Hand and Foot Canasta

John and I like to play cards together at the end of our day. We have a wonderful outdoor setting and by 5pm the seabreeze is in, so we can be outside with a glass of wine and a deck of cards...

Or 3 decks of cards, as that is what it takes to play a two-handed game of Hand and Foot Canasta.

There are almost as many sets of rules to Hand and Foot Canasta as there are people who play it. Here are the rules we play by:

Object of the Game:
The aim is to get rid of cards from your hand (11 cards), and then from your foot (11 cards), by melding them. A Meld is a set of three to seven cards of equal rank placed face up on the table. A Meld cannot have fewer than three cards. After a Meld of three or more cards has been started, you can add further cards to it until there are seven. Then it becomes a Book. You can meld cards of any rank from A, K, Q, ... down to 4. Deuces (twos) and Jokers are wild cards and can be used in melds, as long as there is at least one more real card than wild cards. You can not meld wild cards alone. 3s are special cards. Black 3s freeze the discard pile and, if left in your hand or foot, cost you 100 pts each. Red 3s add to your score 100pts unless caught in your hand or foot in which case they count against your score by 500pts.

There are two types of melds:
A Clean(Natural) Meld has no wild cards and may become a Red Book.
A Dirty(Wild) Meld has wild cards and may become a Black Book.

A Meld of seven cards is complete and is called a Book. While melds are laid out face up for everyone to see, completed Books are piled up and the card placed on top shows the type - a red card for a Red Book, a black card for a Black Book. Cards of equal rank can be played on completed Books. Wild cards cannot be played on Books.

You score points for cards you have melded and for each Book. If you did not go out, you lose points for any cards left in your Hand and/or Foot at the end of the play. The round ends when someone gets rid of all the cards in their Hand and Foot, by melding/booking or discarding them.
In order to go out, you must:
1. Have reached your Foot and played it completely.
2. Have at least one Red Book and two Black Books.

Card Values:
Jokers = 50 points (Wild Card)
Deuces = 20 points (Wild Card)
Aces = 20 points
Eight through King (8-K) = 10 points
Four through Seven (4-7) = 5 points (unless minus threes are used)

Deck Options:
Players+1 - decks equal the number of players + 1 (2 players = 3 decks)

Round Points Options:
50/90/120/150
Round 1, cards points must total at least 50 to play
Round 2, cards points must total at least 90 to play
Round 3, cards points must total at least 120 to play
Round 4, cards points must total at least 150 to play

Book Points:
300/500
Red Book = 500 points
Black Book = 300 points
Player going out gets 100 bonus points

Play Discard Option:
5 - Pick up last 5 discards (top card and 4 previous)

In order to pick up the discard pile the following criteria must be met:
1. You must have 2 matching cards in your hand
2. You must meld the top discard
3. You must have the required round points
The top discard may not give you the required round points

You receive two scores per hand. One for the books, then the combined face value of all cards played on the board, booked or not. Once your books have been counted then all the cards you played, including those in the books, are added up at the card point value.
This applies to all players, not just the person going out. If you did not go out, and are caught with cards in your Hand and/or your Foot, those points count against you. If you did not go out and you have books and or cards on the board, those points count for you.

The person with the most points at the end of the rounds, is declared the winner.

The Play:
• Draw two cards from the deck.
• Meld your cards. To meld, your board points must match or exceed the points required for that round.
• Discard one card (any card).
• As the play comes back to you, continue to draw two cards, play on your books as you draw cards that play, then discard one card, until you get rid of your Hand.
• Picking up your Foot can be done two ways:
1. Going straight to your Foot, means all the cards in your Hand play without a discard. You may pick up your Foot and play out of it immediately.
2. You play all the cards in your Hand except one, then discard. You will be able to play out of your Foot on your next turn.
• Play continues until a player goes out. You can not go out until you have at least one Red Book and two Black Books
.When going out, you do not have to discard.