• All Card Games
• Yaniv Card Game
• Yaniv Card Game Rules
• April 2020

‎Yaniv Card Game is a famous card game played by travelers and back packers around the world. Different variations of this game is played around the world. This particular variation is especially famous in Israel. Yaniv is an Israeli card game, played with a standard deck of cards. Players attempt to be the first to decrease the value of the cards in their hand to below a designated number by discarding sets of matching cards.

Screw Your Neighbour is a card game. It is an extreme variation of Crazy Eights for three or more players, which becomes everyone as a team playing against everyone as individuals. This happens due to switching hands during play and (sometimes) knowing what your opponent is holding. Table talk about the cards is discouraged. The object is to get rid of all your cards to a discard pile.

Play

Use two 52 card decks plus 4 Jokers. Each player is dealt 8 cards and the rest of the cards are placed face down in the centre of the table. This becomes the draw pile. The top card is turned over to start a discard pile and determine opening suit. The dealer has the option of taking this card and adding it to their hand, then discard any card they chose.

Whether the card is left or a new card is played by the dealer, all special cards apply to this card. If an 8 is turned and left by the dealer, that card's suit will determine suit. If the next card played is a “Switch”, that player will take the next 8 cards and their hand goes to the bottom of the draw pile. If a Joker is turned, the dealer must pick it up, adding to their own hand and may discard any of their own cards to determine rank and suit.

Players discard their cards by matching rank or suit with the top card of the discard pile. If a player is unable to match the rank or suit of the top card of the discard pile and they don't have an 8, they draw a card from the stock pile. If that card is playable, they can discard it. If it is not, play goes to the next person.

• Card Game: One of the most addicting Card Games on the planet. It's easy and simple to learn, but more experienced players know there's a deep level of strategy. Now, for the first time, you can play this game alone against computer players.
• Yaniv is probably the best card game you've never heard of! It offers quick and challenging fun with uniquely addictive gameplay. It's very easy to learn, and has a great balance of strategy and luck. Optimized for single hand use, Yaniv is perfect for quick sessions.
• Yaniv is probably the best card game you've never heard of! It offers quick and challenging fun with uniquely addictive gameplay. It's very easy to learn, and has a great balance of strategy and luck. Optimized for single hand use, Yaniv is perfect for quick sessions.

If the stock pile runs out of cards, all active cards in the discard pile are removed and the remaining cards in the discard pile are reshuffled and serve as the new stock pile. The first player to get rid of all their cards is the winner.

Special Actions

• Match - A “Match” is 2 cards with the same rank and suit or Joker(s) (functions explained under “Special Cards”) and any other card in your hand at the same time. They can then be played at the same time as one play. The functions of the special cards are then doubled. If a player has only a “Match” left in their hand, they are not required to announce “Last Card” and they may go out on their next turn if it is playable.
• Switch - This is a card being played with the same rank and suit as the one on the top of the discard pile. That player must then switch their entire hand with the person who played the first card or trading any card in their hand for the Safe Card of that player. This cannot be done with a Joker.
• Safe Card - After the deal and before the top card is flipped, each player selects 1 card from their hand and lays it face down in front of them. You can look at and discard this card at any time but you cannot switch it with another card in your hand. After it is played or lost, you do not select another Safe Card. This card is safe from Black Aces, remaining in front of you after hands have been rotated. This card is NOT safe from a Natural Switch. After playing one of these, that player has the option of trading hands excluding the Safe Cards or trading the opponents Safe Card with any card they choose in their own hand before seeing the Safe Card. Discarding a Joker does not allow you to trade for the Safe Card. If this player does look at the Safe Card before selecting a card to give, the opponent then gets to blindly select one card from their hand including the newly acquired card. If this card becomes the 'Last Card' it is then held in your hand and is no longer protected from Black Aces.

Special Cards

• 2 - Next player picks up 2 and misses a turn. Playing more than one 2 in a row will require a draw equal to the sum of the cards (i.e. three 2s = six cards). Discarding a “Match” (one 2 and a Joker) will cause the next player to pick up 4 additional cards and miss 1 turn. A natural pair (2 - 2's of the same suit, no Jokers) gives the player the option of telling the next player to pick up all of the required cards and miss a turn OR the next 2 players to draw half of the cards each and both miss a turn. In the event of an odd number of cards to be picked up, the first player must take the extra card. Both players that are required to draw cards can play a Joker as a shield.

Note: Queen of spades can be combined with the 2 of Spades in a variation.

• 4 - Next player misses a turn. Discarding a “Match” causes the next 2 players to miss one turn. When 4's are discarded on other 4's, the number of active 4's represents the number of players that miss a turn, i.e. if a 4 is discarded on two 4's then the next 3 players miss a turn.
• Pair of 7's 'The Bomb' - If a player lays a natural pair of 7's (2-7's of the same suit and no joker), all other players must pick up 3 cards each in order of play and following the current direction of gameplay. Jokers cannot block this and no turns are missed. If a player has a natural pair of 7's in their hand they can choose to discard them and force the player that discarded the first pair of 7's to draw 3 cards.
• 8 - Can be played irrespective of the top card on the pile, and the player has the option of changing suit. Discarding a “Match” has no special function.
• Jack - Reverse direction of play. Playing a “Match” will result in play continuing in its current direction.
• Queen of Spades - Next player picks up 5 and misses a turn. Discarding a “Match” (one Queen of Spades and a Joker) will result in the next player picking up 10 cards and missing 1 turn. A natural pair (2 - Queens of the same suit, no Jokers) gives the player the option of telling the next player to pick up all of the required cards and miss a turn OR the next 2 players to draw half of the cards each and both miss a turn. In the event of an odd number of cards to be picked up, the first player must take the extra card. Both players that are required to draw cards can play a Joker as a shield.

Note: Queen of Spades can be combined with the 2 of Spades in a variation.

• Kings - At any point during game play, if 3 natural Kings are played (discarding a pair counts as 2 kings) the next person to lay a card other than a natural King must draw one card for every consecutive King laid. If a player does not have a King, they may attempt to draw a card from the stock pile. If it is a King, they may discard it and play continues. If it is not a King, they must then discard a playable card before drawing the cards for the Kings.
• Black Aces - All players will pass their entire hand (excluding Safe Cards) in the direction of play to the next person. If a “Match” is played, hands will be passed 2 people away. The skipped players do not have an option of looking at the hands. Discarding a “Switch” will result in all hands being passed as well as trading hands with the person who played the first card. The person who played the second Ace decides in which order this is done.
• Red Aces - When dealing, the dealer selects a portion of the deck and deals from that. If after deal is complete and that dealer has +/- 2 or less cards left over, then the Red Aces are active for that hand and for the dealer only. When the dealer uses a Red Ace (when it is playable) they have the option of switching their hand with any other player in the game. Discarding a “Match” gives the dealer the option of doing this twice in one turn.
• Joker Wild card - Can be discarded alone at any time, becoming a “Switch” for the card that it was played on as well as taking on the special function of that card if any. It can also be discarded as a “Match” with any other playable card in your hand.

All Card Games

The Joker may also be used as a Shield. After an opponent plays a 2 or the Queen of Spades, instead of drawing the required cards, a player has the option of discarding a Joker, causing the previous player to draw the required cards. That Joker is then considered a shield only and is not used in increasing the draw amounts. Play continues to the next player as if the Joker were not there.

Additional Rules

• Re-Shuffle Stock Pile - If the stock pile runs out of cards, it is the dealer's responsibility to shuffle the discard pile excluding any active cards. Once one of these new stock pile cards are required, the dealer then distributes one more card to each player except themself. No turns are missed and play continues.
• Passing - A player may choose not to use a playable card at any time and can draw from the stock. They can then discard the card they drew, a playable card that they already have in their hand or announce that they cannot play.
• Last Card - When a player has only 1 card remaining in their hand after a discard or if they acquire a single card from an opponent after switching hands, they must say “Last card”. If any other player points out that they did not announce “Last card”, the player with 1 card then draws 2 more cards.

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Posted on 2016-09-20 Comments (4)

Yaniv, as it is known in Israel, or Jhyap or Dhumbal, as it is known in Nepal, is a rummy-type card game for two to five players. Yaniv shares a common goal with Gin Rummy: each player is trying to reduce their unmatched cards’ point total below a certain threshold, whereupon they can end the game. In Yaniv, however, melds are discarded instead of held in the hand, meaning certain cards can be drawn from the discard pile and used over and over.

The game most likely originated in Nepal as Jhyap. Somehow, it spread from there to Israel, where it has enjoyed a period of popularity, especially among younger players, for the past several years.

Object of Yaniv

The object of Yaniv is to discard melds and be the first to call “Yaniv”, hopefully ensuring that the total of your unmatched cards is lower than that of your opponent.

Setup

Yaniv is played with a 54-card deck formed by augmenting a deck of Denexa 100% Plastic Playing Cards with two jokers. If you are playing with four or more players, you may wish to use a 108-card double deck to avoid frequent shuffling. You’ll also need something to keep score with—pencil and paper will do the job wonderfully.

Shuffle and deal five cards to each player. Place the stub in the center of the table to form the stock. Turn over the top card of the stock; this is the first card in the discard pile.

Game play

In Yaniv, each of the face cards is worth ten points. Aces are worth one point, and are always low. All other cards are worth their face value. Jokers are worth zero.

Yaniv Card Game

Play of the hand

The player to the left of the dealer goes first. Unlike most rummy games, in Yaniv, the first thing a player does is discard. A player may discard a single card, like they do in typical rummy games. However, they may also discard a set of two or more cards of the same rank. They can also discard a run of three or more cards of the same suit in sequence (e.g. 8-9-10-J♦). A player may only make one discard per turn. They can’t discard, say, a set then a run, or two runs, or two different sets.

In sequences, cards rank in their usual order, with aces always low. Q-K-A is not a valid combination! Also, jokers may be used as wilds to substitute for any card in a sequence (but not in a set).

It is important to keep the cards discarded in the proper order. Runs must always be kept in numerical order. Sets may be played in any order the player chooses.

After discarding, the player draws. The player may draw one card from the stock, or they may choose to take either the first or the last card that the previous player discarded. Thus, if the previous player discarded 8-9-10-J♦, the player may only draw the 8 or the jack, not the 9 or 10. This is where some strategy in discarding can be used—by carefully choosing the order they discard the cards in, a player can deny access to certain cards to the player after them!

Going out

Yaniv Card Game Rules

As the game goes on, players gradually reduce the count of their deadwood (the cards left in their hand). When a player’s deadwood reaches five or fewer points, they may call “Yaniv!” to go out. This must happen at the beginning of their turn, before they discard.

All players then turn their cards face up. If the player has the lowest point total, they score zero for the hand, and all other players score the total value of the cards left in their hand. If another player has a lower point total than the player that called “Yaniv”, every player scores the value of the cards left in their hand. The player that called “Yaniv” also scores a 30-point penalty.

At the end of a hand, if a player has a score of exactly 200 points, their score resets to 100 points. Likewise, if a player ends a hand with exactly 100 points, their score is reduced to 50 points.

Ending the game

The deal passes to the left and another hand is dealt. This continues for as many hands as necessary. When a player’s score exceeds 200 points, they are out of the game and are not dealt into later hands. The last player remaining in the game is the winner.

Posted in Game Rules, Israel, Nepal Tags: card games, dhumbal, jhyap, rummy games, yaniv

1. If the player has the lowest point total, they score zero for the hand, and all other players score the total value of the cards left in their hand ???

2. Can I know what is the meaning of Yaniv, Jhyap, Dhumbal?

April 2020