Mao
How to Play Mao
Mao is a hidden-rules shedding game for 3–6 people — 3 is a real table — everyone for themselves. You deal one 52, no jokers, 7 each. First to empty the hand and have said Mao wins.
This page is for the dealer to print. The table hears three sentences. The dealer keeps the rest. Short enough to deal tonight. This is not Crazy Eights. Crazy Eights is match suit or rank, 8s wild, you talk, all rules are public, first out wins. This is not President. President climbs, names seats, and deals the whole pack. This is not Palace. Palace is three down, three up, rest in hand. This is not Cheat. Cheat claims the next rank face-down and anyone may call Cheat. Two is not this game. Three is a real table, not a leftover. Pick it from tonight with 4 players, tonight with 3, or tonight with 5.
What you need
- 3–6 players. Everyone for themselves. No partners. Three is a real table. Four is typical. Five is a real table. Six still works. Two is not tonight's Mao.
- One standard 52-card deck. No jokers. Deal 7 each. The rest is the stock. Turn one starter face-up. Play clockwise.
- No score pad. First to empty the hand and have said Mao wins. Optional rematch: first to 3 hands. Winner of a hand deals the next and may add one secret rule.
- This printed page. It is the dealer sheet. Do not read the dealer half out loud.
What the table hears (say out loud, only this)
Sit where everyone can see the pile. Cut for the first deal, or point at someone. After each hand, the winner deals. Before the first card, the dealer says only these three sentences:
- Play one card that matches the suit or the rank of the card on the pile. If you cannot, draw one and your turn ends.
- You may not talk, except you must say Mao when you play your last card.
- If you break a rule, the dealer says penalty and you draw one. The dealer will not explain which rule.
That is all the table gets. First to empty the hand — and have said Mao — wins. No pad. Do not add a fourth spoken rule on hand one.
Deal 7, a stock, one starter
Shuffle the 52. Deal clockwise until each player has 7. Put the rest face-down in the middle. That is the stock. Turn one card face-up beside it. That is the pile. Play clockwise. Left of the dealer goes first.
Four people: 28 cards dealt, 24 in the stock, one of those turned up. Three people: 21 dealt — a real table, plenty of stock. Five people: 35 dealt. Six people: 42 dealt — still a stock. If someone has the wrong count, throw it in and deal again.
Two is not this game. Secret rules need a table. Two people: cribbage or gin, or Crazy Eights if they want a public-rules matcher, from tonight.
Play: match, or draw and stop
On your turn you play one card onto the pile. It must match the suit or the rank of the card showing. A 9♥ plays on a 6♥. A 6♠ plays on a 6♥.
If you cannot play, draw one from the stock and your turn ends. You do not play the drawn card this turn even if it would have matched. That is not Crazy Eights, where a drawn match can go down right away, 8s are wild, and you talk.
When the stock is empty, lift the top card of the pile. Flip the rest face-down. That is the new stock. Put the top card back as the pile. If nothing sits under it, play on with what is in hand until someone goes out.
What the dealer keeps (do not read this out)
Print this page for the dealer. The table does not hear this half. Hand one starts with none of these extra — only the three spoken rules. After the first hand, if you rematch, pick one secret to add. Four is the night-one ceiling. Do not invent a twenty-rule list.
| Secret | What the dealer enforces |
|---|---|
| Aces | Skip the next player. |
| Queens | Reverse direction. |
| 2s | Next player draws two and skips — or plays a 2 to pass it. |
| Last card | Tap the table when you play your last card, in addition to saying Mao. |
The dealer may name a penalty — “talking”, “wrong card”, “no Mao” — without explaining the full rule. Do not answer “what are the rules?” Asking is talking.
Penalties
Dealer says penalty. The player draws one. If the card they played was illegal, it comes back. Then play continues.
- Talking — including asking what the rules are.
- Playing out of turn.
- Playing a card that does not match suit or rank.
- Failing to say Mao when you play your last card.
- After a secret is in play: missing that secret (skip, reverse, draw-two, or the tap).
You do not win until the hand is empty and you have said Mao. Forget the word: penalty, draw one, you are still in.
Walk through one first-night hand
Four people. You are West. South dealt. Seven each. Starter is 6♥. Hand one: no extra secrets. The table heard three sentences.
You play 6♠ — match rank. North says “nice.” Dealer says penalty. North draws one. Dealer does not explain. East plays 6♦. South cannot match, draws one, turn ends — the drawn card stays in hand even if it would have played.
Around again. East dumps a 4♣ that does not match. Dealer says penalty. The 4♣ comes back. East draws one. Later you play your last card and say Mao. You win. If you had forgotten the word, you would draw one and keep going. Nobody named a seat. Nobody flipped a stack. Nobody called Cheat.
Night-one habits
- Hand one: only the three spoken rules. Add at most one secret after that.
- Dealer says penalty. A short name is fine. An explanation is not.
- Draw one and stop. You do not keep drawing until you can play.
- First out, having said Mao, wins. You do not need a pad. First to 3 hands is a rematch option.
- Three people is a real Mao table. Five is a real table. Two is not this game. Deal.
You know enough to deal. Print this page for the dealer. Keep it off the table talk. Four people is a tonight pick. Three people is a tonight pick. Five people is a tonight pick. There is no Mao trainer on CardPractice — this dealer sheet is the product. If you wanted public 8s and talking, that is Crazy Eights. If you wanted named seats, that is President. If you wanted three down and three up, that is Palace. If you wanted a face-down claim, that is Cheat. Two people: cribbage or gin.