Yaniv rules: how to play

Card values

Setup

• Use one 52-card deck plus 2 jokers.
• Deal 5 cards to each player. Turn the next card face up: that is the discard pile. The rest is the deck.

Your turn: drop, then draw

1. Drop one of these onto the discard pile:
   • a single card,
   • a set: 2 or more cards of the same rank (7♥ 7♠),
   • a run: 3 or more cards in a row of the same suit (4♦ 5♦ 6♦). Ace is low only: A-2-3 is a run, Q-K-A is not.
   Jokers can stand in for any card in a set or a run.
2. Draw one card: the top card of the deck, or one of the cards the previous player just dropped. If they dropped a run, you may only take a card from either end of it.

Calling Yaniv

At the start of your turn, if your hand totals 7 points or less, you may call “Yaniv!” instead of playing. Everyone reveals their hand.

• Yaniv: if every other player has a higher total, you score 0 and everyone else adds their hand total to their score.
• Assaf: if anyone has the same or a lower total, they “Assaf” you. They score 0, and you add your hand total plus 30 penalty points. Other players add their hand totals as usual.

The winner of the round starts the next one.

Scoring, resets and knockout

• Scores add up over the rounds. A player whose score goes above 200 is knocked out.
• Lucky reset: if your score lands exactly on a multiple of 50 (50, 100, 150, 200), it drops by 50.
• The last player left in the game wins.

Popular house rules (all available in Yanivo)

On private tables the host can also choose the knockout score: 50, 100, 150, 200 or 300.

Strategy tips

• Drop high cards early, especially picture cards worth 10.
• Watch what others pick from the discard pile: they are building sets or runs, and you know part of their hand.
• Keep jokers and aces. They are worth almost nothing and complete combinations.
• Do not call Yaniv on 7 if someone has drawn several low cards: Assaf costs you 30 points.
• Taking a card from the discard pile tells everyone what you hold. Sometimes the deck is the smarter draw.