How to Play Irish Snap Card Game

The card game Irish Snap is a fun card game that kids will love. It’s silly, a little confusing and has plenty or rule variations. It has its origins with the classic Snap game, but like Slapjack, this game has a feel of its own.

Irish Snap is sure to make the list of kids favorite card game like Crazy 8s, Spoons, and Garbage.

In this post we’ll cover how to play, different ways to win and all of the Irish Snap variations.

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What You Need For Irish Snap Card Game

You will need a standard deck of playing cards. You can leave the jokers in or take them out depending on which variation you’re playing. For the basic game we’ll leave them out.

Irish Snap is a rough game on the cards so it might be best to play with older cards or have a deck that is just for games like this. If you need some new cards to replace the ones you used for this game, check out all the fun decks here. Canadians here.

How to Play Irish Snap

First, deal all of the cards to the players. It is okay if some players end up with more cards than others. Players should leave their cards in a pile in front of them and not look at them.

To start, the player on the left of the dealer flips over her top card and says “Ace” no matter what the card shows. Next the player on her left flips over his card and says “two.” The cards are placed in one central pile. This continues with players announcing Jack, Queen and King. When King is reached, the next player starts over with ace.

The Snaps

Now for the Snap part of the game. There are two ways that a snap happens. First, when the card that is flipped over matches the number or rank that was said, it is a snap. Players now race to slap their hands on top of the pile. The last player to put her hand on the pile now has to take all of the cards and place them on the bottom of her pile. For example, if a player says “eight” and an 8 is flipped over, it’s a snap.

Second, when a card matches the card already on top of the pile it’s a snap. Again players race to slap their hands on the pile. For example, if there is a three on the pile and a player flips over another three then it’s a snap. It doesn’t matter what the spoken number was.

There is one other way a player will have to pick up the pile. If a player snaps or flinches when there is no snap, he must pick up the pile and add it to the bottom of his stack.

When a snap (or a non-snap pick up) has happened, then the player who picked up the cards starts over with “Ace.”

Winning Irish Snap

There are two ways to win. First, the first player to shed all of their cards is the winner.

If that takes too long, you can set a certain amount of time and play until that time. When the timer goes off the player with the least amount of cards is the winner. Just be sure to agree on a time before starting.

Irish Snap Variations

There are lots of rule changes for this game.

Special Cards

First is to leave in the jokers. When a joker is filliped over it is a snap. Another variation with the jokers is that when a joker is flipped over, the direction of play changes.

The second variation has to do with Jacks. This Irish Snap rule says that all Jacks are a snap no matter when they are played. And yet another rule change is that Jacks change the direction of play.

The third rule change is that all queens are a snap.

No Speaking

In this variation, no numbers are spoken out loud. Players must keep track in their heads.

All In

For the All In variation, there is a loser rather than a winner. When a player has shed all of his cards, he stays in the game. His number is counted without a card being played. For example if his number would be 6 then he says “six” when it’s his turn but doesn’t put a card down. If the card played before him is the number he says, it counts as a snap. When playing this way, a player still has to pay attention to not be the last player to slap the pile. Play continues until one player has all of the cards.

One Last Snap

In this variation, when a player has shed all of her cards she must successfully win one more snap before being declared the winner.

Irish Foot Snap

Irish Foot Snap is played the same way as regular Irish Snap with two changes. First, players play standing up. The flip over their card and toss it to the floor. Next, when a snap occurs, they must “slap” the pile with their foot.

All Snapped Out

Irish Snap is a silly, crazy card game that kids will love. You can mix and match rules from all the variations. To make it easier for younger kids, play with just the basic rules. However, when playing with older kids, throw in some of the more challenging rules to make it more interesting. Irish Snap is a game that will grow with your kids and become a family favorite for years. Get the printable rules for Irish Snap here.

If you’re looking for more kid favorite card games be sure to check out our Kid Favorites here and our card game section here. And for even more fun be sure to visit the Family Game Shelf Shop to find seasonal and original games perfect for your next game night like our silly Whacky Putt mini golf dice game!