Hand, Knee, and Foot Game Rules and Scoring

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Hand, Knee, and Foot — also called Triple Play — is a points-based game, which is ideal for seasoned players of card games.

If you feel the card games have become too easy and seeking a new challenge, Triple Play is perfect to test your mettle.

Triple Play, like Hand and Foot, provides each player with additional hands of cards they’re required to play through before they can go out. While the latter game tasks you to play out your hand and an additional hand, in Triple Play card game, you must eliminate two extra hands, or three in total.

Thus, in a game of Triple Play, you effectively have a 39-card hand. It’s a variation on Canasta for 4 players collaborating as teams, but the game is designed to be more complicated.

Let’s explore Hand, Knee, and Foot game rules and scoring.

Hand, Knee & Foot Game Rules – Walkthrough & Scoring

The number of players required to play is 8 in 4 teams of pairs.

Furthermore, the game is suitable for people of all ages. However, younger players could find it tricky to grasp.

Additionally, unlike most other card games, the scoring of Triple Play is more complicated. This means its level of difficulty is hard, and it does require some patience to master.

The object of the card game is to earn more points than the other teams (of opposing players) within four hands. You can score points by creating melds of between 3–7 cards.

The Hand, Knee, and Foot card game is cool because it can be deceptively complicated, making it challenging in a fun way. If you have many decks lying around, Triple Play is the ideal game for you.

Requirement

Having gathered enough players (to form the required number of teams), a huge pile of cards is the only thing you’ll need to start playing.

A game of Hand, Knee, and Foot requires about 324 cards, which gives 6 standard decks. If you haven’t gathered these already, then you can purchase an option from Brybelly as a cost-effective bulk. Ensure you have also got a pen and paper handy or app on your smartphone to record scores.

Hand, Knee & Foot Game Setup

Start by determining partnerships, either by mutual agreement or some kind of random draw. Partners will sit on opposite sides of the table. This kind of arrangement ensures that players of alternate teams play as the turn moves clockwise around the table.

Shuffle the cards with the multiple-deck shuffling technique and then deal a 15-card hand to each player. After that, deal out a 13-card knee pile to each player, followed by an 11-card foot pile.

Players are allowed to look at their hands (if they like), but can’t look at the knee and foot piles. The foot piles are stacked face down in a neat manner in front of each player, with the knee pile placed at the top at right angles.

The undealt cards left are put at the center of the table to form the stock. The top card in this stock is turned face-up and positioned next to the stock. This is called the upcard, which is the top card of the discard pile.

Bury the upcard face-down in the middle of the stock if the card is a joker, 2, red 3, 5, or 7, and draw another card.

Steps to Play the Triple Play Card Game

The gameplay involves players alternating turns moving round in a clockwise manner.
When it is a player’s turn, he can draw either by taking 2 cards from the stock or replacing 2 cards in their hand with 2 cards from the discard pile.
Players are only allowed to use the cards in the discard pile if they can show the upcard that’s in the discard pile can create a meld.
Players are not allowed to meld black 3s. Thus, if the upcard is a black 3, then players are not allowed to pick from the discard pile.
In a situation where the upcard is a wildcard, then players will only be able to pick from the discard pile if that player is holding 2 cards with the same rank. For instance, if the discard pile contains a 2, the player will need to have two 2s without which he can’t draw from it.
When a player completes drawing, then he can try to make melds or add to any available melds that he or his partner has created.
When players make melds, they earn points to win the game.
If a player starts his turn by drawing from the stock, they will end the turn by eliminating a card in their hand.
If a player has taken cards from the discard pile, there’s no need for them to end their turn by eliminating a card. The next player also has to draw from the stock.
Collaborating with their partner, players aim to make a canasta — this is a meld of 7 cards.
As soon as a team has made their 1st canasta, a player from that team whose turn is next in the game can take his knee-pile. Their partner on their own turn also has to take their knee-pile; if not, they will face a 1000-point penalty.
Then, players pick up and utilize their foot-pile as soon as they have made use of their knee-pile. This will continue until players can’t make melds any longer with the cards left.
Collate points based on the quality of each team’s melds, which the players made. Get the total of the value of each melded card.
Then, any cards left in each player’s hand is deducted from their total.
As soon as each team gets a score, re-shuffle the cards and re-deal. The game will repeat 4 times.
Declare as winners the team that gets the highest total after completing all 4 rounds of the game.

Scoring

Outlined below are the scores and special properties of all the cards in the Triple play card game:

Red 3s: These are a bonus card, which are simply laid in front of the player, with a new card drawn to take their place (100pts).
Jokers: These are wildcards (50pts).
2s: They’re also wildcards (20pts).
Aces: 20pts.
K–8s: 10pts.
7s–4s: 5pts.
Black 3s: Can’t be melded.

Apart from the colors of the 3s, suits don’t matter, and the two jokers are also equal.

By following these guidelines, you can gain familiarity with the Hand, Knee, and Foot game rules and scoring. This game is ideal for testing your card-playing prowess.