Play the Hand and Foot card game for free
The Hand and Foot card game is a team game in the Canasta family, where you and your partner collect sets of seven cards of the same rank, called books. Each player has two piles of cards: the hand, which you play first, and the foot, which you pick up when your hand is used up. Here on Kitchen Table Cards you can play it free in your browser with a computer partner against two computer players, with big cards, a Hint button and no time pressure.
How to play · Melds and books · Going out · Scoring · Tips · Questions
How to play Hand and Foot
Hand and Foot is played by four people in two teams of partners, who sit opposite each other. The game uses five standard decks with Jokers, shuffled together. Each player is dealt two piles of 11 cards: the hand and the foot. The rest of the cards form the stock, and one card is turned face up to start the discard pile. A game is four hands.
- Draw: at the start of your turn, draw two cards from the stock, or take the discard pile (see below).
- Meld: put sets of cards of the same rank face up on the table. Partners share their melds.
- Discard: end your turn by putting one card on the discard pile.
- Your foot: when your hand is used up, pick up your foot and carry on playing with it.
Taking the discard pile
Instead of drawing from the stock, you may take the discard pile if you have two natural cards of the same rank as the top card. You meld the top card with your pair straight away, and the next six cards of the pile go into your hand (seven cards in all). You can't take the pile when a wild card or a black three is on top.
The first melds of each hand
The first melds your team puts down in a hand must add up to a minimum number of points, counting the cards' values:
| Hand | First melds must add up to |
|---|---|
| 1 | 50 points |
| 2 | 90 points |
| 3 | 120 points |
| 4 | 150 points |
Melds and books
- A meld is 3 to 7 cards of the same rank, from 4s up to Aces.
- Wild cards: 2s and Jokers. A meld needs at least two natural cards, and can never have more wild cards than natural cards.
- One meld at a time: a team can have only one unfinished meld of each rank. When it is finished, you can start a new one.
- A book is a meld of 7 cards. It is finished: no more cards can be added.
- A clean book (also called a red book) has no wild cards. A dirty book (a black book) has at least one.
- Threes: red threes are put aside as soon as you get them and replaced with a new card. Black threes can't be melded; discarding one stops the next player taking the pile.
Going out
To go out, you must be playing your foot and your team needs at least two clean books and two dirty books. You then go out by melding all your cards, or melding all but one and discarding it. Until your team has those books, you must keep at least two cards in your foot: one to discard and one to hold.
The hand is over when someone goes out, or when the stock runs out.
Hand and Foot scoring
At the end of each hand, each team scores:
| What | Points |
|---|---|
| Each clean (red) book | 500 |
| Each dirty (black) book | 300 |
| Going out | 100 |
| Each red three | 100 (minus 100 if your team didn't meld) |
| Every card melded | its card value (below) |
| Cards left in your hand and foot | minus their card value |
| Card | Value |
|---|---|
| Joker | 50 |
| 2 and Ace | 20 |
| 8, 9, 10, Jack, Queen, King | 10 |
| 4, 5, 6, 7 and black 3 | 5 |
After four hands, the team with the most points wins.
How to play on this site
| Draw | Click the stock to draw two cards. To take the discard pile instead, click the pile. |
|---|---|
| Choose cards | Click cards in your hand so they rise up and are outlined in yellow. Click a raised card again to put it back. |
| Meld | Your team's area has a spot for each rank, from 4s to Aces. Click the spot for your chosen cards (or anywhere in your team's area) to meld them there. You can also drag the cards there. |
| First melds | Your first melds of a hand wait on the table, outlined, until they add up to the minimum. Then press "Lay down". "Take back" returns them to your hand. |
| Discard | Choose one card and click the pile, or drag the card onto the pile. This ends your turn. |
| Undo | Takes back a meld you made this turn. |
| Hint | Shows whether to draw or take the pile, what to meld, and what to discard, and chooses the cards for you. |
| Scores | The points for each hand so far. |
| Pause | Stops the other players until you are ready to carry on. |
Tips for winning at Hand and Foot
- Get to your foot. Playing your hand down quickly means your foot doesn't count against you, and only then can you go out.
- Keep pairs. Two natural cards of a rank let you take the discard pile when that rank is on top, which gives you seven cards at once.
- Save wild cards for dirty books. Don't spoil a meld that could become a 500-point clean book.
- Discard black threes. They are no use to you and they stop the next player taking the pile.
- Watch the other team. Don't discard a rank they are collecting, especially when the pile is big.
- Go out when you're ahead. If the other team has many cards left, going out ends the hand while they still hold them.
Hand and Foot questions and answers
Is this Hand and Foot card game free?
Yes. Hand and Foot on Kitchen Table Cards is completely free to play in your browser. There is no download, no sign-up and nothing to buy.
Who am I playing with?
You play in a team with a computer partner, June, against two computer players, Rosa and Walter. Partners share their melds, so every book June makes counts for you too.
How many decks are used in Hand and Foot?
With four players, five standard decks with their Jokers are shuffled together: 270 cards. That is one more deck than there are players, which is the usual rule.
What is the hand and what is the foot?
Each player gets two piles of 11 cards. You play the first pile, your hand, first. When it is used up you pick up the second pile, your foot, and carry on with that. You can only go out while playing your foot.
Which cards are wild in Hand and Foot?
The 2s and the Jokers. A meld must have at least two natural cards, and it can never have more wild cards than natural cards.
What is the difference between a clean book and a dirty book?
A book is a meld of 7 cards. A clean (or red) book has no wild cards and scores 500 points. A dirty (or black) book has at least one wild card and scores 300 points.
What do I need to go out?
You must be playing your foot, and your team must have at least two clean books and two dirty books. Then you go out by melding all your cards, or by melding all but one and discarding the last one.
How many points do I need to meld first?
The first melds your team puts down in a hand must add up to a minimum: 50 points in the first hand, 90 in the second, 120 in the third and 150 in the fourth.
What do red and black threes do?
Red threes are put aside as soon as you get them, and you get a new card in their place. Each one is worth 100 points to your team (or minus 100 if your team never melded in that hand). Black threes can’t be melded: discard them, and the next player can’t take the pile.
Does the game save my progress?
Yes. The game is saved on your device after every move, so you can close the page and carry on later, even in the middle of a hand.
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