Trick-taking card games are one of the most fun styles around but learning them can sometimes be a bitโฆtricky! Go Boom is the perfect family-friendly beginner trick-taking game. Thereโs no bidding and no need to worry about winning or losing the trick.
Your goal is simple: be the first to get rid of your cards. If you can do that, you win!
Check out the full rules below to learn how to play Go Boom!
What Youโll need:
- 1 deck of standard playing cards. Jokers removed. (See our favorite, fun and pretty decks here!)
- 2-7 players (best with 3-7)
Set Up
- Shuffle the cards thoroughly.
- Deal 7 cards to each player.
- The remaining cards form the stock.
How to Play Go Boom
1. Choose a starting player. (Youngest or the player to the left of the dealer)
2. That player leads the first trick by playing any card from their hand.
3. In clockwise order, each other player will select a card from their hand to play that matches either the suit or the rank of the first card.
Examples
- If a Jack of Diamonds is played all players must play either a Jack or a Diamond.
- If a 6 of Spades was played, all players must play either a 6 or a Spade.
4. When everyone has played one card, the trick ends.
- The player who played the highest card in the lead suit wins the trick.
- That player then leads the next trick by playing any card from their hand.
If You Cannot Follow Suit or Rank
- You must draw from the stock, one card at a time, until you draw a card you can legally play.
- You then play that card immediately.
- All other drawn cards are kept in your hand.
If the Stock Runs Out
- A player who cannot play is skipped for that trick.
Winning
Continue playing tricks until a player has played all the cards from their hand.
That player wins the game!
Variations
Scoring Go Boom
If you want to play a longer game, you can add scoring.
- The player who goes out first wins the round and collects points from the cards left in other playersโ hands.
- Play to a target score. 100 points is common.
Card Values
- Ace: 1 pts.
- 2-10: Face Value
- Jack, Queen, King: 10 pts.
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