How to Play Screw Your Neighbor: Rules, Strategies, & Variations

Screw Your Neighbor Rules & Gameplay

Shuffle a deck of cards and deal 1 card face-down to each player. Have 2 or more players sit in a circle around a table or level playing surface and pick a dealer for the round. The dealer shuffles a standard deck of 52 playing cards and gives 1 face-down card to each player. There’s no limit to the number of players that can join the game, but we recommend capping it off at 10 so the game isn’t too chaotic. To decide who’s the dealer, pick the player whose birthday is closest or have everyone draw cards—the player with the highest ranking card is the dealer.

Each player looks at their card and flips it over if it’s a King. Each player turns over the card dealt to them and looks at its ranking. If your card is a King, flip it face-up on the table to reveal it to the other players. This locks in your card so no one else can trade for it. Keep all other cards face-down. The highest-ranking card is a King, while the lowest-ranking card is an Ace. The goal is to end the round with a card that ranks higher than the lowest card on the table.

Each player decides if they want to trade with the player to their left. The player to the left of the dealer goes first. On your turn, you can either trade your card with the player to your left. If they want to trade, the two of you will swap cards. If you want to keep your card, you say “pass” or “stand.” If the player to your left has a face-up King, you cannot trade with them. If this happens, skip your turn and resume play with the person to the left of the player with the King. If your neighbor asks to trade with you, you must trade your card (unless you have a King).

The dealer trades their card with the top card on the deck. The dealer takes their turn last. When it’s their turn to keep or trade, their neighbor is the deck of cards. If they want to trade, the dealer takes the card on top of the deck and places the card in front of them under the deck or in the discard pile. If the dealer has a King, they must keep their card and cannot trade it.

Reveal all the cards after all players have traded or kept their cards. After everyone has traded or kept their card, all the players flip it face-up. The player with the lowest ranking card is the loser, and they get 1 point. If there’s a tie for the lowest card, the player closest to the dealer’s left loses.

Keep playing rounds until the players decide the game is over. After completing a round, mark who lost on a piece of paper. The person to the left of the current dealer is the new dealer. They reshuffle the deck, and the round starts as normal. When all the players decide that the game is over, compare the scores—the player with the lowest points wins. You could decide to play 10, 15, or 20 rounds, and whoever lost the least wins the entire game.

Strategies for Winning Screw Your Neighbor

Trade with your neighbor to get a card higher than a 6 or 7. To win the game, all you have to do is avoid having the lowest card. If you have a card lower than a 6 or 7, the best option might be to take a chance and trade with the player next to you in the hopes of getting a higher-ranking card. This is because there are 13 possible cards in the deck, and Kings are immediately revealed. If you have a 2 or 3, there’s a good chance that the player next to you has a higher-ranking card.

Keep any card that’s higher than a 7. If you have a card higher than a 7 (such as an 8, 9, or Queen), the chance that your neighbor has a higher-ranking card is relatively low. In that case, it might be better to “pass” when it’s your turn to trade.

Screw Your Neighbor Variations

Keep your King card face-down until your neighbor tries to trade. Instead of flipping a King face-up when you are dealt it, keep it face-down in front of you. If your neighbor tries to switch cards, flip over your King to “block” their request. If your neighbor decides to keep their card instead, flip over your card at the same time as all the other players. Alternatively, allow your neighbor to take your King to make the game more competitive. This allows you to pretend that your card is bad to convince them not to trade with you.

Players with the same card can combine them to outrank others. If two or more players have the same ranking card (like two 2s, two 4s, or two Jacks), they add the numbers on their cards. Jacks count as 11s, Queens are 12s, Aces are 1s, and Kings are 13. This can help players with low-ranking cards get a higher score. For example, if two players flip over a 4, they add them together to make an 8. This means their collective score is higher than the individual lower scores of the other players. If the players who add their cards still have the lowest ranking score, they can split the point or they can both get 1 point.

Turn it into a drinking game by taking a drink if you lose. The player with the lowest-ranking card at the end of the round takes a drink. The cards are then reshuffled, the dealer position rotates to the left, and the rounds continue. Make the loss even more interesting by giving the losing player a shot or a weird combination of drinks all in one cup. Optional rules: Players who flip over an Ace take 2 drinks. If a player flips over a King, all the other players take a drink.

Put money or tokens in the center of the table when you lose. Each player gets 3 tokens or dollars with a chosen monetary value. After the trading phase is over, and every player flips over their card, the player with the lowest ranking card places one dollar or token in the “pot” at the center of the table. When a player runs out of money or tokens, they’re out of the game. You might pay for the tokens with real money, or use tokens instead of cash. Decide what value all the tokens or dollars should be (such as $1, $5, or $10). Keep playing rounds until every player has run out of tokens except for 1 person. That remaining player is the winner and gets all the money or tokens in the pot. If the end of the game is tied, the players can split the pot or play 1 more hand to decide the winner. You can also have everyone take their money back and replay the round.