Snap Card Game: Rules, Variations and the Chance of a Snap
Snap is a fast, noisy card game for two or more players and one of the first card games many children learn. It needs an ordinary deck of cards, quick eyes and a loud voice. Here are the rules, the most popular variations, and how often a snap actually turns up.
Rules
- Shuffle a standard 52-card deck and deal all the cards face down, so each player has a pile. Decide who starts with a coin flip.
- Players take turns turning over the top card of their pile and placing it face up on their own face-up pile.
- When two face-up cards on top of the piles have the same rank, for example two 7s, the first player to shout “Snap!” wins both face-up piles and adds them to the bottom of their own pile.
- If a player shouts “Snap!” by mistake, they give a card to each other player, or their face-up pile goes to the middle.
- A player with no cards left is out. The last player holding cards wins.
How Often Does a Snap Turn Up?
When a card is turned over, 3 of the other 51 cards in the deck share its rank. So, roughly, each new card has about a 1 in 17 chance of matching the card it is compared with.
To see how that adds up, we used a computer to shuffle a deck 400,000 times and turn the cards over one by one onto a single pile, checking each card against the one before it. This is a simplified model of the game, but it gives a feel for the pace:
| Cards | Snap by then |
|---|---|
| 10 | 43% |
| 20 | 69% |
| 30 | 83% |
| All 52 | 95% |
On average there were about 3 snaps per run through the deck, and only about 1 shuffle in 22 produced no snap at all. With two piles the numbers are similar, so expect a snap every few turns, not every few seconds.
Variations
- Middle pile snap: everyone plays onto one shared pile in the middle, and a snap is a card matching the one just below it. The winner takes the whole pile.
- Snap pool: when two face-up piles are snapped, they go into a pool in the middle; the next player to snap a card against the pool takes it.
- Colour or suit snap: for younger children, snap on matching colours or suits, which happens far more often.
- Picture snap: use a children’s picture deck with animals or characters instead of playing cards.
- Slap version: instead of shouting, players slap the pile; the first hand on the pile wins.
Tips for Fair and Friendly Play
- Turn cards away from you, so the other players see them at the same moment you do.
- Agree before the game what happens after a false snap.
- If two players shout at the same time, split the cards or settle it with a coin flip.
- With young children, play the colour version first so snaps come quickly.
- For the slap version, take off rings and keep nails short.
Where Snap Comes From
Snap is a traditional children’s card game, best known in Britain, and special Snap decks with pictures have been sold for many decades. Its exact origin is not recorded. If you enjoy it, try War, Spoons or Memory, which also need nothing but a deck of cards.
FAQ
How do you play Snap?
Deal out all the cards. Players take turns turning over a card onto their own face-up pile, and when two top cards match in rank, the first to shout Snap wins both piles. The last player with cards wins.
How many players can play Snap?
Two or more. With more than four, use two decks or play the middle pile version.
What happens if you call Snap wrongly?
It depends on house rules: usually you give a card to each other player, or your face-up pile goes to the middle.
How often does a snap happen?
Each new card has about a 1 in 17 chance of matching the card it is compared with, so expect around three snaps per run through the deck.
Is Snap good for young children?
Yes. It teaches matching and quick reactions, and the colour or picture versions work for children as young as 3 or 4.