Printable Spoons rules

Spoons in one page

3–13 players · 1 deck · spoons (players minus 1)

Put spoons in the middle of the table, one fewer than the number of players, and deal four cards to each person. The dealer draws from the deck and everyone passes one unwanted card to the left, over and over, trying to collect four of a kind. The first player with four of a kind takes a spoon, then everyone grabs. Whoever misses out takes a letter, and spelling S-P-O-O-N knocks you out.

In brief

• Spoons in the middle: one fewer than players
• Deal 4 cards each; dealer keeps the draw pile
• Dealer draws, passes one card face down left
• Everyone picks up, then passes one card left
• Player on dealer's right discards to a trash pile
• Four of a kind? Take a spoon
• After the first spoon, anyone may grab
• No spoon = next letter of S-P-O-O-N
• Spell SPOON and you're out; remove a spoon
• Deck runs out? Shuffle the trash pile
• Last player standing wins

Setup

1. Put spoons in a small circle in the middle of the table, where everyone can reach them. Use one fewer spoon than the number of players: 3 spoons for 4 players, 5 spoons for 6.
2. Shuffle a standard 52-card deck and deal four cards face down to each player. The dealer keeps the rest of the deck face down beside them as the draw pile.
3. Leave room on the table next to the player on the dealer's right. That player's discards go there, face down, as the trash pile.
4. Everyone picks up their four cards and keeps them hidden. When everyone is ready, the dealer starts play.

On your turn

1. The dealer takes the top card of the draw pile, so they're holding five cards. They choose one card they don't want and pass it face down to the player on their left.
2. Each other player picks up the card passed to them, decides which card to get rid of, and passes one card face down to their left. You go back to four cards every time you pass.
3. The player on the dealer's right doesn't pass to the dealer. Their discard goes face down on the trash pile.
4. Nobody waits for anyone. The dealer keeps drawing and passing as fast as they like, and cards can pile up next to a slow player. Take them one at a time.
5. As soon as you hold four cards of the same rank, such as four jacks, take a spoon from the middle. Many players do it quietly to keep the others from noticing.
6. Once the first spoon is gone, anyone may take one, whether or not they have four of a kind. The player left without a spoon loses the round.

Scoring

Winning

Keep playing rounds, removing a spoon each time someone is knocked out. The final round is two players and one spoon. Whoever gets that spoon is the last player remaining and wins the game.