How to play Canasta

Canasta is a partnership game for four players with two decks and four jokers, 108 cards in all. You sit across from your partner (here, Rose), and the two of you share one row of melds on the table and one score. The first side to reach 5,000 points wins. Each hand is a race to build canastas, melds of seven cards of the same rank.

Your turn

Draw one card from the stock, or take the whole discard pile (see below).
Meld if you like: lay down three or more cards of the same rank, or add cards to your side's melds.
Discard one card face up on the pile. That ends your turn.

Here you tap cards in your hand to pick them, then tap Meld, tap one of your melds to add to it, or tap the pile to discard.

Melds and wild cards

A meld is three or more cards of one rank, from 4 up to Ace. Suits do not matter, and there are no runs.
Jokers and 2s are wild. A meld needs at least two natural cards and can hold at most three wild cards.
Your side can have only one meld of each rank. Your partner's melds are yours too, so add to them freely.
Seven cards make a canasta: a natural canasta (no wild cards) is worth a 500 point bonus, a mixed one 300.

Your side's first meld

The first time your side melds in a hand, the cards you put down together must be worth a minimum: 50 points while your side is under 1,500, 90 from 1,500, 120 from 3,000, and only 15 if your score is below zero. You may put down several melds at once to reach it. Here, when your first melds are not enough yet, they wait on the table and show how many points you have so far.

Card values

Joker: 50. Ace and 2: 20. King down to 8: 10. 7 down to 4, and black 3s: 5.
Red 3s go straight onto the table when you get one and you draw a replacement. Each is worth 100, all four 800. If your side has not melded by the end of the hand, they count against you.
Black 3s are stoppers: discard one and the next player cannot take the pile. You can only meld them when you go out.

Taking the pile

The discard pile is the big prize. To take it, you must meld its top card right away, together with cards from your hand. Then all the other cards in the pile go into your hand.

Normally you can use two matching cards, or one matching card and a wild card, or add the top card to one of your side's melds.
The pile is frozen when a wild card is in it (you will see it lying sideways), and it is always frozen for a side that has not melded yet. Then you need two natural cards that match the top card.
You can never take the pile when its top card is a wild card or a black 3.

Going out and scoring

Once your side has at least one canasta, you may go out by melding all your cards, with or without a last discard. That ends the hand and earns 100 points, or 200 if you go out concealed, all in one turn without having melded before. Without a canasta you must always keep at least one card. If the stock runs out, play goes on only while players take the pile; then the hand ends.

Each side then scores its canasta bonuses, red 3s and the going out bonus, plus the value of every card it melded, minus the value of the cards still in both partners' hands.

Tips

Keep pairs. A pair in your hand is what lets you take the pile, especially once it is frozen.
Watch their melds. Never discard a card that matches one of the other side's melds while the pile is not frozen: they will take it.
Black 3s are gifts. Discard one when the pile is big and the next player would love it.
Save wild cards to finish a canasta. Seven cards are worth far more than one early meld.
Go out when they are loaded. If the other side is holding many cards, going out makes them count all of it against themselves.

Today's deal

The Daily Deal is one hand with the same cards and the same computer players for everyone. Play it through and see how your side's score compares. Your first try of the day is the one that counts.

Questions

Who are my partner and opponents? Rose sits across from you and plays on your side. Lily (left) and Walter (right) play together against you.

Can I undo? No, like at a real table. Picking cards does nothing until you tap Meld, a meld, or the pile, so you can always change your mind before that.

Is this the same as Hand and Foot? No. Hand and Foot is a cousin with more decks and a second hand. This is Classic Canasta.

Do I need an account? No. Your game is saved in this browser, so you can close the page and come back.