactly and your total goes back to 0. When anyone goes over the target, the match ends and the lowest total wins; ties for lowest share the win.
Good to know
- Turn timer: 20 seconds a turn by default. If time runs out, a random card of yours is burned and you draw from the deck.
- First turn: nothing is on the pile yet, so your draw comes from the deck.
- Deck runs out: the pile, minus its top card, is shuffled into a new deck, up to 3 times. After that the round ends and the lowest hand adds nothing.
- Between rounds: everyone sees the hands and standings and taps ready. The next round starts when all are ready, or after a minute.