Fan Tan♠

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Aim and equipment

This is the card game Fan Tan, also called Sevens: 3 to 8 players and one 52-card pack without jokers. Empty your hand first into shared suit rows. Pagat’s selected main profile uses ace high: 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 J Q K A. Each row starts at seven and grows toward deuce and ace, without wrapping.

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Setup and deal

Choose a dealer randomly; deal and play clockwise. Cut and deal every card face down singly, starting left. Hands may differ by one card; do not equalise or set any aside. There is no stock and the table starts empty. Dealer’s left always takes the first turn, not necessarily the holder of 7♦.

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Legal actions

On your turn play exactly one legal card. Any unplayed 7 opens its suit row. An open row accepts only the immediately adjacent rank at either end. With 6♥–7♥–8♥, for example, 5♥ and 9♥ fit, but not 4♥ or 10♥. Other suits cannot continue it. With any legal play you must play, even if you would prefer to withhold a seven.

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Scoring

With no legal card, pass without drawing and move the turn on. Correct a mistaken pass before the next action by showing and playing a legal card; this profile has no monetary penalty. Played cards belong to the shared layout and cannot be reclaimed. A compact table may overlap the lower and upper branches while keeping their current endpoints visible.

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Ending the game

The player laying their last card wins the deal immediately; rows need not all be finished. For a non-cash session record 1 win each time and play to 3, our explicit agreement instead of a token pool. Victory is individual: successive turns prevent simultaneous exits. Remaining hand sizes do not change the winner. Collect all 52 and rotate dealer left for the next deal.

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Context and variants

Sevens, Domino and Parliament are names used for this layout game. It is separate from the similarly named counter-counting game and from our Devyatka guide: that uses 36 cards and nines, while this uses a full pack and sevens. Pagat lists ace-low and compulsory 7♦ starts as alternatives; neither applies here. No sole inventor or reliable origin date is claimed.

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Worked example

The heart row is 6♥–7♥–8♥. Your hand includes 5♥, 10♥ and 7♣. Play 5♥ or open clubs with its seven. The 10♥ is blocked by the missing 9♥. Choose 5♥ and end your turn; even another available card must wait for your next turn.

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

Common questions