How to Play Spoons: Card Game Setup, Rules, & More

Spoons is a classic card game that combines the simple fun of a matching game with the frantic thrill of musical chairs. Although it might seem confusing at first, it’s incredibly easy to learn and an absolute blast to play! Keep reading for an easy tutorial on setting up and playing the game, plus strategies for eliminating players and determining a winner—with exclusive tips from a game expert!

Spoons Card Game: Objective

Game expert Ashton Wu explains that the objective of Spoons is to be the first player to collect 4 of a kind and pick up a spoon. Then, the other players must race to grab the remaining spoons. The player who doesn’t snag a spoon is out. Play continues until only one player is left standing.

Section 1 of 5:

Setting Up the Spoons Card Game

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Arrange the spoons in a small circle in the middle of the table. Wu says that there should be as many spoons in the middle of the table as there are players, minus one. “So if there are 4 players, there will be 3 spoons,” he adds.^{[1]
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Expert Source

Ashton Wu
Game Expert

Expert Interview}
- Wu says anything can be the “spoons”—for instance, you can use erasers, he says.^{[2]
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  Ashton Wu
  Game Expert
  
  Expert Interview} You could also use coins, pencils, poker chips—or, of course, actual spoons.
Meet the wikiHow Expert

Ashton Wu is a game expert, playthrough director, and tournament commentator. He reviews board games on his YouTube channel Shelfside, where he has over 54,000 subscribers.
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Choose a dealer and have them deal 4 cards to each player. Remove the 2 Jokers from a standard 52-card deck and shuffle the remaining cards. Pick one of the players to be the dealer for the round and deal 4 cards to each player (including themselves), says Wu.^{[3]
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Ashton Wu
Game Expert

Expert Interview} Stack the remaining cards facedown in a deck next to the dealer.^{[4]
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- Each player holds 4 cards throughout the entire game.

Section 2 of 5:

Playing the Spoons Card Game

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The dealer draws a card from the deck and keeps or passes it to the left. If you're the dealer, Wu says to look at the card you drew and decide if it will help you make four of a kind. He says if you think you can use the card you drew to build your match, keep it and pass a card you don't want from your existing hand to the player on your left (clockwise).^{[5]
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Ashton Wu
Game Expert

Expert Interview}
- Wu says if you don't want the card you drew, pass it on to the player on your left instead. “Either way, the dealer will pass a card clockwise,” he says.^{[6]
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  Ashton Wu
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  Expert Interview} Lay it facedown in front of them, so they have to flip it over to see what it is.
Tip: It's a good strategy to keep any card that matches another card that you already have in your hand.
The player to the dealer's left can either keep the card the dealer gives them or pass it along. If they decide to keep it, they must choose a card they don't want from their existing hand and lay it facedown in front of the player on their left. If they don't want it, they can simply pass it on the same way.^{[7]
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The players repeat the process of either keeping or passing a card around. As soon as the dealer lays down a card, they must draw a new one from the pile and start the process over. That way, there's always a continuous flow of cards passing around the table.^{[8]
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- This rule makes the game faster—and more fun!
Wu says, “When someone gets 4 of a kind (e.g., 4 Kings), they grab a spoon from the middle of the table.”^{[9]
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Ashton Wu
Game Expert

Expert Interview} You can do it openly or try to sneak it off the table when no one is looking. If you can successfully pick it up without anyone noticing, it will make the next step more exciting for the other players!^{[10]
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Grab a spoon as soon as you notice one missing. “Once once person grabs a spoon, everyone else must grab one, too,” says Wu. He adds that the person who doesn’t get a spoon will be eliminated.^{[11]
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Ashton Wu
Game Expert

Expert Interview}
- Longer variation: The person left without a spoon at the end of the round is the loser, and they receive a letter "S." If they lose 4 more rounds, they will receive all the letters that spell "SPOON." At that point, they're out of the game.^{[12]
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- It's easy to get caught up in looking at and passing cards around. But try to pay attention to other people's movements and check the number of spoons on the table throughout the game.
For example, if the first round has 6 players and 5 spoons, the second round has 5 players and 4 spoons. Continue playing until you’re left with a single person, who is the winner.^{[13]
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Wu says to make sure to pass the dealer role clockwise so everyone can take turns being the dealer. “It’s a casual party game, after all!” he adds.^{[14]
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Ashton Wu
Game Expert

Expert Interview}

Section 3 of 5:

Eliminating Players from the Spoons Card Game

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Short game: Eliminate the player who can't pick up a spoon from each round. The speediest way to play Spoons is to remove the player who was unable to pick up a spoon by the end of the round. With each round, lay down one less spoon than the number of players. This way, there will be a “loser” for every round, says Wu.^{[15]
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Ashton Wu
Game Expert

Expert Interview}
- By the last round, you should only have 2 players and one spoon.^{[16]
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Long game: Eliminate players with the spelling method ("SPOON"). Similar to the basketball game Horse, give the loser of each round a single letter from the word “SPOON." For example, give them the letter “S" the first time they lose a round, “P” the second time, and so on. The first player to lose enough rounds to receive all the letters to spell out the word is eliminated.^{[17]
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- A lot of people prefer this version because it allows all the participants to play longer. It also gives everyone more chances to win!

Section 4 of 5:

Winning the Spoons Card Game

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The winner of Spoons is the player who loses the fewest rounds. “Keep playing until everyone has been eliminated except for one person,” says Wu.^{[18]
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Ashton Wu
Game Expert

Expert Interview} If you decided to eliminate players using the spelling method, then the winner is also the person who didn't receive enough letters to spell "SPOON."^{[19]
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- You can also stop when everyone gets tired, says Wu.^{[20]
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  Expert Interview}

Section 5 of 5:

Spoons Card Game Variations

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Instead of arranging the spoons in the middle of the table, place them in random locations in the room you’re playing in. For example, you can position them along the wall or underneath furniture to make the game even more action-packed and exciting!^{[21]
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Use Jokers as wildcards to make collecting matches easier and quicker. If you’re looking to make the game a little easier, keep the 2 Jokers in your deck as wildcards. Use them to pad out your matching set so you don't have to collect as many cards with the same value.^{[22]
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- For example, if you're drawing 3 Queens and you draw a Joker, lay the Joker down with the Queens to complete your set. This saves you from having to wait until you draw another Queen to go down.
1. And if the steps above have been helpful, be sure to download this article as a PDF so you can print, read, or reference it any time.

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Spoons Rule Sheet

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Do I keep playing the game if I have taken a spoon and no one noticed?

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This answer was written by one of our trained team of researchers who validated it for accuracy and comprehensiveness.

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It's up to you! You can act like you're still playing the game to throw everyone off, or you can sit back and watch the chaos unfold.

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Does everyone have to pass discarded cards at the same time?

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Yes. If one player doesn't pass their cards at the same pace, it can disrupt the flow of the game.

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What happens if no one gets 4 a kind?

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You can reshuffle the discard pile and keep playing, or you can restart the round.

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Tips

Play on a round table so everyone can pass their cards and grab spoons more easily.

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If you don’t have enough spoons, use other small items like sticks, pens, coins, or wine stoppers.

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