How to Play Stack the Deck™

King of Spades playing card leaning against a colorful Stack the Deck box that's on top a pile of cards

Step 1: Choose Your "Base" Card Game

Stack the Deck™ contains 110-cards: 52 standard playing cards and 58 more to include (or not) as you see fit.

To start, pick your favorite card game—Rummy, Poker, Gin, Crazy Eights, War, you name it...

Now the fun part: decide which additional cards to add to change up your game.

Hands holding 6 queens representing different suits—diamonds, clubs, hearts, spades, stars, circles

Step 2: Add New Suits

Stack the Deck includes 2 new suits—circles and stars. With these cards, you can expand the number of pairs, full houses, flushes, tricks, etc. available to accommodate more players or alter expected game length.

Decide if you want to add 0, 1, or 2 new suits.

Hands holding colorful Everyone Switch, Reverse Play, Lose a Turn, Switch Hands, Take an Extra Turn, Draw 4, Draw 2 and Wild cards

Step 3: Add Special Cards

Stack the Deck contains 20 special cards:

  • 8 Wild cards;
  • 2 Lose a Turn cards;
  • 2 Take an Extra Turn cards;
  • 2 Reverse Play cards;
  • 2 Draw Two cards;
  • 2 Draw Four cards;
  • 1 Switch Hands card (switch hands with a player of choice); and
  • 1 Everyone Switch card (each person passes their cards to the player on their left).

Decide if you want to add any to your game.

Two playing cards with blue borders, a white background, and text indicating that people can write in their own rules

Step 4: Create Your Own Cards

Want to make up your own rules or have more special cards than were provided? Stack the Deck comes with 12 blank cards that you can customize into more game-changing surprises. For example, you can make a card that requires everyone to give 1 card to the player on their right—or be silly and require someone to sing the National Anthem before picking up their next card. Your house, your rules!

People gathered on a couch play Stack the Deck, smiling as cards, snacks, and a drink sit on the coffee table.

Step 5: Ensure Everyone Is in Sync

Depending on which “base” game you are playing, you may need to decide upfront whether an action card applies to the person who draws the card or the person whose turn follows the playing of the card—for example, whether a person who selects a Draw Two card must draw 2 cards or whether they can hold it and, when the card is played or discarded, require the next person to draw 2.

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Familiar Games, Fresh Surprises