Canasta

1 Setup

Two standard decks plus 4 jokers (108 cards total). 4 players form 2 teams (partners sit opposite). Deal 11 cards each. Place the remainder face-down as the draw pile. Flip one card to start the discard pile; if it is a wild card or red 3, flip again.

Red 3s: If dealt a red 3, immediately place it face-up on the table and draw a replacement. Red 3s score 100 bonus points each (or -100 if not on the table at game end).

2 Drawing and Discarding

On your turn: draw 2 cards from the top of the draw pile (or take the discard pile under certain conditions). Play any melds you can from your hand. Discard 1 card face-up to end your turn.

Taking the discard pile: You may take the entire discard pile if (a) the top card can be melded with 2 natural cards from your hand, and (b) your team has already made at least one meld, and (c) the pile is not "frozen." The pile is frozen if it contains a wild card or if neither team has melded yet. Taking a frozen pile requires 2 natural cards matching the top discard (no wild cards to meld it).

3 Melds and Canastas

A meld is 3 or more cards of the same rank (no sequences -- Canasta is not a rummy variant). Melds are placed face-up in front of your team and can be added to on subsequent turns.

Canasta: A meld of 7 or more cards of the same rank. A natural canasta (no wild cards) scores 500 bonus points. A mixed canasta (contains wild cards) scores 300 bonus points. Mark the canasta by squaring the pile and putting a red card on top (natural) or a black card on top (mixed).

First meld requirement: A team's first meld must meet a minimum point value based on their current score: under 0 pts (15 min), 0-1495 (50 min), 1500-2995 (90 min), 3000+ (120 min). This prevents leading with small melds when you're winning.

4 Wild Cards

Jokers and 2s are wild cards. They can substitute for any natural card in a meld. A meld may not contain more wild cards than natural cards, and must always have at least 2 natural cards. Melds of only wild cards are not allowed.

Black 3s cannot be melded during a hand (only used to temporarily freeze the discard pile by discarding them).

5 Going Out

A player goes out by melding all their cards (with or without a final discard). A team may go out only if they have completed at least one canasta. You may ask your partner "May I go out?" -- they must answer honestly with yes or no.

Bonus for going out: 100 points. Going out concealed (melding your entire hand at once without any previous melds) earns an extra 100 points.

6 Scoring

At the end of each round, tally your team's score:

• Natural canasta: +500 per canasta
• Mixed canasta: +300 per canasta
• Going out: +100 (concealed: +200)
• Red 3s: +100 each (or -100 if not played; doubled if your team has all four)
• Card values: Jokers 50, Aces/2s 20, 8-K 10, 4-7 5, black 3s 5
• Cards in hand: Subtract the value of unmelded cards from your score

First team to 5,000 points over multiple rounds wins.