What you need
A standard 52-card deck, with or without jokers, and 2 to 8 players around a table where everyone can reach the middle. Expect noise and bent cards; use a deck you do not mind damaging.
Egyptian Ratscrew (ERS for short, also Egyptian War, Ratslap or just Slap) is the American descendant of the British game Beggar My Neighbour, with slapping added. The name is a cleaned-up version of a ruder original.
Setup
Deal all the cards face down, one at a time, as evenly as possible. Nobody looks at their cards. Each player keeps a face-down pile in front of them.
How to play
Starting left of the dealer, players take turns flipping the top card of their pile onto a central pile. Flip the card away from you so everyone sees it at once.
Face-card challenges
When someone plays a jack, queen, king or ace, the next player must answer with another face card or ace. They have a limited number of cards to do it:
- after a jack: 1 card
- after a queen: 2 cards
- after a king: 3 cards
- after an ace: 4 cards
If they play a face card or ace within those chances, the challenge passes to the next player with a fresh count. If they run out of chances, the player who played the last face card wins the whole pile, puts it face down under their own, and starts the next round.
Slapping
At any moment, anyone may slap the pile if the top cards form an agreed combination. The first hand on the pile wins it, overriding any challenge in progress. The usual combinations:
- Double: two cards of the same rank in a row (7, 7).
- Sandwich: two cards of the same rank with one card between (7, 4, 7).
- Tens: two consecutive cards adding up to 10, with an ace counting 1 (3, 7). Some groups allow a face card between them.
- Marriage: a king and a queen next to each other, in either order.
- Top-bottom: a card of the same rank as the first card of the pile.
- Four in a row: four cards in ascending or descending order (5, 6, 7, 8 or Q, K, A, 2).
- Joker: any joker, if jokers are in play.
If several hands land together, the one underneath (or with the most fingers on the cards) wins.
Penalties and slapping in
Slapping when there is no combination costs you one or two cards, placed face down at the bottom of the pile. A player with no cards can keep slapping and “slap in” to rejoin the game with the pile they win, as long as they slap legally.
Scoring and winning
There is no score. The game ends when one player holds all the cards. If the game drags on, set a time limit and count cards at the end.
Common variants
- Reversed chances. Some groups give 1 chance for a king and 3 for a jack, or let jacks and kings swap.
- Extra slaps. Flush of three or more cards of the same suit; “hoagie” (same rank with two cards between); 6 and 9 together, the “ratscrew” itself.
- Burning. A wrong slap puts the top card of your pile under the central pile instead of a free choice.
- Three strikes. A player with no cards who slaps wrongly three times may no longer slap.
- No slapping during challenges. Slaps are only valid between challenges, which calms things down for younger players.
Tips for first games
- Agree the list of slap combinations and the penalty before dealing, and write it down. ERS arguments are almost always about an unlisted combination.
- Keep your hand behind your own pile when you are not slapping. Hovering is a foul in most groups.
- Face cards are worth more than anything else: a pile full of face cards lets you win challenges. Do not waste a slap on a pile of low cards if you are short on face cards.
- Count the cards flipped during a challenge aloud (“one, two…”) so nobody loses track of the chances.
Frequently asked questions
How many chances do you get after a face card? One after a jack, two after a queen, three after a king, four after an ace.
Can you slap during a face-card challenge? Yes. A legal slap beats the challenge and wins the pile for the slapper, unless your group has agreed otherwise.
What is a sandwich in ERS? Two cards of the same rank separated by one other card, for example 9, K, 9.
Can you get back into the game with no cards? Yes. You can still slap valid combinations and take the pile. You are only truly out when one player holds every card.
Is Egyptian Ratscrew the same as Slapjack? No. Slapjack only slaps jacks and has no challenges. ERS adds face-card chances and many slap combinations, and is faster and rougher.
