Wild cards (2s and jokers) can substitute for any card, if needed (the only exception is a meld of black 3s, which canвЂ™t include any wild cards). Teams score points by making melds and canastas.ДЄ meld is three or more cards of the same rank such as 4-4-4, 6-6-6-6-6, or Q-Q-Q-Q-Q. If your team has made at least one canasta, either you or your partner can go out if you can play all the cards in your hand Once your team has made its initial meld, both of you can play as many melds and canastas as you want on your turns. At the end of your turn, you must discard a card to the discard pile.Д®ither you or your partner must make an initial meld for your team. On your turn, you either draw a card from the draw pile or take the entire discard pile (there are special rules for picking up the discard pile see вЂњPicking Up the Discard PileвЂќ later in this chapter). Black and red 3s have special properties.

Jokers and 2s are wild cards and can be used to represent other cards. Canasta is usually played over several hands the first team to reach 5000 points wins. Players across from each other are partners and play cards to a common area, so each partner can take advantage of the otherвЂ™s play. (Canasta can be played with two, three, or five people, but the most popular version worldwide is the partnership game.)Дerivations of Canasta include Bolivia, Samba, Cuban Canasta and Bolivian Canasta.Д¬anasta uses two regular decks of cards, including the jokers (two from each deck). How did Canasta get so popular? It may have been because it has elements of Mah Jongg, another enormously successful game, and as a partnership game, it is easier to learn than Bridge. It has since greatly declined in popularity, except for some holdout enthusiasts. In the late 1940s/early 1950s, Canasta reached the United States, where it became even more popular than Bridge for a few years it was probably the most popular card game at any one time. The name Canasta means вЂњbasketвЂќ in Spanish, which probably derived from the basket holding the draw and discard piles the discard pile is of paramount importance in this game.Д¬anasta was originally invented in Uruguay in the late 1940s, and soon became popular in Argentina and the rest of Latin America. It is a great way to get together and share some laughs and friendly competition. My parents have a monthly card game with two other couples. What a blast we had playing teams! Now, when the four of us are together for our precious little times during the year, we always get in a few rounds of Canasta. A couple of years ago, my parents introduced us to a card game called Canasta. I love to play cards and luckily, so does my husband. We mostly played Spades, Gin, Uno or Skip-bo.

Basic rules canasta card game