Shootin' Blanks

Shootin' Blanks is an easy to learn (less than 5 minutes) 2-8 player elimination card game that fits right in your pocket. Compete for fun, drinks, money or anything you want!

Each player begins the game with three lives. Use poker chips, pennies, dollars, pieces of paper, beers, etc. Be creative.

Deal three cards to each player (one at a time). Place the rest of the deck in the middle of the table to draw from throughout the game. Turn the top card of the draw pile over to begin the discard pile.

The player to the left of the dealer can draw the top card from the draw pile or the discard pile and then must discard a card on top of the discard pile. Continue clockwise around the table.

Players try to collect the highest possible hand value in the same color OR in the same number.

Play continues clockwise until a player bangs or the draw pile is exhausted. Players cannot bang on their first turn.

When a player believes their hand is better than at least one other players hand, they bang on the table (or say bang) during their turn instead of drawing and discarding.

All other players get to draw and discard one more time.

At the end of the round, players show and announce their hand value (only adding cards of the same color OR the same number, not both). The player(s) with the worst hand lose one life. When a player loses all three lives, they are eliminated from the game. The last person with a life wins.

If a player at any time during the game has three blank cards in their hand, they throw down their cards and yell "I'm Shootin’ Blanks!" The round ends and all other players lose one life. Blanks are worth 0.

If a High/Low card is ever face up in the discard pile prior to a player banging, the scoring for the round changes from high to low. You still calculate your high hand, but instead the player with the highest hand value loses a life (ties work the same way for low hand rounds). It is possible to switch from High to Low back to High back to Low in a single round. High/Low cards are worth 0 and can never be drawn from the discard pile.

Wild cards can be any color and any number 1 through 8. They cannot be Blanks or High/Low cards.