No stock, six DONKEY letters, final two share victory. False signals and reaction ties have explicit agreements.

← On a small screen, scroll the diagram horizontally. →

Selected start: four hands of 4 from the 16 A,K,Q,J cards. The other 36 from the original pack are set aside; there is no stock or central pile. Fans and piles are schematic; the rules specify card counts.
Selected start: four hands of 4 from the 16 A,K,Q,J cards. The other 36 from the original pack are set aside; there is no stock or central pile. Fans and piles are schematic; the rules specify card counts.

01 /

Donkey without a stock

Donkey belongs to the Pig and Spoons family, combining four-of-a-kind collection with reacting to a gesture. We select Pagat’s no-stock version with six lives spelled DONKEY. Touching the nose replaces grabbing spoons. This is neither poker nor an odd-card game. No single precise invention date is established.

02 /

Sixteen selected cards

Exactly 4 start. From a 52-card pack keep all A,K,Q,J: 4 per rank, 16 total, setting the other 36 aside. There is no rank order or card value. Sit where faces and hands are visible; agree on an index-finger-to-nose signal. A dealer chosen by lot shuffles and gives 4 face down each. There is no stock, discard or communal layout. Passing is always left.

03 /

Pass, then pick up

Everyone simultaneously selects one unwanted card and places it face down left. Only after releasing yours may you pick up the one received from the right: never hold more than 4. Repeat one-card passes; never pass a group or take another person’s unpassed card. Dealer may set a common rhythm, but there are no individual turns. Pass even when no useful exchange is apparent; you cannot keep your whole hand by passing the action.

04 /

Four matching cards and the signal

On collecting four of a kind, silently touch your nose and hold the gesture. Once you notice a valid signal, copy it regardless of your cards. Last to copy receives the next letter of DONKEY. After stopping, the initiator shows the quartet. Our explicit error agreement makes a first signaller without a quartet take the letter instead; an indistinguishable last-place tie causes a scoreless redeal. No shout or grabbing objects is required.

05 /

Letters, elimination and result

Record successive letters D,O,N,K,E,Y. After 6 losses a player leaves. Collect every card, remove one whole rank and redeal to survivors: for 3 players keep A,K,Q, total 12, again 4 each. Dealer moves left among survivors. This selected no-stock version ends with two survivors as joint winners, unlike stock versions that continue to one winner. There are no separate points for initiating the signal fastest.

06 /

A pass completes the quartet

A has K♠,K♥,K♦,Q♣. A passes Q♣ left, then receives K♣ from the right. All 4 K are now held, so A silently touches the nose. B and C copy, D notices last and receives D if previously unmarked. K♣ does not become a fifth card: Q♣ was released first.

← On a small screen, scroll the diagram horizontally. →

Choose a card to pass. A’s hand: K♠, K♥, K♦, Q♣. A keeps three K and passes Q♣ to the left neighbour. Quartet received. A’s hand: K♠, K♥, K♦, K♣. Passed left: Q♣. K♣ arrives from the right. A has four K and touches the nose; others may copy. A releases Q♣ before receiving K♣, completes all four K and gives the silent signal.
A releases Q♣ before receiving K♣, completes all four K and gives the silent signal.

Common questions

Do we use the whole pack?+

No. This starting table uses 16 cards of four ranks.

May I pick up before passing?+

No. Release yours before picking up the received card.

Is there one final winner?+

In this selected version the final two share victory.