Screw Your Neighbor Card Game Rules (Chase the Ace)

These are the screw your neighbor card game rules most families play. The game is also widely known as Chase the Ace or Cuckoo, and it is one of the easiest card games to teach at a big gathering: everyone gets one card, decides whether to keep it or swap it with the next player, and hopes not to be caught with the lowest card. It takes a minute to learn, works for a huge group, and creates plenty of laughs as cards travel around the table. Below you will find the standard way to play, how lives work, the king block, and a few popular variations.

Quick rules

• Each player starts with three tokens, called lives.
• The dealer gives every player one card face down. Players look at their own card.
• Starting left of the dealer, each player either keeps their card or swaps it with the player on their left.
• A player holding a king can refuse a swap by showing the king.
• The dealer goes last and may swap with the top card of the deck.
• Everyone reveals. The lowest card loses one life. Aces are low.
• Lose all three lives and you are out. The last player with a life wins.

What you need

• One standard 52-card deck. With more than about 12 players, shuffle in a second deck.
• Three tokens per player: coins, buttons, dried beans, wrapped candies or poker chips all work.
• A table or floor circle where everyone can reach the person to their left.

Setup

Sit in a circle and give every player three tokens. Choose a dealer by any method, such as the first person to draw a high card. Cards rank from king (high) down through queen, jack, 10, 9 and so on to ace (low). Suits do not matter.

How to play

Dealing

1. The dealer shuffles and deals one card face down to each player, including themselves.
2. Each player looks at their card without showing it. The rest of the deck stays face down in front of the dealer.

Keep or swap

1. The player to the dealer's left goes first. If they like their card they say "keep" (or knock on the table).
2. If they want a different card they say "swap" and trade their card, face down, with the player on their left. That player must accept, unless they hold a king.
3. A player who is asked to swap while holding a king turns the king face up. The swap is blocked and the asking player keeps their own card.
4. Play moves left, one player at a time. Each player decides based on the card they hold now, which may be a card they were just handed.
5. The dealer acts last. Instead of swapping with a neighbor, the dealer may keep their card or cut the deck and take the top card in exchange.

The reveal

1. Everyone turns their card face up at once.
2. The player with the lowest card puts one token in the middle. If two or more players tie for lowest, they all lose a token.
3. The deal passes to the left and a new round starts with fresh cards from a reshuffled deck, or simply continues down the deck until it runs low.

Scoring

There are no points, only lives. Use this table to keep track:

Some groups give a fourth "ghost" life: when you lose your last token you may keep playing until you lose once more. Agree on this before starting.

How to win

Be the last player still holding at least one token. When only two players remain, the game becomes a quick head-to-head, and that final showdown is often the loudest part of the evening.

Variations

• Dealer draws a king: in many groups, if the dealer cuts the deck and turns up a king, the dealer loses a life at once.
• Aces high: some families rank aces above kings. Decide before dealing.
• Points version: instead of lives, the lowest card scores one penalty point and the game ends when someone reaches five. Use the scorekeeper for this.
• Silent swap: players swap without talking, using only a tap on the table, which makes reading faces harder.

Tips and strategy

• Always swap an ace, 2 or 3. Your card is almost certainly among the lowest.
• Usually keep an 8 or higher. Middle cards around 6 or 7 are a judgment call, and with a big group keeping them is often safe.
• Remember what you just passed on. If the player on your right swaps with you, the card you were handed is one they thought was too low, and they now hold your old card.
• Watch faces. Groans and smiles after a swap tell you more than the cards do.
• As dealer, think about how many low cards have shown up. If few aces and twos have appeared, the top of the deck is riskier.

House rules to agree first

• Are aces high or low?
• Does a tie for lowest cost everyone a life, or nobody?
• Does the dealer lose a life for drawing a king?
• How many lives does each player start with: three, or more for a longer game?

Looking for more big-group card games? Try Spoons, Old Maid, or the bluffing game Bluff, or browse our full list of card games for kids.