How to Play the Go To Pack Card Game

Card games are a great away to spend time together and the Go To Pack card game is a great one for younger kids. It is similar to a card game called Donkey.

There is a variation of this game called Donkey but do not confuse it with the SPOONS variation Donkey. Instead of the crazy action of SPOONS, Go To Pack is a beginner’s trick taking game in the same spirit as Rolling Stone, Knuckles and Frogs in the Pond.

For this post we will cover the rules, variations and how we like to play Go To Pack.

This post may contain affiliate links. I receive a small commission at no cost to you when you make a purchase using my link.

What You Need For Go To Pack

You will need a standard deck of playing cards with the jokers removed. If you need some new playing cards, shop here. Canadians here.

How to Play Go To Pack

First, there are many options on how many cards are dealt (see the visitations below) we prefer the 7 card deal.

To start, deal 7 cards to each player. Next, flip over the top card of the pack, or draw pile.  This card is shows the opening hand’s suit but does not count for the trick. For example, if the top card is the 10 of Hearts, then the opening trick has to be played in hearts.

Now, the player to the dealer’s left must play a heart. If she has no heart cards in her hand, she must pick up from the draw pile—or Go To Pack—until she can play a heart. The next player now has to play a heart card. Again, if he can’t play, he needs to pick up cards until her can.

The player who plays the highest ranking heart card wins the trick. Aces are high.

Now the player who wins the trick can choose any card of her choice to start the next rick. As before, each player has to play a card that follows suit. Again, if any one can’t play, they have to pick up, or Go To Pack, until they can play. The player with the highest card wins the trick and starts the next one.

When the pack, or deck, has no more cards and player can’t play, they simply do not get to play a card and the play passes to the next player. Play continues as before, with any player unable to put a card down, simply being skipped.

When no other player can play a suit that is lead, the player who led the suit can now discard all of her cards of that suit.

Winning Go To Pack Card Game

The first player to play all of their cards is the winner.

Go To Pack Variations

Keeping Score

To play Go To Pack with a score, the play is the same. When a player wins a hand, they win a point for each card left in their opponent’s hands. The job of dealer passes for each hand. Before starting, players need to decide on how many points to play to. 50 or 100 points makes for a nice game.

Penalties

The penalties variation is for two players. In some games, players need to decide what the winner, or rather the looser, will have to do when they lose. This can be how many nights they have to do the dishes, or how many jokes they have to tell.  The amount of cards still in your hand will determine how many times you get dish duties or how many jokes.

Donkey

The game play of Donkey is the same, but play continues until there is just one player left with cards. This player is the donkey and the number of card left in his hand says how old of donkey he is. For example, if he has 4 cards left in his hand, he is a four year old donkey.

No Cards Left

There is a rule that when there are no more cards in the pack and a player cannot play, she must pick up that card and add it to her hand and her opponent then gives her a card to play. I couldn’t find any more information on how this rule plays out. We didn’t understand how it works so we don’t play with this rule. (If you know this rule, please leave us a comment below so we can understand.)

A Pack of Fun

To card gam Go To Pack is a simple one but it can be quite gripping—there’s nothing better than watching your opponent pick card and card until he has a fist full of cards. But watch out! The cards can turn just as quickly, leaving you with an unruly pack of cards.

If you’re looking for more fun card games that kids love check out Fe Fi Fo Fum, Slapjack, Snap and Crazy Fish. If you were looking for the SPOONS variation Donkey, check out all the ways to play that game here. And for even more fun, visit our Family Game Shelf shop for tons of fun with seasonal and original games, including our mini golf dice game Whacky Putt. You can get the printable rules for Go To Pack here.