What is Russian hand?

This game is a different version of the game of hand, where players can rearrange the groups of cards on the table however they want, to create new groups that allow them to get rid of their cards in creative and intelligent ways.

Game objective

The goal is to get rid of all your cards by dropping melds (sets of 3), stacking onto other players’ melds, and rearranging melds to your advantage.

Game rules

  • Stockpile: The remaining set of cards after dealing.
  • Draw: The player draws a card from the pile and adds it to his/her hand, then his/her turn ends.
  • Dropping melds: The player drops a meld - which is a set of 3 or more cards, either of the same number and different suits, or a sequential set of the same suit, then his/her turn ends if it is the first round (but he/she can continue to stack and rearrange in the following rounds after dropping a meld).
  • Stack: The player adds his cards to the groups on the table to get rid of as many cards as possible.
  • Rearrange: The player moves the cards in the sets as he/she wishes to change their order and form new sets that allow him/her to get rid of the cards, as long as the sets remain valid.

Dealing the cards

  • Russian hand is played with 104 cards excluding the jokers.
  • Each player is dealt 7 cards.
  • The direction of play is counterclockwise.

Gameplay

  • Play begins with the first player, who has two options: draw a card or drop a meld
  • If a player draws a card, he/she cannot drop, stack, or rearrange in the same round, and his/her turn ends with the draw
  • Players are not allowed to stack cards on melds or rearrange in the first round even if they have just dropped a meld, they must wait until the next round
  • There is no minimum card sum for dropping melds
  • The round begins with two options for each player, either to draw a card from the pile or to drop to the table if there is a ready meld in hand, after which his/her turn ends. Stacking and rearranging are not allowed in this round. After that, play continues and players drop, stack, rearrange, or draw (depending on their cards) to get rid of all the cards they have.

Calculating the win

If a player gets rid of all his/her cards first, he/she wins the game. However, if the pile runs out of cards and no player gets rid of all their cards, the player with the fewest cards wins. If there is a tie in the number of cards, the winner is determined by the value of the cards, where the player with the lowest total wins. If the value of the cards is equal, the game ends in a tie.

If you are new to the game of hand, check out its rules here to better understand how to play Russian hand.