Deal & Tally
Card game · 4 players

Canasta Score Sheet and Rules

Partnership Canasta to 5,000. Enter canastas, red threes, melds and cards left, and it shows each team's opening meld minimum.

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How to play Canasta

A rummy game for two partnerships, played with two decks plus four jokers (108 cards). The goal is to build canastas: melds of seven cards of the same rank.

Setup

  • Partners sit across from each other. Deal 11 cards to each player and turn one card up to start the discard pile.
  • Jokers and 2s are wild. Any red three you're dealt or draw goes face up in front of you right away, and you draw a replacement.

Your turn

  • Draw two cards from the stock, or take the whole discard pile if you can use its top card in a meld.
  • Lay down melds of three or more cards of the same rank. Melds can include wild cards, but natural cards must outnumber the wilds.
  • End your turn by discarding one card.

First meld

Your team's first meld of each hand must be worth a minimum number of points, based on your score:

Below 015
0 to 1,49550
1,500 to 2,99590
3,000 or more120

Card values

Joker50
2 and Ace20
8 through King10
4 through 7, and black 35

Going out

Your team needs at least one canasta to go out. Going out ends the hand.

Scoring

Natural canasta (no wilds)500
Mixed canasta300
Each red three100
All four red threes800
Going out100
Going out concealed (all at once)200

Add the value of every card your team melded and subtract the cards left in your hands. If your team didn't meld anything, red threes count against you.

Winning

The first team to 5,000 wins.

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