How to play Filch
A push-your-luck card game for any 52-card deck. Here it's you against two magpies, Pica and Jet, over three hands.
- Everyone keeps a nest. The card showing on top of your nest is your lure. Pica's lure, Jet's lure and yours are always in view.
- On your turn, flip cards from the deck into a row, one at a time. The first flip is free; after that, stop whenever you like.
- Keep the row and every card in it goes into your nest. You pick one of them to go on top as your new lure.
- Filch! If a flipped card matches the rank of another player's lure, they take the whole row. Your turn is over.
- Snag. If a flipped card matches your own lure, the row is lost to the table. Your turn is over.
- A good lure is a rank the deck still holds plenty of: the little tags show how many copies haven't been seen. A strong lure also bites on your own turn.
- When the deck runs out, the row in play is safe. Count your nests. After three hands, the biggest nest wins.
Daily deals the same deck to everyone, Pacific time. Keyboard: Space or F flips, Enter or K keeps, 1–9 picks a lure. Five or six players at a real table: a filch needs the same rank and the same colour.