Basic Game

Deal and play of cards

Five cards are dealt to each player, and the remaining cards are stacked face down. As usual players hold their cards so that they can see their faces but no one else can. Played cards form a face up pile on the table. Players take turns in clockwise order. At your turn you do the following:

1. Draw one card from the top of the face-down deck, so that you hold six cards.
2. Play one card of your choice from your hand face up onto your discard pile.
3. Move according to the power of the played card.

If you have any card (except a joker) that allows you to move a peg, you must play such a card, even if the move is disadvantageous. However, if you have no cards (except jokers) that enable you to move you may discard one card of your choice without moving and draw a card to replace it. This ends your turn. Discarding without moving normally happens only at the start of the game, when a player has no aces or pictures to move any peg out of the start area.

A player is never forced to play a joker: if you have no other move you may keep the joker and discard another card.

Movement of pegs - general rules

All the pegs begin in their own start areas. From there they move to the neighbouring "come out" hole, and then around the board clockwise. On reaching its own "in-spot" a peg may take the branch into its safe "home" track. No peg may ever move into any start or home area other than its own.

In the basic game, except in special circumstances described below, you may only move your own pegs.

You may never land on or pass over a hole occupied by one of your own pegs, but you may pass over or land on other player's pegs. Passing over a peg of a different color has no effect on it, but landing exactly in the hole occupied by a peg of a different color has the following results:

• When a peg lands on an opponent's peg, the opponent's peg is immediately moved back to its start area.
• When a peg lands on a partner's peg, the partner's peg is immediately moved to its "in-spot", provided the partner does not already have a peg there. It is illegal to land on your partner's peg if that partner already has a peg on his or her own in-spot.

Movement of pegs - effects of individual cards

In order to move your peg out of your start area, you must play a jack, queen, king, ace (to move it to its "come out" hole) or a joker (to move it to the hole occupied by a peg of a different color anywhere on the main track).

When playing a 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 9 or 10, you move one of your own pegs that is not in your start area forward that number of holes along the track.

When playing an ace, you may either move one of your pegs from your start area to your "come out" hole, or move one of your pegs forward one hole.

When playing a jack, queen or king you may either move one of your pegs from your start area to your "come out" hole, or move one of your pegs forward 10 holes.

When playing an 8, you must move one of your pegs backwards 8 holes.

When playing a 7, you may either move one of your pegs forward 7 holes, or split the 7 between two of your pegs, moving them 1 and 6, 2 and 5 or 3 and 4 holes forwards. Of course the split move can only be made if you have at least two pegs in play.

When you play a joker, you move any one of your pegs (for example one in the start area) into a hole on the main track that is occupied by another player's peg, belonging either to a partner or to an opponent. This has the effect of sending that peg to its in-spot or start area respectively, as described above. A joker cannot be used to move to an empty hole, so if there are no pegs of any color on the main track a joker cannot be played.

You must always use the full value of the card played. For example when playing a 6 you must move a peg forward 6 holes, no less. If you play a 6 when you have a peg on your in-spot and all your other pegs in the start area, you must move your peg on along the main track, since there is not room in the home track for a move of 6.

Endgame

For a team to win the game, all its pegs must be in their respective home areas. Pegs move along the home tracks in the usual way. Since they cannot land on or pass over each other, the first peg to arrive must eventually be moved all the way to the end of the home track to leave room for the others, the second to the next space behind it and so on.

"Backing in" to the home track is not allowed. In other words, pegs cannot turn into their home track while moving backwards. Also, pegs that are already in their home areas are not allowed to move backwards.

However, it is legal to use a backward move on the main track as a means to get from start to home. For example: you could use a picture to move from the start area to "come-out"; use an 8 to move back 8 spaces to the corner (NOT into the home track); use a 4, 5, 6 or 7 to move forward into your home track.

When, and only when, all five of your pegs are in the home (safe) position, occupying the five holes of your home track, you use your turn to move the pegs of your left-hand partner, if that player still has playable pegs. If left partner's pegs are also all home, you move the pegs of the next partner around the table who still has playable pegs.

The first team that manages to get all its pegs into their respective home areas wins the game.

Common Errors

1. Not having enough pegs on the board. 9s, 7s, and (offensive) Jokers need at least two pegs to work. Teams should have a minimum of 2 movable pegs per player on the board at all times (a 4-man team should have 8 pegs!)
2. Concentrating on moving into HOME. It is best to wait until an exact count card can be played to move all the way into Home (unless the peg is in imminent danger of being killed). Rely on your partners.
3. Getting bound up: one or more pegs in HOME area but not all the way in. This is the Kiss of Death!
4. Playing a joker too soon. Hold it until you can get a double or triple play or use it in the endgame to save your team from defeat. Don't be too eager to play it!
5. Attacking an opponent instead of putting a teammate into a scoring position. An opponent sent to START is after all only two moves from his home entry space (a face card plus an 8 or 9).
6. In the endgame: playing high cards so that the team is too close to enter HOME on an exact count. If you can't go all the way HOME, play your smallest card and give your teammates more chances to enter HOME.

Note on Table Talk

As in most card games, players are not allowed to reveal the cards in their hands to partners or opponents. It is sometimes very tempting to offer advice or suggest moves to your partners, or to seek advice when it is your move, especially when playing by the Arizona rules which allow players to move any of their team's pegs. This kind of table talk almost inevitably gives away information about the cards held by the players, and is not allowed in games between experienced players.

When teaching the game to beginners, this rule may be relaxed to allow possible moves to be discussed by the team. In this case, when discussing moves, players should do their best to avoid exchanging information about the cards that they hold.

Variations

Arizona Rules

This more interesting version of Pegs and Jokers developed in Arizona, from where it has spread to Texas and perhaps other places. It uses four full decks of cards including 8 Jokers. The rules differ from the basic game as follows:

1. 5 cards are dealt to each player as usual, but a turn consists of first playing a card to your discard pile, then moving a peg or pegs using the power of the played card, and finally drawing a card from the face down deck so that you have 5 cards again. So for each turn you have 5 cards to choose from rather than 6.
2. Throughout the game, you may move any of the pegs belonging to your team (so for example any of 20 pegs in the 8-player game with 4 on each team). Therefore you may discard without moving only if you are unable to play a card (other than a joker) that moves any of your team's pegs.
3. A peg cannot land on or pass over another peg of the same color.
4. When playing a 9 you may either move one peg forward 9 holes, or split the 9 between two different pegs belonging to your team, moving one forward and the other backward - for example moving one peg 3 holes forward and another 6 holes backward.
5. When using a 7 or 9 for a split move, you may move any two different pegs belonging to your team - either the same color or different colors.
6. When you play a joker, if your team has any pegs in their start areas, you must move one of these pegs to replace any peg of a different color (belonging to either team) that is on the main track. If your team's start areas are all empty (but only in that case), you can move one of your team's pegs from anywhere on the main track to displace any peg of a different color on the main track.

North Carolina Rules

Here the game is more often called Jokers and Pegs. The safe "home" area is known as the castle.

1. As in the basic game, a turn consists of first drawing, then playing one of your six cards and moving as appropriate.
2. As in the basic game, you can only move your own pegs until your last peg is home (unless you play a 10 - see below). After that you move the pegs of the partner nearest to your left. You can use a split move to take your last peg home and move your left hand partner's peg with the remainder.
3. A joker moves one or your own pegs from anywhere on the board to any hole on the main track that is occupied by a peg. You are obliged to play a card that moves a peg if you can, and in North Carolina rules that includes playing a joker even if it is disadvantageous to you, if you have no other possibility. Exception. On your very first move of a game you are not obliged to play a joker, even if you have no other card that allows you to bring a peg out of your start area.
4. With an ace you can come out, or move one space forwards, or move one space backwards, or move 11 spaces forwards.
5. The two is a special card that allows the player either to move forward 2 or to exchange the positions of their own peg with any other player's peg provided that both pegs are on the main track (not in the start or home areas).
6. Sevens must be split if possible to move two of your pegs forwards. It can be used to move one of your pegs forward 7 only if you have no other peg on the main track or your castle that can move forwards.
7. Nines must be split if possible to move one of your pegs forwards and a different one of your pegs backwards. It can be used to move one of your pegs forward 9 only if you have no other peg on the main track or your castle that can be moved.
8. Tens must always be split between two different colored pegs, according to the following rules.
   • The pegs moved by a 10 can be any two different colored pegs on the board - your own, your partners' or your opponents'. Opponents' pegs can only be moved on the main track, whereas your own and your partners' pegs can also be moved into or within their own castles.
   • These pegs can both move forwards, both backwards or one forwards and one backwards. As usual backwards moves are only allowed on the main track, not into, within or out of a peg's castle.
   • You can never use a 10 move a single peg 10 holes.
   • When a 10 is played, the pegs that are moved can pass over or land on ("hit") pegs of the same color as the moving peg that are on the main track. A peg can even pass over another peg of its own color and hit a third peg of the same color. A peg cannot hit or jump over a peg within its castle.
   • If you hit one of your own team's pegs. the peg you hit is moved to its in-spot, even if you hit it using an opponent's peg. If the hit player's in-spot is already occupied by one of their own pegs the move cannot be performed, but if the in-spot is occupied by a peg of a different colour that peg is also hit. If during your 10-play you hit an opponent's peg, it goes back to its start area even if you hit it using a peg from the same team.
   • Although an opponent's peg cannot be moved into its castle, it can be moved forwards past its in-spot on the main track, so that to reach the castle it will either have to move backwards or embark on another journey around the board.
   • Note that if all your 5 pegs are either in their Start Area or in their final positions in your castle and you have no A, K, Q, J or Joker but you are holding a 10, you must play the 10 if there are two different colored pegs that you can move with it.
9. If you are unable to move - for example all your pegs are at start or in your castle and after drawing you have no "come out" card (A, K, Q, J, joker), no ten and no card small enough to move within your castle - you discard a card without moving. This is known as "counting". If this happens on three consecutive turns, then on the third turn, after discarding any card you must move one of your pegs to your "come out" hole for free. Note that counting applies to a player, not a team: if more than one player in a team is unable to move they each count separately (even if they are both moving the same pegs because one of them has already brought all their pegs home). Also on the third turn you have the privilege of discarding any card and coming out free even if you drew a "come out" card.
   • Note that normally you cannot count if you hold a ten, since this card can move any two pegs (with the exception of pegs at start or in their final positions, and opponents' pegs in their safe areas). If you draw a ten while counting and are able to move two different colored pegs you must stop counting at that point and make the move even though your are unable to come out of your starting area. You then start a new count from one on your next turn if you are still unable to come out.
   • Note also that if, while counting, you have a peg in your castle which is not all the way in, and you draw a small card that can move this peg further into the castle, you must stop counting, make that move in your castle, and start a new count from one on your next turn if you are unable to come out.

Kilpatrick Rules

Kilpatrick Rules - a variant of the Arizona Rules with the following differences:

• Only 3 cards each are dealt instead of 5.
• A peg cannot be moved forwards along the main track past its in-spot. When moving forwards it must turn into its home track when it reaches the in-spot and if there is not enough clear space there for the value of the played card to be fully used, that peg cannot be moved on that turn.

Bluffing Joker

Bluffing Joker variant, often played in Florida, in which the basic rules are identical to the regular game, except that all cards played are played face-down. The player may declare the face-down card to be whatever they desire.

Before the player moves their piece, the opposing team has the chance to doubt the player's declaration. The next opponent player clockwise from the player whose turn it is has the option of doubting first. If no doubt is raised by the first opponent, it passes to the next opponent, and so on around the table.

If no doubts are raised, the peg is moved and the card is discarded, still face down, thus ending the turn.

If a doubt is raised, one of two things can happen:

• If a bluff is doubted successfully, the team that doubted successfully chooses one of the bluffing player's pegs to send back to start and the turn ends immediately. If the bluffing player has no pegs out of start yet, the player that doubted successfully has the option to take an extra turn on their next chance to play.
• If a doubt is raised incorrectly, the truthful player chooses one of the incorrectly doubting player's pegs to send back to start. If the unsuccessful doubter has no pegs out of start yet, the truthful player has the option to take an extra turn on their next chance to play.

Social Security

• 9 card move is split backward and forward in any combination. Examples: One(1) space backward and Eight(8) spaces forward. Or, three(3) spaces backward and five(5) spaces forward, etc.
• Jack moves forward eleven holes
• Queen moves forward twelve holes
• King moves forward thirteen holes