How to Play the Card Game Boodle

Is there another sound quite like the sound of poker chips clicking together? But what if you don’t know how to play Poker or don’t want to teach your kids Poker? Then the card game Boodle is for you. It’s a game for two or more players about 8 and up.

Although Boodle is played with Poker chips, there is no betting or gambling. This game has been around a long time and as many card games, it has many names. You can find Boodle rules with the names of Michigan, Chicago, Saratoga, Newmarket and Stops. We like the name Boodle.

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Boodle Supplies

For Boodle you will need one deck or cards (no jokers), Poker chips or Bingo chips and boodle cards. The boodle cards are the Ace of Hearts, the King of Clubs, the Queen of Spades and the Jack of Diamonds. These can be cards from another deck or you can print out our free Boodle Cards from our Fun Library. (You can get your password in the black box below.)

The Object of Boodle

The object of Boodle is to win the most chips. A player wins chips by either playing one of the Boodle cards or by going out first.

Set up

First, the rules of Boodle state that all players get an even amount of chips. Boodle is played in sets. In a set, each player gets a turn to be the dealer. Before playing, pick a number of sets to play.

How to Play Boodle Card Game

To start each round, all players place one chip on each of the Boodle cards.

The Widow Hand

Next, the dealer deals all of the cards out, dealing one hand more than there are players. This extra hand is the widow hand and is dealt to the dealer’s left.

Note: in some games, some players may have more cards then others. This is fine and will not affect the game play.

Next, all players look at their hand and decide if they would like to keep their hand or trade it for the widow hand. The dealer gets first pick. If he wants to trade, then he places his first hand down and off to the side and plays with the widow hand.

On the other hand, if he chooses to keep his own hand, then the widow hand is auctioned off. The bidding for the hand starts at one chip. When the player who wins the auction is decided, then that player places her original hand off to the side and takes the widow hand to player with. She pays the amount of her bid to the dealer who places the chips in his personal chip stash.

Note: no player has to bid in an auction. There could be rounds where the widow hand remains untouched.

The Play

Once the hands have been settled on, the player to the dealer’s left plays the lowest card of any suit in her hand. (This does not need to be the lowest in her hand. If she has the 2 of hearts but wants to play the 4 of clubs instead, she can.) The player with the next card in sequence plays that card until no one can play.

For example: if the 4 of clubs was played, then the 5 of clubs is played, then the 6 of clubs but no one has the 7 of clubs (known as a stopper) then the player who played the 6 gets to start the next string—starting with the lowest card of any suit in her hand.

Note: play does not rotate in a clockwise fashion. A player may have two or three cards in a row (or more).

Aces are high and are played after the Kings. When an ace is played, the sequence is over and that player starts a new sequence.

When a player plays a boodle card, then she collects the chips that are on the card.

Ending a Round of Boodle

When a player has played his last card, then the round is over. All other players must pay you one chip for every card that is left in their hand. If there are any chips remaining on the boodle cards, he collects those as well.

Note: even if a player could have played on the card that was last played, it still counts against her. The play is over as soon as a player plays the last card in his hand.

Winning Boodle

After playing the amount of sets agreed upon, each player counts their chips. The player with the most chips is the winner.

Boodle Variations

No Bidding

In this variation, the widow hand is left untouched for each round.

Penalty

When players are caught with a boodle card in their hand at the end of a round, they need to pay an extra chip as a penalty.

The Fifth Boodle

Some play with what is called the fifth boodle card. This is actually three cards in sequence. It is usually the 9, 10 and Jack of hearts. When a player plays two or more of these cards, they get to collect the chips on them.

Conclusion

Boodle is an easy to play game that has a little bit of strategy to it and a lot of luck. It is a great game for families to play as there is no gambling but the experience of playing with the very grownup Poker chips.

Get your free Boodle card page form our fun library here.

If you need a new deck of cards, shop here. Canadians can shop for a deck of cards, here.

For even more fun with cards, check out our card game section. Check out the Wichita card game, Blind Poker and Frogs in the Pond. Be sure to visit our Family Game Shelf shop for tons of fun with seasonal and original games like Sticks and our dice mini golf game Whacky Putt.