Garbage Card Game

Garbage (also called Trash) is a fast family card game of luck and chain reactions. Lay out ten face-down cards for Ace to 10, then draw and slot cards into place — every card you place uncovers another one to play.

How to play Garbage Card Game

• Each player gets a row of face-down cards: one slot each for Ace, 2, 3 … 10. One card starts the discard pile and the rest form the stock.
• On your turn, draw from the stock — or take the top discard, but only if it fits one of your open slots.
• If the card matches a slot that is still face down (a 7 goes in the 7 slot), put it there face up and pick up the face-down card it replaces. Then play that card the same way, and keep going.
• Jacks are wild: place one in any face-down slot. If you later get the real card for that slot, swap it in and use the Jack again somewhere else.
• Queens and Kings, and any card whose slot is already filled, are garbage: discard it and your turn ends.
• The first player to turn every slot face up wins the round. Everyone else gets one last turn and can also finish.
• Each round winner deals themselves one card fewer next round (9, then 8 …). The first player to fill a single-card layout wins the game.

Controls

• Tap the stock to draw, or the glowing discard to take it.
• Tap a glowing slot in your layout to place the card in your hand. With a wild Jack, pick any face-down slot.
• Keyboard: D draws, T takes the discard, P places (or discards) the card in hand.
• Use Opponents, Start with and Computer in the toolbar to set up the game.

Tips

• Always look at the discard pile first — a card that fits is a guaranteed step forward.
• Put wild Jacks on the slots whose cards you have seen most often in the discards and other layouts: those are the hardest to get.
• Late in a round, a Jack can be swapped out again, so a wild card in your layout is never wasted.

FAQ

What are the rules of the Garbage card game?

Each player has face-down cards for Ace to 10. Draw a card; if it fits a face-down slot, place it and play the card you uncover. Jacks are wild; Queens, Kings and duplicates end your turn. Fill every slot first to win the round, then play with one card fewer.

How do you play Garbage with 2 players?

Exactly the same way: one deck, ten cards each. With three or four players we shuffle two decks together so the stock never runs dry.

Are Jacks or Kings wild in Garbage?

Families play it both ways. In our version Jacks are wild and Kings and Queens are garbage, which is the most common rule.

Is Garbage the same as Trash?

Yes. Garbage and Trash are two names for the same game, sometimes also called Ten Card Garbage.