How do you play Canasta?
Canasta looks complicated from the outside, but the core loop is simple: draw, meld, discard. Once you see how melds grow into canastas, the whole game clicks into place.
The shape of a turn
On your turn you first draw. You may take a single card from the face-down stock, or scoop up the entire face-up discard pile if you are allowed to. Then you can lay down new melds or add cards to melds your side already holds. Finally you drop one card face up onto the discard pile, and play passes to the next person.
A meld is three or more cards of the same rank, from four up to ace. A meld can mix in wild cards (jokers and twos), but classic rules require at least two natural cards and no more than three wilds.
Building toward a canasta
The goal that gives the game its name is the canasta: a single meld of seven or more cards of one rank. A canasta made entirely of natural cards is called clean or natural and scores 500 points. One that includes any wild cards is mixed or dirty and scores 300. Your side needs at least one completed canasta before anyone is allowed to go out.
Winning the hand
A hand ends when one player goes out by melding or discarding their last card, which is only legal once their side owns a canasta. You then total the points melded on the table, add bonuses for canastas, red threes and going out, and subtract the value of any cards still trapped in hand. Hands repeat until a side reaches the target, usually 5,000 points in the classic game.
The surest way to make this stick is to play a few hands. Try Two-Handed Canasta or Bolivia against the computer, keep the Canasta rules and glossary handy for anything unfamiliar, and browse the rest of the Canasta FAQ for more answers. When you are ready, put it to the test on the daily deal.
Related questions
What are the Canasta rules for beginners?
For beginners, Canasta comes down to a few rules: deal eleven cards each, take turns drawing and discarding, meld three or more cards of matching rank, keep at least two natural cards in every meld, and build a seven-card canasta before you go out. Red threes are free bonus cards and black threes block the pile.
What is a canasta (natural vs mixed)?
A canasta is a meld of seven or more cards of the same rank. A natural or clean canasta contains no wild cards and scores a 500-point bonus. A mixed or dirty canasta includes at least one wild card and scores 300. Your side must complete at least one canasta before anyone can go out.
How do you go out in Canasta?
You go out by getting rid of every card in your hand on one turn, but only if your partnership has already completed at least one canasta. You may meld, lay off onto existing melds, and finish with a final discard. Going out ends the hand immediately and earns a 100-point bonus.
How is Canasta scored?
At the end of each hand you add the point values of the cards your side melded, plus bonuses: 500 for each natural canasta, 300 for each mixed one, 100 for going out, 200 for going out concealed, and 100 per red three. You then subtract the value of cards still in hand. Games run to 5,000 points.