Learn how to play Spoons, a simple card game with an active twist.  It’s simple to learn and can be played by children or adults. There’s even a version of spoons that has become popular as a drinking game at parties.  It’s a sneaky, fast-paced and involves bluffing, so if you have a good face for bluffing an opponent, chances are you’ll be good at Spoons!

Supplies

• Spoons: One less than the total number of players
• A standard deck of 52 cards

Set Up

•  Place spoons in the middle of the table, fanned out in a wagon-wheel pattern with the spoon handles pointing outward. Make sure players can easily reach the middle of the table to grab a spoon.

Objective

Don’t be the last to grab a spoon!  The first player who makes 4 of a kind can grab a spoon.  After a spoon is grabbed, all other players can grab a spoon.  The player who doesn’t get a spoon is “Out”.  Bluffing to grab a spoon is encouraged!

Game-play

• Dealer shuffles the cards and hands four cards to each player.
• Dealer starts gameplay by drawing a card and deciding whether to keep it or pass it to the left.
• If he/she does keep it, a card from their current hand is passed instead. The passed card is set in front of the player to the left face down
• As soon as the card is passed, the dealer can grab a new card from the deck. Like speed, there are no turns!
• This will continue around the table.  Each player passes cards (either the one from his/her hand or the one that was passed to them) to their left.
• The final player (on the dealer’s right) places his/her discards next to the dealer for them to draw from.
• Each player can only ever have four cards in their hand. You will see piles of cards stacking up in front of the slower players.
• When a player gets four of a kind, they grab a spoon!
• Everyone else can then reach for a spoon trying to grab one for themselves.
• Because there are two few spoons, one player will not get one and is “Out”
• Remaining players remove one Spoon and start over with dealing responsibilities passed to the left

Variations of how to play spoons

“S-P-O-O-N-S”

Much like the basketball game “Horse”, players who don’t get a spoon during a round of gameplay get a letter starting with “S”.  First player to “S-P-O-O-N-S” looses.

Extreme Spoons

Place or even hide the spoons in another room

Battle Spoons

It’s legal to wrestle for control of a spoon

Extreme Battle Spoons

Combine the above for utter chaos

Drunken Spoons

The player without the spoon must take a drink.

Big Groups

If your group is 10 or more people, it helps to use an extra deck.

and that is… HOW TO PLAY SPOONS!