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How to Play the Card Game Switch

Switch is a firm family favourite that I’ve have played since I was at school. As a family we have also created our own language which we use when we play, this makes it soooo nostalgic for us when we play…… when I posted the game on my stories, many of you hadn’t heard of Switch and wanted to know how to play it, so here is how to play MY version of Switch…………..

What you need:

2 to 6 players
A pack of 52 playing cards

How to win:

Be the first player to get rid of all their cards.

Start by:

Dealing 7 cards to each player
Placing the remaining cards face down in a stack to form a pick up pile
Flipping over the top card of pick up pile

Playing Switch:

The player to the left of the dealer goes first
On your turn, you must play a card that matches the top card on the playing pile in either suit or number. For example, if the top card is a 7 of hearts, you can play any 7 or any heart, if you play a 7, of hearts, it will change the suit to hearts, if you play a 7 of spades it will change the suit to spades and so on OR you can play any card you hold in the same suit.
Can’t Go? If you can’t play a card that matches the suit or number, you must pick up a card from the pick up pile and you turn ends.
Last card, when you have one card left, you must say “last card.” If you do not say last card before the next player takes their turn, then you will not be able to put your last card down and will have to pick a card up.

Special Cards:

2: Forces the next player to pick up 2 cards instead of playing their next card UNLESS they also have a 2 which they can put down and the next player then has to pick up 4 cards UNLESS they have a 2 etc etc. If the next person to play cannot go they also have to pick up the number of cards caused by the two/s. If they can take a valid turn the game continues as normal.

Jack: Skips the next player’s turn

Ace: Change the suit. You choose which suit the next player must follow. Unlike the 2s and Jacks, any suit of Ace can be played at any time.

You cannot finish on any of these special cards.

Tips:

Keep an eye on the number of cards your opponents have and try to force them to pick up more cards.
If you are playing with only 2 people and you have more than one Jack, you can end the game before you’re down to one card e.g., play a jack, opponents misses a go, play another Jack, opponent misses a go, say last card and put your last card down, woo-hoo you’ve won and your opponent never even saw it coming!! BUT remember, your last card has to be the same suit as your last Jack. It’s a spectacular way to end the game….
You can play the best of 3 or 5, we even play 10 cards sometimes.
Once you get to grips with the basics of the game you can really tactical and it’s so fun!