Shithead (card game)

Shed

A hand during a game of Shithead
Alternative names	Palace, Shed, Karma, Threes
Type	Shedding-type
Players	2-4 (recommended); 5 maximum
Skills required	Memory
Cards	52
Deck	French
Play	Variable
Card rank (highest to lowest)	Highly variable
Playing time	5 mins.+
Random chance	High
Related games
Paskahousu

Shithead (also known as Karma, Threes, Palace, Shed and by many other names) is a card game, the object of which is to lose all of one's cards, with the last player to do so being the "shithead". This player must deal the next game and may be subject to some minor forfeit of the group's choice, such as fetching the next round of drinks.

The game, and variations of it, is popular in many countries amongst backpackers, and as a result is widespread. Although the basic structure of the game generally remains constant there are often regional variations of the game's original rules. The game is similar to the Finnish game Paskahousu.

There are many variations of the rules, and there is no universally accepted set. A set of rules is listed here.

From a standard, shuffled deck of 52 cards, each player is dealt three face-down cards in a row. Players are not allowed to see or change these cards. On top of the face-down cards, they are dealt the same number of face-up cards. Three cards are again dealt to each player (face down), and this becomes the player's hand.

Players are then allowed to switch the cards in their 'hand' with their 'face up cards' in an attempt to produce a strong set of 'face up cards' for later in the game.

The starting player is the first person (counting clockwise from the dealer) to have a face-up 3. If no 3s are face-up, the first player to have a 3 in their hand begins. (If no player has a 3 in hand, the procedure is repeated for the first 4, and so on.) The starting player makes the first play to the pick up pile, and may choose any rank.

Each player must lay a card equal to or higher in value than the one at the top of the pick up pile, then draw cards from the deck so they have at least three cards in their hand (unless the deck has run out of cards or they already have three or more cards in their hand). If a player has no single card that is higher in value than the previous card they may play a pair of cards, in which case the next player must play a higher pair or a triple. If they cannot play a card (or cards), they must pick up the pick-up pile (put it in their hand) and end their turn. In some variants when two cards of the same value are played the next player is skipped.

Play continues sequentially in a clockwise direction unless certain wildcards are played, depending on rule set.

When a player has no more cards in their hand, and the deck is empty, they may proceed to play from their three face up cards onto the pick up pile. They may not play from this set of cards until they have finished with their hand. If the deck is empty and there are no cards in the player's hand, they may lay one or more (if they share the same rank) of the face up cards on the pile. The rank of the face up card must be higher than the rank of the card on the top of the pile, otherwise the player cannot play the face up card and must pick up the pile.