How to play President

From 3 to 6 players try to empty their hands. The final standings assign the roles: President in first place, Asshole in last. Usually, finishing earlier earns a better place; the “Finish with a 2” variant can change these standings.

A round ends when only one player still has cards. A game consists of several rounds: their points add up.

All 52 cards are shuffled and dealt. Some players may receive one extra card.

In the first round, extra cards follow seat order. In later rounds, they go to the Asshole first, then work upwards through the previous standings.

From weakest to strongest: 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, Jack, Queen, King, Ace, 2.

Suits give no advantage. During a revolution, this order is reversed: the 3 becomes the strongest and the 2 the weakest.

To open a trick, play one card or several cards of the same rank: a pair, three of a kind or four of a kind.

To respond, play exactly the same number of cards, with a rank at least as strong in the current order. Matching ranks are always allowed, even when the “Skip if matching cards are missing” variant is disabled.

Straights are not allowed. Four of a kind cannot respond to a single card or a pair.

You can pass even if you have a valid response. You then sit out until the next trick. To open an empty trick, you must play: you cannot pass.

When the other players have passed or no longer participate in the trick, the last player to play leads the next trick. If they have already emptied their hand, the next player still in the round takes the lead.

A new trick lets every player who still has cards participate again.

In the first round, the player with the Queen of hearts starts. They do not have to play that card.

In later rounds, the Asshole starts once all exchanges are complete. Turns follow seat order, taking passes and skips into account.

In rapid mode, there are no turns. Everyone still in the trick can play a legal combination. Anyone can open, from the first round and after exchanges: neither the Queen of hearts, the Asshole nor the last player to play has priority.

Only the first legal play accepted by the server counts. If someone plays before you on the same trick state, your attempt is cancelled and your cards stay in your hand, even if they could beat the new top cards. An illegal play earns no priority.

A rejected attempt is never resent automatically. Look at the new trick and make a new gesture to play. You can also respond to your own accepted play, with a new legal combination and a new gesture.

On a non-empty trick, passing removes you until the next trick. The last player to play cannot pass. When all the other players still in the round have passed, the trick closes and anyone can open the next one.

The shared timer allows 10 seconds without an accepted play. At zero, a non-empty trick closes; on an empty trick, the server makes a legal automatic opening for a player still in the round. Each new trick and accepted play restarts this timer. Passes, rejections, reactions and reconnections do not extend it.

Order is determined by processing on the server, not by when you touch the screen or an animation finishes. Network latency can therefore affect who plays first.

The “Skip if matching cards are missing” variant is disabled in rapid mode, as there is no next player. The other variants (“Revolution”, “Four matching cards close the trick”, “Strongest card closes the trick” and “Finish with a 2”) keep their effects when enabled; only accepted plays count.

Playing four of a kind at once reverses card strength. Another four of a kind reverses it again. Revolution stays active between tricks until another revolution or the end of the round.

When disabled, four of a kind can still be played but does not change card order. Four cards accumulated across several plays never trigger a revolution.

If the “Four matching cards close the trick” variant is also enabled, four of a kind reverses the order and then closes the trick. The next trick keeps that reversed order.

The “shut up” rule: after a play of the same rank as the previous play, the next eligible opponent keeps their turn if they can respond with that same rank and number of cards. It is then the same card or nothing: they play that rank or pass. They are skipped only if they cannot. A player who has passed or emptied their hand is not affected.

When disabled, matching ranks are still allowed but skip nobody. A skip only makes you miss that turn; it does not count as passing for the entire trick.

If another variant already closes the trick, no extra skip is applied. If nobody remains after the skip, the trick closes. After a skip, or if they pass, the following player responds normally.

Four consecutive cards of the same rank at the top of the trick close it. They can come from four of a kind or several successive plays. A new top rank resets this count.

When disabled, collecting all four cards does not automatically close the trick. Other causes can still close it.

This closure is independent of revolution: only playing four cards at once can reverse the order, if “Revolution” is enabled.

Playing the strongest rank closes the trick: the 2 in normal order, the 3 during a revolution. You must still meet the required number of cards.

When disabled, that rank remains playable but no longer automatically closes the trick. Other causes of closure remain active.

The order before the play is used, even if that play triggers a revolution. Closing a trick preserves the revolution for the next trick.

When enabled, an accepted play of 2s that empties your hand reserves you a place at the bottom of the standings. The first affected player becomes the Asshole; the next takes second-to-last place, then places work upwards. Other players take the remaining places in finishing order.

This applies to a single 2, a pair, three or four 2s. Rank 2 is still affected during a revolution, even when it is weakest. Finishing with a 3 during a revolution does not trigger this penalty.

Your cards stay played and you stop playing in this round. Trick closure and revolution keep their effects: closing the trick does not protect you from the penalty. Several players can finish with a 2, in the same trick or different tricks.

If all other players finish with a 2, the last player still in the round becomes President, even with cards in hand. Roles, points and exchanges follow these final standings; no points from previous rounds are removed.

Playing a 2 while keeping cards, making a rejected play or holding a 2 when the last available place is assigned automatically does not trigger the penalty. The rule also applies to bots and automated stand-ins.

When disabled, finishing with a 2 does not change your place.

Roles follow the final standings. These usually follow finishing order. If “Finish with a 2” is enabled, penalised players take reserved bottom places; emptying your hand first therefore does not guarantee becoming President.

With 3: President, Neutral, Asshole.

With 4: President, Vice-president, Vice-asshole, Asshole.

With 5: President, Vice-president, Neutral, Vice-asshole, Asshole.

With 6: President, Vice-president, two Neutrals, Vice-asshole, Asshole.

There are no exchanges in the first round. Afterwards, roles from the previous round’s final standings determine exchanges after dealing, including after a penalty for finishing with a 2.

The Asshole automatically gives their two strongest cards to the President. The President returns two cards of their choice, including cards they just received.

With four or more players, the Vice-asshole gives their strongest card to the Vice-president, who returns one card of their choice. Neutrals exchange nothing.

The new round starts in normal order: the 2 is strongest for these exchanges. The table waits for all returns before the first turn.

Each round, final roles earn: President +3 points, Vice-president +2, each Neutral +1, Vice-asshole and Asshole +0. A penalised finish with a 2 changes the place earned, with no other point deduction.

Points add up over the number of rounds chosen in the room. Between rounds, from the results, the host picks “Next round” or “End the game”: with “Unlimited”, the standings become final; with a set number of rounds, the game is stopped, with no winner, and the host can then take the table back to the lobby.

Unless the game is stopped, the highest total wins at the end. All players tied for the lead are joint winners. The host can then choose “Play again”: a new game with the same settings, and scores reset to zero.

You have 30 seconds to act, timed by the server. The timer keeps running while you read the rules, check the table activity or open your profile.

When time runs out, the server chooses a valid action for you: play, pass or return cards during an exchange. It does not pause the game.

If you disconnect, the server may take over before the timer expires. Reconnecting to the same seat lets you resume with the current state, without resetting the timer.

Leaving the room or being removed is different from a disconnection: you cannot reclaim that seat during the game. If this happens mid-round, a bot finishes the round for you, then the seat is freed. If fewer than 3 players are then left, bots included, a game still in progress is interrupted and the table goes back to the lobby.