SCREW YOUR NEIGHBOR CARD GAME RULES

Screw your neighbor rules title

OBJECTIVE OF SCREW YOUR NEIGHBOR: The objective of Screw Your Neighbor is to not have the lowest ranking card at the end of each round.

NUMBER OF PLAYERS: 3+ Players

MATERIALS OF SCREW YOUR NEIGHBOR: One standard deck of cards, a stable playing area, and a pen and paper to keep track of scores.

TYPE OF GAME: Card game

AUDIENCE:  All Ages

OVERVIEW OF SCREW YOUR NEIGHBOR

Screw your neighbor is a fun game you can play with 3 or more players. It is extremely simple to learn, and it’s known by many other names, including Ranter Go Round and Cuckoo. It’s perfect for those times you want to play a good card game but are too tired to set up a full poker game. Let’s go over all the rules and even some strategies to help you improve your game.

SETUP FOR SCREW YOUR NEIGHBOR

To set up Screw Your Neighbor, you need a couple of friends, a pen and paper to keep score and a standard 52-deck of cards. If you want to make this a drinking game, you can; all you need is your favorite beverage, and you can get started right away!

Besides at least 2 other friends, you’ll need a table or just a flat surface. Have your friends sit around the table in a circle. Screw Your Neighbor is one of those games that can break friendships, such as Uno or Monopoly. Although we hope everyone is just playing for fun. 

DEALING

Like most other card games, you will need a dealer. You can decide any way to choose the dealer. We always suggest drawing cards, and the highest card wins.

The dealer can now deal one card to each player face down.

CARD RANKING

The ranking for Screw Your Neighbor is close to standard. Although the only exception is that Ace is low and King is high. The ranking of cards goes as follows: 

  • King (high)
  • Queen
  • Jack
  • 10
  • 9
  • 8
  • 7
  • 6
  • 5
  • 4
  • 3
  • 2
  • Ace (low).

HOW TO PLAY SCREW YOUR NEIGHBOR

To play the card game Screw Your Neighbor, each player can look at their dealt card. If it is a king, players immediately flip it over to be revealed. This locks in your card so that nobody can trade for it. Keep all the other cards face down. 

TRADING

This rule of Screw Your Neighbor is something that makes the game truly unique. The player on the left of the dealer starts the round. They can either keep their card or trade it with their neighbor to their left. If they wish to trade, then they switch cards with the player to their left. This ends their turn, and the next player can go. Play continues clockwise until it’s the dealer’s turn. If they choose to keep it, they can simply say “pass.”

The only reason a person can not trade is if the player to their left has a face-up king. In this case, skip that player’s turn and resume with the player left of the king-holding player. Remember that you can not refuse a trade, so if your neighbor asks to trade, you must trade unless you have a king.

When it is the dealer’s turn to keep or trade, their neighbor is the deck. If they decide to trade, then they take the top card of the remaining deck and place their previous card at the bottom of the deck. The only exception to this rule is if they reveal a king, then they must keep their card and cannot trade. 

REVEAL

Once all players have traded or kept their cards, it is time for each player to reveal their cards. The lowest ranking card is the loser.

If there is a tie for the lowest card between multiple players, then the player closest to the dealer’s left is the loser, and they get one point.

Remember that you don’t have to win in Screw Your Neighbor, in other words, you just have to avoid having the lowest card. Mark scores after the round, then the role of dealer moves to the left, and play continues.

END OF GAME

SCREW YOUR NEIGHBOR REVEAL

There is no set ending to Screw Your Neighbor. Instead, the game simply ends when players decide the game is over. Compare scores, and the lowest score (aka the person who lost the least) wins.

VARIATIONS

There are several variations to this game. Some have rules, but most are house rules made up by players. Feel free to make the game your own and add your own rules. Creativity is king!

SCREW YOUR NEIGHBOR DRINKING GAME

As with any great game, you can make it into a drinking game for a bit more fun. The rules for a drinking card game are almost exactly the same, except the loser drinks instead of getting a point. Remember to always play and drink responsibly.

BETTING GAME

Screw Your Neighbor works really well as a betting game as well. In order to make this a betting game, players will all put in a certain number of bets at the beginning that is the same for everyone. For example, every player may start with 5 one-dollar bills. Every time a player loses, they will put in one of their bets. For this example, when a player loses, they will put one dollar in the pot. This is like a dumbed-down and simple version of poker.

Play the game until there is only one player left with bets remaining. That remaining player wins all the money in the pot.

SCREW YOUR NEIGHBOR STRATEGIES

Although Screw Your Neighbor is mostly a luck-based game, there are a few strategies you can put into place to help your game.

  1. Remember, you don’t need to win. You just have to avoid having the lowest card. This means that if you have a “medium” card, like a six or seven, the chances of someone having a lower card are better than if you were stuck with a two or Ace.
  2. If you have an eight or higher, it is better to keep those cards and not trade them. 
  3. If you have a four or lower, it is better to trade.
  4. If you are good at calculating probabilities, you may have a better chance than others.
Alan Lemus
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