How to Play Screw the Dealer
Description
Three guesses to name the hidden card. The dealer tells you higher or lower after each miss. Get it right and the dealer takes the forfeit -- miss all three and you do. The deck slowly gives the game away.
Also known as: Guess the Card
Objective
Guess the dealer's hidden card in three tries or fewer — every wrong guess narrows it down, but costs you nothing until the third.
Setup
The dealer draws the top card of the deck and keeps it hidden.
The player to the dealer's left gets three chances to name its rank.
Rules
First guess: name a rank. Correct — the dealer takes a forfeit ×4 and the deal passes to you. Wrong — the dealer says higher or lower.
Second guess: try again with that information. Correct — the dealer takes a forfeit ×3. Wrong — higher or lower again.
Third guess: last chance. Correct — the dealer takes a forfeit ×2. Wrong — you take one instead.
Winning
After each sequence the card goes face-up on the discard pile, and if the guesser failed, the next player clockwise gets their three guesses with a fresh card.
Three consecutive failed guessers in a row and the deal passes automatically to break a bad run.
As the discard pile grows, the pool of remaining ranks shrinks — guessing gets easier and the dealer becomes increasingly exposed. The game ends when the deck runs out.