Shanghai

When I was a kid we used to play a card game with 3 decks of cards all shuffled together.

It was called Shanghai, and it was so much fun!  It was sort of an expanded, complicated version of rummy.

Anyways, I mentioned it to my mom recently, and she was kind enough to copy the rules for me, but the paper onto which she put them is at risk for getting lost.  So, I thought I would post the rules she gave me here.

This will ensure that they don't get lost.

Also, you might like to play this game, too!

So here goes nothing:


The Rules of Shanghai (According to My Family):

Played with 3 decks of cards (including jokers)

2-4 Players

Deal 11 cards for hands #1 through #9 (3 buys permitted per player per hand)

Deal 13 cards for hand #10 (5 buys permitted per player per hand)


The player with the lowest points after all 10 hands is the winner.

Scoring:

When any one player goes out, you add up the value of the cards you are still holding in your hand.

Jokers are 50 points against you.
2s and Aces are worth 20 points against you.
10s to Kings are worth 10 points.
3s to 9s are worth 5 points each.

2s and Jokers are Wild Cards
Aces are played as low only.

If during the game a player reaches 1,000 points, their score is reset to zero.


For each hand you need to lay down the following cards:

Hand #1 - 2 sets of 3 of a kind
Hand #2 - 1 set of 3 of a kind and 1 four card straight
Hand #3 - 2 sets of four card straight
Hand #4 - 3 sets of 3 of a kind
Hand #5 - 1 seven card straight and 1 three of a kind
Hand #6 - 1 five card straight and 2 sets of 3 of a kind
Hand #7 - 3 sets of 4 of a kind
Hand #8 - 1 ten card straight and 1 three of a kind
Hand #9 - 1 five card straight and 3 sets of 3 of a kind
Hand #10 - 3 sets of 5 of a kind


Once all the cards are dealt, the top card of the deck is not turned over until all players have had a chance to look at their hands, in order to allow for fair buys.

You cannot lay any cards down in front of you on the first turn around on any hand.

You cannot play on other player's cards until the turn after you have first laid down the required cards for the hand.

You must have the complete sets of the required cards before you can lay down cards in front of you.

You may play the real card over any joker on the table.

You cannot pick up from the discard pile and then go out.
You do not need a discard to go out.


The buys:

Players have the opportunity to buy the card on the top of the discard pile at the beginning of any other player's turn if that player does not want it.  To buy the top card, you must take that card and the top card of the deck and add them to your hand.  Then the other player begins their turn as usual, taking the top card of the deck.  If more than one player wants to buy the card on top of the discard pile, the card is sold to the player who asks first.