Shithead rules
House rules vary. These are the exact rules used at every new table on Shithead Online.
Players, decks and the deal
Play with 2–8 people. Two to four players use 52 cards; five to eight use 104. Two decks are combined into one draw pile, with one shared discard pile. There are no jokers, and suits have no effect on play.
Each player receives three face-down cards, three face-up cards and three cards in hand. Face-down cards stay hidden from everyone, including their owner. The remaining cards form the draw pile.
Setup, turns and special cards
Get rid of every card. The last player holding cards is the Shithead.
- Set your table. Swap a hand card with a face-up card, as often as you like. Lock in when you’re ready.
- Play equal or higher. Play one card or several of the same rank. Aces are high. Can’t play? Pick up the pile and your turn ends. You can also choose to pick up.
- Keep 3 in hand. Draw after playing until you have 3, while the deck lasts.
- Hand → face up → face down. Use face-up cards only when your hand and the draw pile are empty. Reveal face-down cards one at a time, blindly. An illegal reveal means taking the pile and that card.
Burn the pile, take another turn. The lowest ordinary hand card decides who starts; ties follow seating order. Two to four players use 52 cards. Five to eight use 104, with one shared discard pile.
Leave game gives up your seat and removes your cards from play. Others continue without you. If only one active player remains after a departure, they win by forfeit and the departing player is the Shithead. Take a break keeps your seat for reconnecting.
Which card starts the game?
Once everyone locks in, the player with the lowest ordinary card in hand starts. Always-playable special cards are ignored for this choice. Ties follow the order in which players joined. The starting player may open with any legal card; they do not have to play the card that made them start.
Picking up and drawing
You can choose to pick up any nonempty discard pile on your turn, even when you have a legal card. The entire pile goes into your hand and your turn ends. Refill toward 3 cards if the draw pile still has cards. You cannot pick up an empty pile.
After playing from your hand, refill to 3 before the next turn is decided. If you already have that many cards or more, draw nothing. When the deck runs out, play your remaining hand before touching your face-up cards.
Equal ranks and a four-of-a-kind
You can play several cards of the same rank from your current area in one move. You cannot combine cards from your hand and your face-up row. A four-of-a-kind burn checks the four most recent cards in the discard pile, so equal ranks can build up over different players’ turns. Four matching cards scattered throughout the pile do not count.
Face-up cards and blind reveals
Choose a legal face-up card, or matching face-up cards, only after both your hand and the draw pile are empty. If you pick up, clear that new hand before using your remaining face-up cards. Once those are all gone, choose a face-down position and reveal one card blindly.
A legal reveal is played normally. An illegal reveal sends the entire discard pile and the revealed card into your hand and ends your turn. Your remaining face-down cards stay hidden. You must clear the hand you picked up before trying another hidden card.
Finishing and the Shithead
When a player has no cards left in any area, their finishing position is recorded and later turns skip them. If their last card burns the pile, the next remaining player takes the turn. Play continues until only one player remains: the Shithead. The host can open another round with the same group from the results screen.
For a guided first round, read how to play Shithead.
Your friends. Your table.
Give yourself a name, share a code and deal the first round.
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