Egyptian Rat Screw
Play your top card, then slap the pile when a double or sandwich shows. Fastest valid slap takes it — collect all 52 cards to win.
How to play egyptian rat screw online
- In the toolbar, set Opponents to 1 computer (the default), 2 computers or 3 computers. Changing it starts a new game at once.
- Set Computer skill to Easy, Medium (the default) or Hard. It applies straight away.
- Set Computer speed to Normal (the default) or Fast. This does not restart the game.
- Click Rules to read the short summary and tick the six rule boxes: Doubles, Sandwich, Top and bottom, Marriage, Tens and Slap in. Changes apply at once, even in a game already in progress.
- On your turn, click or tap Play card (your deck). You play first.
- Watch the centre pile and the status line. When a pattern shows on top, click or tap the pile or the red SLAP! button.
- Keep playing until one player holds all 52 cards, then choose Play again in the end-of-game dialog.
- Click New game at any time to start a fresh deal immediately, with no confirm.
After you have clicked or tapped the table once, the keyboard works: Space plays your card, and S or Enter slaps. N starts a new game, F toggles fullscreen and Esc closes a dialog. Add ?seed=123 to the page address to fix the deal. The address updates with the current game’s seed, so you can return to the same deal.
What are the egyptian rat screw rules?
The game uses a 52-card deck with no jokers. The cards are dealt one at a time, face down and as evenly as possible. With two players each gets 26 cards. With three players the hands are 18, 17 and 17 (you get the extra card), and with four players 13 each. You play first, and play goes clockwise: you, Computer 1, Computer 2, then Computer 3. On your turn you place your top card face up on the centre pile. Players with no cards are skipped.
What is a face card challenge in egyptian rat screw?
A challenge starts when a jack, queen, king or ace is played. The next player must then play a jack, queen, king or ace of their own. A jack gives them 1 chance, a queen 2, a king 3 and an ace 4. They play one card at a time, and each card that is not a face card or ace uses up one chance. If they play a face card within their chances, the challenge passes on with the new card’s chances.
If they use up every chance without a face card or ace, the challenger takes the whole pile. The pile goes to the bottom of their deck, and they lead the next card. A valid slap during the short pause before that still takes the pile instead. A player who runs out of cards while answering a challenge loses it. If nobody else has any cards, the challenger takes the pile at once.
When can you slap the pile in egyptian rat screw?
Anyone can slap at any time, not only on their own turn. The first valid slap takes the whole pile to the bottom of that player’s deck, cancels any running challenge, and the slapper plays next. A pile of one card is never slappable. These patterns count, and each can be switched on or off in the Rules dialog:
- Doubles (on by default): the top two cards have the same rank.
- Sandwich (on by default): the top card and the card two below it have the same rank, with one card between them.
- Top and bottom (off by default): the top card matches the bottom card of the pile. This needs a pile of two or more cards.
- Marriage (off by default): a king and a queen sit next to each other on top, in either order.
- Tens (off by default): the top two cards add up to 10. An ace counts as 1, and jacks, queens and kings never count. For example, 4 and 6, ace and 9, or 5 and 5 all count.
What happens after a wrong slap in egyptian rat screw?
If a slap is not valid, the slapper burns their top card face down to the bottom of the pile. A player with no cards left is not penalised for a wrong slap. If a computer was clearly first to a valid slap, your slap is ignored with the message “Too late”, and there is no penalty.
How does an egyptian rat screw game end?
The game ends when one player holds all 52 cards. As a safeguard against endless play, the game also ends once 3000 cards have been played. In that case the player with the most cards in hand wins, and on a tie the lowest seat wins.
What are good egyptian rat screw strategy and tips?
The pile shows its top three cards fanned out, so a sandwich is as easy to spot as a double. Slap the moment a pattern appears, because the first valid slap takes everything.
Only slap when a pattern is really there: a wrong slap costs you a card.
Your reaction time matters most against Hard computers, which react in about 0.5 seconds. Easy computers react more slowly, around 1.2 seconds, and they miss a valid slap about 18 percent of the time. Medium computers react in about 0.8 seconds.
When a face card or ace is played against you, count your chances: running out of cards while answering loses the pile.
Turning off Slap in makes running out of cards much more dangerous, because you cannot slap your way back in.
Frequently asked questions
Is Egyptian Rat Screw free to play?
Yes, it is free. You can play it on this page without paying anything. The game runs in your browser.
Do I need to sign up to play Egyptian Rat Screw?
No sign-up is needed. Your settings and stats are stored in your own browser.
Can I play Egyptian Rat Screw on a phone?
Yes. You can tap your deck to play and tap the pile or the SLAP! button to slap. Slaps react on touch down, so there is no tap delay.
Is my Egyptian Rat Screw game saved?
Yes, a game in progress is saved after every card, slap and pile win. Reloading the page restores it exactly, and the computers carry on from where they were. A finished game is not saved, and starting a new game with New game does not count as a finished game.
Can two people play Egyptian Rat Screw on the same device?
No. The game is for you against one, two or three computer players. Two human players on one device are not supported.
Are my wins saved?
Yes. The Games won chip shows your wins out of games played, for all games on this device. It does not track best scores.
Can I undo a move or get a hint?
No. The game has no undo and no hint, because it is played in real time.
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- Crazy Eights: use it for a game of matching suit or rank to shed your hand.
- Euchre: use it for a trick-taking game played in partnerships.
- Spades: use it for a trick-taking game where you bid on how many tricks you will win.
- Hearts: use it for a trick-taking game where you try to avoid certain cards.