How to Play Egyptian Rat Slap & Slapjack

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Game experts Triple S Games explains the rules of the classic Ratscrew card game

Co-authored by Luke Smith, MFA Reviewed by Triple S Games

Last Updated: February 27, 2026 Fact Checked

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• Playing Slapjack
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• Playing Egyptian Ratslap (Ratscrew)
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• Other Slap Games
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• Video
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• Q&A
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• Tips

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You might know it as Egyptian Ratscrew, Egyptian Rummy, or Egyptian Ratslap. The game doesn’t really have anything to do with Egypt (and we prefer just to call it “Ratslap”), but that doesn’t stop it from being a thrilling good time. You might also know Slapjack, a very similar game that’s great for younger (or just more casual) players. We’ll show you how to play both of them, as well as some other slap-centric games. We also spoke to game experts Triple S Games and Ashton Wu about game rules plus variations you can try!

Ratscrew Rules Overview

Game experts Triple S Games says to start by dealing a full deck to all players, cards facing down. Take turns flipping your top card onto the middle pile of cards. If you see a pattern, like matching cards or two royals in a row, slap the pile and take all the cards.

Steps

Section 1 of 3:

Playing Slapjack

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1. 
   1
   Shuffle a deck of cards and deal them evenly to 2-10 players. All you need to play Slapjack is a standard 52-card playing deck and at least one other person. Once you’ve got that, shuffle the deck of cards so it’s nice and mixed up, then deal all the cards out equally. Each player keeps their cards face down in a pile in front of them. No peeking!

   • If you have extras left over that would make the deal uneven, place them face down in the middle of the table.
   • Slapjack is simple and great for young kids, or anyone looking for a more casual experience.

   Meet the wikiHow Experts

   Triple S Games is a collective of game experts and popular YouTube channel owned by Jim Dahl. Their channel features concise “how to play” videos covering the rules of over 1,000 games—and counting.

   Ashton Wu is a board game expert at Shelfside, a gaming community. He launched Shelfside in 2014 and the Shelfside YouTube channel now has over 45K subscribers and over 4 million views.
2. 
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   Take turns laying cards face-up in the middle of the table. Choose someone to go first. This can be the winner of a Rock-Paper-Scissors tournament, or just the oldest or youngest player. This player takes the top card of their stack and places it face up in the middle of the table, where everyone can reach. Then, going clockwise, the next player does the same, then the next player, and so on.

   • If you had extra cards left over from the deal, lay your cards on top of the extra pile.
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3. 
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   Slap the pile and gather the cards whenever you see a Jack. Slapjack is simple: Every time you see a Jack, slap the pile! The first player to slap the pile after a Jack is laid down gathers all the cards in the pile, shuffles them, and adds them to the bottom of their personal stack, then they play the next card.

   • If 2 players slap, whoever's hand is beneath the other’s wins.
   • If you slap the pile by mistake, like when there’s no Jack, give the top card of your stack to the last player to place down a card.
4. 
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   Win the game by collecting all the cards. The player who slaps and collects the whole pile wins the game! But if you run out of cards, you’re out. Play until only one person possesses the entire deck, which will quickly bring the game to a one-on-one showdown.

   • If you run out of cards, slap your way back into the game! Wait until you see a Jack, then slap it and pick up the pile. After that, just keep playing like you never got out in the first place.
   EXPERT TIP

   

   Ashton Wu

   Board Game Expert

   Ashton Wu is a Board Game expert at Shelfside. After delving into the Yugioh tournament community while growing up, Ashton launched himself into the board gaming community in 2014 and went into reviewing board games as a career full-time in 2019. His YouTube channel Shelfside has over 50K subscribers and over 4 million views, assisted by written reviews on the Shelfside website and BoardGameGeek.com. He also consults with gaming companies to build high-quality gaming products. Ashton is a tournament commentator, board game playthrough director, and host of the Shelfside Podcast, where he talks about board games with his business partner, Daniel. He received a Bachelor of Arts in Economics at the University of California, Santa Barbara, in addition to the Technology Management Certificate.

   

   Ashton Wu
   Board Game Expert

   Slap Jack is one of the most fun two-player card games. It's easy to learn and fast-paced, making it perfect for a quick and exciting game. Grab a deck of cards and challenge a friend to some friendly and harmless hand-slapping competition.
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Section 2 of 3:

Playing Egyptian Ratslap (Ratscrew)

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1. 
   1
   Shuffle a deck of cards and deal them evenly to 2-8 players. Ratslap is played with just 1 standard 52-card deck. To start, shuffle the cards thoroughly. Then, Triple S Games says to deal out the entire deck to all the players, keeping the cards face down. Ratslap can be played with 2-8 players.

   • Leave any extra that can’t be evenly distributed in a face-down pile in the center of the table.
2. 
   2
   Keep your cards face down in front of you on the table. Don’t peek at your cards! Ratslap is all about reflexes and now knowing what the next card will be. Stack your cards face down in a pile in front of you so that you can easily draw the top card on your turn.
3. 
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   Take turns laying your top card face-up in the center of the table. Choose who goes first by playing Rock-Paper-Scissors, or just making the youngest (or oldest) go first—it doesn’t really matter. This player slips the top card off their pile and flips it face-up in the center of the table, where everyone can see and reach it. Triple S Games says to continue flipping cards face up, one player at a time, as you go around the table. Gameplay moves clockwise around the table.

   • If you had extra cards after the deal, lay this first card face-up on top of them.
4. 
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   Slap the pile when you see a double or another key pattern. Triple S Games says that whenever you spot a pattern, every player races to slap the pile. The first player who does gets to take all of the cards in the pile and add them to the bottom of their stack. Just be sure to watch your hands! Wu warns that things can get pretty ferocious, but that’s part of the fun. Here are the patterns to look out for:

   • Doubles: Two of any of the same card one after the other, regardless of suit, like 4 on top of a 4.
   • Royal Couples: Any two royal cards one after the other, like queen on a king.
   • Sandwiches: Triple S Games says you can also play with “sandwiches.” For example, if one player turns up a 2, then the next card is anything other than a 2, and then another 2 is played, you can slap and take the pile.
   • Tens: Two consecutive cards whose values add up to 10, like an 8 and a 2.
   • Four in a Row: An ascending or descending series of 4 in order, like 3-4-5-6.
   • Top-Bottom: When the bottom card and the top cards match.
   • Jokers
5. 
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   Put down additional cards after every face card. Triple S Games says when someone lays down a face card, the person who goes after them has to put down a certain number of cards. If one of these cards is another face card, the game continues on regularly. But if a face card is not laid down after the last person lays down a face card, Triple S Games says the person who laid the first face card gets to pick up the entire pile. Here’s a guide for how many cards to lay down after each face card:

   • Ace: play 4 cards
   • King: play 3 cards
   • Queen: play 2 cards
   • Jack: play 1 card
6. 
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   Announce the winner when one person has won all the cards into their pile. Triple S Games says the game ends when a single player has won all the cards in the deck by slapping them and taking them into the pile. The game only has 1 winner, and the winner takes all, so stay focused!

   • When a player runs out of cards, they’re out of the game. That said, Triple S Games says players can re-enter the game by slapping the pile when they see a pattern.
   • However, if you mistakenly slap the pile when there is no pattern, you get a strike. If you get 3 strikes, you can no longer slap at all!
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Section 3 of 3:

Other Slap Games

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1. 1
   Snap Snap is a card game similar to Ratscrew or Slapjack, but a little simpler. Players build their own piles of cards, then call “Snap” when they see 2 matching face-up cards, and then they get to take both piles. In some variations, it’s played by slapping the other players’ piles when you spot a match.
2. 2
   Slap Mobile Assassin Game Slap is an up-and-coming mobile game where people are assigned IRL targets to tag out in the wild, like friends or even strangers. The game is still in beta, so check back often to see how it progresses.

   • The game is based on Senior Assassin, where people sign up to play, are assigned targets, and then try to “hunt” their targets with a water gun.
3. 3
   Roblox Slap Battles Slap Battles is a Roblox custom game where players use different gloves in what’s essentially a superpowered game of tag. It’s massively popular on Roblox, free to play, and a great time all around. We’ve even written some guides for it!
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Community Q&A

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• Question

  Can I slap everybody if I win?

  

  Community Answer

  It depends on your rules. The game is called "Slap" because you slap the cards, not the players.

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• Question

  What happens if someone slaps out of turn?

  

  Community Answer

  When someone slaps out of turn, he has to take a card from his deck and put it at the bottom of the middle deck.

  Thanks! We're glad this was helpful.
  Thank you for your feedback.
  If wikiHow has helped you, please consider a small contribution to support us in helping more readers like you. We’re committed to providing the world with free how-to resources, and even $1 helps us in our mission. Support wikiHow

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  Not Helpful 3 Helpful 23
• Question

  What happens when a person puts down the same face card?

  

  Community Answer

  If it is consecutive, people can slap for it and gain the entire pile of cards. Otherwise, it doesn't matter.

  Thanks! We're glad this was helpful.
  Thank you for your feedback.
  If wikiHow has helped you, please consider a small contribution to support us in helping more readers like you. We’re committed to providing the world with free how-to resources, and even $1 helps us in our mission. Support wikiHow

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Tips

• Make sure everyone is an equal slapping distance from the center pile.
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• The more people, the more fun it is!
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• This game can also be played with an Uno deck, as opposed to a standard card deck.
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