Canasta
Meld in sevens, fight for the discard pile and reach 3000 first.
Canasta, the great rummy game born in Uruguay, for two: you against the computer, with two packs and four jokers. Draw two cards a turn, meld three or more of a rank and build canastas, seven of a kind, natural or with wild cards. Take the whole discard pile when you can use its top card, freeze it with a wild card, block it with a black three, and go out once you have two canastas. A game runs to 3000 points, two or three hands. Every day brings a Daily game with the same deals for everyone.
- Category
- Cards & Board
- Modes
- Easy · Medium · Hard · Daily
- Controls
- Mouse · Touch
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How to play
Canasta is played with two packs and four jokers. Jokers and deuces are wild. Each of you gets 15 cards and the next card is turned up to start the discard pile. On your turn draw the top two cards of the stock, or take the whole discard pile, then meld and throw one card face up. A meld is three or more cards of one rank, the ace or four to king, with at least two natural cards and no more than three wild cards; later cards of that rank go on the same meld. Seven or more make a canasta: 500 natural, 300 with wild cards in it. Your first meld of a hand must count 50 points (15 below zero, 90 from 1500, 120 from 3000); the cards count: jokers 50, aces and deuces 20, king to eight 10, seven to four and black threes 5. To take the pile you must meld its top card at once with two cards from your hand, a natural and a wild card, or lay it on a meld of yours; while you have not melded, or once a wild card has frozen the pile, only a natural pair takes it. A black three on top blocks the pile for one turn. Red threes go face up as soon as you get them and are replaced from the stock: 100 each, 800 for all four, but minus if you have melded nothing when the hand ends. With two canastas you may go out by melding all your cards, or all but one that you throw: 100 more, 200 if you melded the whole hand in one turn. Then each side adds its canastas, red threes and melded cards and loses what is still in its hand. The first to 3000 wins (classic Canasta plays to 5000). Your score is your total, the points the computer is short of 3000, and 1000 for the win.
What is Canasta?
Canasta is the rummy game that swept the world from Uruguay in the 1940s: two packs and four jokers, melds of three or more cards of one rank, and canastas, melds of seven, worth 500 when natural and 300 with wild cards in them. It began as a game for two partnerships; here you play the classic version for two against the computer, on three levels: fifteen cards each, two drawn a turn, and two canastas to go out.
A game runs to 3000 points, two or three hands, so it fits a sitting on a phone; the classic target of 5000 takes about twice as long. Every day brings a Daily game with the same deals for everyone.
How to play Canasta
Each of you gets 15 cards, and the next card is turned up to start the discard pile.
- Wild cards and threes. Jokers and deuces are wild. Red threes are bonus cards: one goes face up as soon as you get it and is replaced from the stock. A black three thrown blocks the discard pile for a turn, and black threes meld only on the turn you go out.
- Your turn. Draw the top two cards of the stock, or take the whole discard pile. Then lay down what you can and throw one card face up.
- Melds. Three or more cards of one rank, the ace or four to king, with at least two natural cards and no more than three wild cards. Later cards of a rank you have melded go on that meld. Seven cards or more make a canasta.
- Your first meld. It must count at least 50 points (15 while your score is below zero, 90 from 1500, 120 from 3000). Jokers count 50, aces and deuces 20, kings to eights 10, sevens to fours and black threes 5. Until your first meld, Meld only plans: the planned melds go down together once they reach the count.
- The discard pile. To take it you meld its top card at once: with two cards from your hand, with a natural card and a wild card, or on one of your melds. While you have not melded, or once a wild card lies in it (the pile is frozen), only a natural pair matching the top card takes it, and the pile's other cards never count toward a first meld. Nobody takes a pile with a wild card or a black three on top.
- Going out. With two canastas you may go out by melding all your cards, or all but one that you throw. Until then you keep a card to throw and one more.
- Scoring. Going out 100 (200 if you melded your whole hand in one turn, concealed), each canasta 500 natural or 300 mixed, each red three 100 (800 for all four, but counted against a side that melded nothing), plus every card melded, minus every card still in hand. When the stock runs out, play goes on while each side takes the pile (you must when its top card goes on a meld of yours and the pile is not frozen); the hand ends when one cannot or will not.
- The game. The first to 3000 wins, the higher total if both pass it in the same hand. Your score is your total, the points the computer is short of 3000, and 1000 for the win.
Tips and strategy
- The pile wins games. A big discard pile is worth more than anything else on the table. Keep pairs in hand: once the pile is frozen, only a natural pair takes it.
- Mind what you throw. Never throw a rank the computer has melded while the pile is open: it takes the pile with that one card. The cards it has just thrown itself are the safest.
- Freeze and block. A wild card thrown freezes the pile for both of you; a black three stops the next player for a turn. Both pay best on a big pile.
- Wild cards make canastas. Save them for melds of five or six, where they close a canasta and bring you nearer to going out. A natural canasta is worth 200 more, so do not spoil one late.
- Meld in time. If the computer goes out before you have melded at all, your red threes count against you and every card you hold costs its value.
Frequently asked questions
Is Canasta free?
Yes. Like every game on Play, it runs free in your browser, with no download and no account.
Why do I draw two cards?
That is the classic rule for two players: fifteen cards each, two drawn from the stock, one thrown, and two canastas to go out. Taking the discard pile replaces the draw.
Why can I not take the pile?
A wild card or a black three is on top; or the pile is frozen (a wild card lies in it, or you have not melded yet) and you lack a natural pair of the top card's rank; or your first meld would not reach its count with the top card and the melds you planned.
Why a game to 3000 and not 5000?
A game to 5000 runs four or five hands; to 3000 it is two or three, with every rule the same, and the first meld's count still rises as your score grows.
How do the levels differ?
On Easy the computer remembers only the top card, takes even small piles, spends its wild cards early and now and then throws carelessly. On Medium it counts the cards it has seen, keeps clear of your pairs and saves its wild cards to close canastas. On Hard it also remembers every card in the pile, keeps its threes of a kind in hand while a big pile is frozen and freezes a big pile when any throw would feed you.
What is the Daily game?
Every day everyone gets the same deals against the same computer on Medium, so scores compare directly on the leaderboard.
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