Has anyone heard of this card game?

The Game Room
1

In the late 80’s, I had a card game called “Elimination” on my Atari ST computer. A game begins with seven people who have 13 points each. Whenever someone loses all their points, they’re eliminated from the game.

Each player is dealt just one card. The person who starts the game has the option of keeping his card or trading it to the person on his left. Then, that second person has the same option, and on down the line. (The dealer, who goes last, has the option of trading with the top card on the deck.) Afterwards, everyone reveals their cards, and whoever has the lowest card loses some points. (Twos are low, aces are high.) If the loser has a two, he loses two points. If the loser has a six, he loses six points. Then, another hand is dealt until everybody but one person has been eliminated.

Has anybody else played this game, either on a computer or in real life?

2

Just to be clear, the option continues around the circle even if somebody passes and keeps their original card?

3

Y’know, I’ve played something like that. Alcohol was involved, so I can’t be more specific. But it rings some bells…

Joe

4

Our poker version of that IRL is called “Pass the Ace”.

The ante is a quarter; everyone starts with 3 quarters in front of them. Aces are low and person(s) with lowest card at the end of each round tosse in one of their 3 quarters. Kings are highest and are turned over to stop any card being passed. You have the option to keep your card once a king has flipped but otherwise you have to take a card being passed. Dealer plays last and has the option of turning his card over and cutting the deck for a better card.

5

David Parlett in A History of Card Games says that this game is referred to as “Chase the Ace” or “Ranter-go-round.” It’s mainly played as a drinking game in England.

6

The name of the game is Ranter-Go-Round, though when I first heard about it, it was callled “Chase the Ace”.

Here’s the Wikipedia page for it: Ranter-Go-Round - Wikipedia

Edit: Or what Duke said.

7

Yes. Every player gets the option to keep or to trade with the person on his left, except for the dealer, who can keep or trade with the top card of the deck.

8

Pagat’s page on Cuckoo aka Chase the Ace aka Ranter-Go-Round. It also mentions the name Screw Your Neighbor, which is what I think I know this game as, but that name applies to several different card games.

9

Ah, that’s what it’s normally called…when we played this, we called it “F*** Thy Neighbor”.

10

Kind of like how “I Doubt It” is frequently called by its cruder name “Bullshit!”

And “Oh, Hell!” is sometimes euphamistically referred to as “Oh, Pshaw!”

11

We play with the slightly more refined title of Screw Your Neighbor.

It’s a lot of fun and I normally play it with three dollars and an “honor” round. Winning a game of that with 15-20 people is a quite lucrative 30 minutes.