🧺 Canasta
🂡 Cards · 14 playsCanasta
Two decks, wild jokers, and a discard pile worth fighting over. Beat Vera to 5000.
About Canasta
The great mid-century meld-off, played classic two-hand style against Vera. You each get 15 cards from a double deck plus four jokers; every turn you draw two, meld what you can and discard one. Melds are three or more of a rank — 2s and jokers are wild — and a meld of seven is a canasta: 300 points, or 500 with no wilds at all. Red 3s are 100-point bonuses that lay themselves down (800 if you collect all four), and the discard pile is the real battleground: meld its top card and the whole stack is yours, unless a wild has frozen it, in which case only a natural pair unlocks it. You need a canasta before you can go out, and the first past 5000 wins the match.
How to Play
Draw two from the stock — or take the whole pile by melding its top card. Meld 3+ of a rank; 2s and jokers are wild (never more wilds than naturals). Seven of a rank is a canasta: 500 natural, 300 mixed. You need one to go out. A wild discard freezes the pile — only a natural pair matching the top card takes it then. Discard one card to end your turn. Cards left in hand count against you. First to 5000 wins. Your opening meld minimum rises with your score: 50, 90, then 120.
💡 Tips & Strategy
The pile is the game. Keep natural pairs in hand so you can take it even when it's frozen — a frozen pile (and the pile before your first meld) only opens to two naturals matching the top card. When it grows fat and Vera looks ready to pounce, discard a wild to freeze it and slow her down.
Build toward canastas, not just quick melds: you can't go out without one, and a natural canasta pays 500 against 300 for a mixed. Keep a meld wild-free while a seventh natural card is still likely, and save your wilds for finishing a canasta or hitting the opening minimum — remember it climbs to 90 at 1500 points and 120 at 3000, so hold aces (worth 20 each) when a new hand is coming.
Discard with care. Never throw a rank Vera has already melded — with the pile unfrozen she takes the lot without spending a card. Black 3s are your brakes: the pile can't be taken while one sits on top, so save them for dangerous moments. And once Vera looks close to going out, meld what you're holding — every card left in your hand scores against you.