A most diverting game of strategy, memory, and one glorious dash of luck — presently sweeping kitchen tables from coast to coast.
Everyone is dealt the same size hand. Four go face-down, four face-up on top, twelve stay in your hand.
Each card played must be equal to or lower than the last. King is high; Ace is low.
Play something higher and you scoop up the whole pile. A Ten, though, sweeps it clean away.
First to shed all 20 cards ends the round. Everyone else tallies what's left — lowest total wins.
Get caught holding cards when someone goes out and they count against you. The Ten is the sweeper — and the heaviest thing you can be stuck with.
Lowest overall score wins. Decide before you start whether you're playing to a set number of rounds or to a score threshold.
The first player plays any card from their hand or their face-up row — most people open with their highest, like a King. You may lay down up to four of the same rank at once.
The next player must match or go under the card just played.
Lay all four of one rank and shout “Sweep!” Those four leave the game for good — and you get to play again immediately.
Stuck with nothing low enough? Drop a Ten to sweep the whole pile away, then play again. It's the only card that beats a jam.
Play a card higher than the last and you can't sweep? You take the entire pile into your hand — then you must immediately play a card of that same rank that forced the pick-up.
Here's the twist: if you happen to hold all four of that rank, declare a Sweep, clear them away, and carry on. You may even do this on purpose — play a high card, grab the pile, then sweep. Playing fewer than four, or playing high to scoop cards you want, are all fair game.
Once a face-up card is gone, the face-down card beneath it is next — and you play it blind, flipping it straight onto the pile. Lands higher than the last card? You pick up the pile. Flip a Ten and it sweeps for you. It's the game's built-in gasp.
Four of a kind clears the table. Give it a go — drop four Tens and watch the pile vanish.
Four of the same rank — poof, gone for good, and you go again.
Have you a house rule worth preserving? Spotted an ambiguity in want of correction? Or are you simply moved to say hello? The Steward reads every note with considerable pleasure.