President Card Game Rules: How to Play Step by Step

These President card game rules will get your group playing one of the best party card games for four or more people. President is a shedding game: everyone tries to get rid of their cards first, and the finishing order decides who becomes President and who becomes the lowly Scum for the next round. The roles swap cards at the start of each deal, so the game has a funny, ever-changing social ladder. It is also known as Scum, Kings and by a few ruder names, but the rules are the same.

Quick rules

• Deal out a whole 52-card deck. Cards rank from 3 (lowest) up to king, ace and 2 (highest).
• The leader plays a single card, a pair, three of a kind or four of a kind.
• Each player in turn must beat it with the same number of cards of a higher rank, or pass.
• When everyone passes, the pile is cleared and the last player to play leads again.
• The first player out becomes President, the second Vice President, and the last player left is the Scum.
• Next round, the Scum gives their two best cards to the President, who gives back any two cards.
• Play as many rounds as you like, keeping score if you want an overall winner.

What you need

• A standard 52-card deck. With eight or more players, shuffle two decks together.
• 4 to 7 players is ideal. It works with 3, but the role swaps are more fun with a crowd.
• Optional: a hat or a special chair for the President. Many groups play it up with seating changes.

Setup

1. Choose a dealer for the first round. Shuffle and deal all the cards one at a time, clockwise. Some players will have one more card than others, which is fine.
2. Everyone sorts their hand by rank. Suits do not matter in the standard game.
3. Remember the card order: 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, J, Q, K, A, 2. The 2 is the highest card.

How to play

Phase 1: the first lead

1. In the first round, the player holding the 3 of clubs leads. Many groups require them to include that card in the lead; others let them lead anything.
2. The lead can be one card, two cards of the same rank, three of a kind or four of a kind.

Phase 2: beating the pile

1. Play passes to the left. Each player must play the same number of cards as the lead, and of a higher rank. A pair of 7s can be beaten by a pair of 8s or anything higher, but not by a single card or a triple.
2. If you cannot or do not want to play, say "pass". You are never forced to play, even if you could.
3. Sources differ on passing: in many home games, a player who has passed may still play later in the same trick if it comes back to them; in stricter games, once you pass you sit out until the pile is cleared. Agree before you start.
4. When everyone else passes in a row, the pile is turned over and set aside. The player who played last leads anything they like.
5. If the player who would lead has already gone out, the lead passes to the next player on their left.

Phase 3: going out and ranking

1. When you play your last card, you are out of the round. The first player out is President. The second is Vice President.
2. Play continues until only one player has cards left. That player is the Scum. The second to last is the Vice Scum. Everyone in between is a Citizen (or Neutral).

Phase 4: the card exchange

1. The Scum shuffles and deals the next round.
2. Before play starts, the Scum must give their two highest cards to the President. The President then gives any two cards they choose back to the Scum, usually their two worst.
3. The Vice Scum gives their single highest card to the Vice President, who returns any one card.
4. Citizens do not exchange cards.
5. In later rounds the Scum usually leads first, which is a small help. Some groups have the President lead instead.
6. Players often move seats too, so the President sits at the head of the table and the Scum sits to the President's right, playing just before them.

Scoring

Many groups play for fun with no score at all, just the glory of being President. For an overall winner, award points after each round and play to an agreed total, such as 11 points, or for a set number of rounds. Track it on our scoreboard.

This points table is a common house system rather than an official one; some groups also take a point away from the Scum.

How to win

Each round, aim to get rid of all your cards first and become President. Over the night, the winner is the player with the most points, or the player who holds the Presidency the longest. The tricky part is staying on top: the card exchange makes it hard for the President to stay in power, and easy for the Scum to stay stuck.

Variations

• Burn rules: in a popular version, playing a 2 (or in some groups a 10) "burns" the pile: it clears at once and the same player leads again. Another burn rule: if you play the same rank as the card on top, the next player is skipped.
• Complete the set: if four cards of the same rank end up on top of the pile in a row, the pile is burned and whoever completed it leads.
• Revolution: playing four of a kind reverses the card ranking until the next revolution, so 3s become high and 2s low.
• Jokers: add two jokers as the highest cards, or as wild cards.
• Must play if able: passing is only allowed when you cannot beat the pile.
• No finishing on a 2: some groups ban going out on a 2 or a joker; a player who does so automatically finishes last.

Tips and strategy

• Get rid of low cards early. A lone 3 or 4 is the hardest card to unload. Lead with it when you get the chance.
• Save your 2s. High cards win you the lead. Use them to take control, then play your weak cards.
• Keep sets together. Do not break a pair to beat a single unless you must. Pairs and triples are hard for others to beat.
• Count the 2s and aces. Once all four 2s have been played, your aces are now the top cards.
• As President, give back wisely. Return your two loneliest low cards, not part of a pair.

House rules to agree first

• Whether a player who passes may play later in the same trick.
• Which burn rules are in use, if any.
• Who leads after the first round: Scum or President.
• Whether you can go out on a 2.

Love shedding games? Try Palace, Bluff or Crazy Eights, or browse more card games for adults.