HOW TO PLAY

The Object of the Game

To be the player with the highest score at the end of the rounds.

The Cards

The 108-card deck includes 88 colorful number cards from 1 to 11 in blue, green, pink, and yellow. And just to shake things up a bit, there are 20 Action Cards: 8 Wild, 4 3rd Shot Drop, 4 Poach, 2 Pickled, and 2 Foot Fault cards.

Melds: Sets & Runs

Every hand comes down to building two kinds of melds on your court.

Sets

A set is 3 or 4 of the same value, but each must be a different color (or suit) — no twins allowed! You need at least three to meld, and can add a 4th at any time during game play.

Runs

A run is a chain of 3 or more consecutive cards in the same color (or suit). You can build it up to 11 cards long, but you need at least 3 to get it started.

Setup

Choose one player to be the dealer. Get the table ready in a few quick steps:

1. Shuffle and deal. The dealer shuffles the cards and deals 11 cards to each player, face down, in clockwise rotation.

2. Build the draw pile. Gather the rest of the cards into the center to create the draw pile.

3. Start the discard pile. Flip the top card over to kick off the discard pile. Reveal an action card that isn't a Wild? No worries — place it randomly back into the draw pile and flip again.

4. Pick the starting player. The player to the left of the dealer goes first.

Game Play

When it's your turn, do the following:

1. Draw a card from either the draw pile or the discard pile.

2. Start building your court of play in front of you. When you can make 2 melds (2 sets, 2 runs, or 1 of each), lay them on the table for all to admire. You may use the Pickled and Poach cards to help you make your initial meld.

3. Play cards on a previous meld. Since your mission is to empty your hand as quickly as possible, try to add as many cards as you can to your melds, or add a new one.

4. Make a discard. The only Action Card that may be used as a discard is the Foot Fault card.

Action Cards

These theme-inspired action cards are what turn a classic rummy game into 3rd Shot Drop.

WILD

These handy cards can stand in for any number in any color.

3RD SHOT DROP

Draw this card and you're scooping up three more cards from the pile, how exciting! You may play only one per turn, then continue placing cards if you can until you discard.

PICKLED

You can use this card to steal a Wild card from another player's meld. But there is a catch: you must use the stolen Wild during your turn, either by melding it with cards from your hand or adding it to one of your existing melds. Simply replace the Wild card with the Pickled card on your opponent's court.

FOOT FAULT

Choose any player to skip — just place the card on their court, and when their turn comes around they simply place it on the discard pile.

POACH

During your turn you can use this card to take any numbered card from any other player's court and use it to make your initial meld, create a new meld, or add to your existing melds. You can also Poach a discard made by any player. If both players want the discard, the Poach card wins!

Ending the Game & Scoring

The moment someone plays their final card, the game is over — time to celebrate the winner! Keep in mind those last cards can be played on your court, no need for a discard. The game also ends when a player takes the last card from the draw pile — in this case, there is no winner.

Just add up all the points on your court. First one out receives an extra 10 points!

Winning

The player with the most points at the end of the rounds takes the crown!