Idiot (Shithead) rules
The goal
Get rid of all your cards: the ones in your hand, your face-up cards and your face-down cards. Players drop out as they run out, and the last player still holding cards is the Idiot and loses.
Most of the time you have to play a card equal to or higher than the one on the pile, so the game is about when to spend your low cards and when to spend your high ones.
Setting up
Idiot uses one standard 52-card deck and is for two to four players.
- 1Deal each player three cards face down in a row. Nobody looks at them, including their owner.
- 2Deal each player six cards to hold in their hand.
- 3Each player chooses three of those six and lays them face up on top of their face-down cards, leaving three in hand. This is your one chance to arrange your position.
- 4The rest of the deck goes face down in the middle as the draw pile.
Face up, on face down
In your hand
Who starts
The player with the lowest ordinary face-up card goes first. Ordinary cards are 3, 4, 6, 7, 8, jack, queen and king; the special cards 2, 5, 9, 10 and ace don’t count. A tie, or nobody having an ordinary card face up, is settled at random.
On this site
Everyone chooses their face-up cards at the same time, and nobody sees the others’ choices until all have chosen.
Card order and special cards
Cards rank from 3 (low) up through 10, jack, queen and king to ace (high). Normally the card you play must be equal to or higher than the card on top of the pile. Five cards break that order:
| Card | Goes on | Effect |
|---|---|---|
| 2Reset | Anything | The pile starts over: any card can follow it. |
| 5Under | A 5 up to a king (not an ace, a 3 or a 4) | The next card must be 5 or lower, unless it is one of the cards that go on anything: a 2, 9, 10 or ace. |
| 9Invisible | Anything | See-through: the next card is played on the card under the 9, as if the 9 weren’t there. |
| 10Burn | Anything | Burns the pile, and you play again. |
| AHighest | Anything, a 5 included | Only a 2, 9, 10 or another ace can follow it. |
Burning the pile
A 10 burns the pile, and so do four cards of the same rank in a row on the pile, whether they come from one player or several. A burnt pile is removed from the game for good, and the player who burned it plays again straight away, onto an empty pile.
How to play
Your turn
Play one card, or several of the same rank, that can go on the pile. Then, while the draw pile lasts, draw back up to three cards in your hand. If you already hold more than three, you don’t draw.
Picking up the pile
If nothing you can play goes on the pile, you must pick up the whole pile and add it to your hand. You can’t pick it up by choice while you have a card that fits. Your turn ends, and the next player starts a new pile with any card.
Face-up cards
Once your hand is empty and the draw pile is gone, you play from your face-up cards. You can see them and choose which to play, and several of the same rank can go down together. If none of them fits, you pick up the pile and play from your hand again until it is empty.
Face-down cards
Your face-down cards come last, and you play them blind: turn one over, and if it can go on the pile, it is played. If it can’t, you pick up the pile together with that card, and you have to play out your hand again before you turn over the next one.
Winning
When you have played your last card, from your hand, face up and face down, you are out and safe. The others play on until only one player still holds cards. That player is the Idiot.
On this site
Play against one to three computer opponents, or start a table and invite friends with a link for two to four players. Computer players can fill empty seats, and if someone drops out, the computer holds their seat until they are back.
Tips for beginners
- Save the special cards
- 2s, 10s and aces get you out of trouble. Don’t spend them early on a small pile; keep them for when you would otherwise pick up a big one.
- Put strong cards face up
- You play your face-up cards late, when there is nothing left to draw. 10s, aces, 2s, kings and queens belong there. Keep low cards like 3s and 4s in your hand to play early.
- Play pairs together
- Several cards of the same rank empty your hand faster, and four in a row on the pile burn it.
- Watch the high cards
- Notice which aces and 10s have gone. Once the aces are out, a king is much harder to beat.
- Pass the problem on with a 9
- A 9 goes on anything and changes nothing: the next player still has to beat the card under it.
Ready to play?
Take on one to three computer players, or invite friends with a link.