Screw Your Neighbor

For those of you who aren't familiar, "Screw Your Neighbor" is a fun and believe it or not, family-friendly game. I learned this game a few days ago when we were over at my friend Kathy's house for her birthday dinner. It's super easy to learn and certainly not difficult (meaning therefore, that it makes for a great "drinking game"). When I was young I remember my parents talking about how much fun they had playing "Pass the Garbage" and after a little smartphone research, I learned that it's basically the same game.

Screw Your Neighbor aka Pass the Garbage

What you need: 
A full deck of playing cards
Players - the more, the merrier, but a minimum of 3
Either 4 poker chips per player or 1 dollar bill per player

The object:
To be the last person eliminated from the game (and therefore, win the pot)

How to play:

• Give each player either their four chips or their one dollar.
• The dealer shuffles the cards and deals out one card per player face down and sets the deck aside, face down. Each player looks at his/her card. If any players have a SEVEN they must turn their card face up, and they sit out of the hand.
• The object of the hand is to not have the lowest card - aces are high. Note, you don't need to have the highest, just any card other than the lowest.
• The player to the left of the dealer goes first. He/she has the option to keep their card or trade with the person to their left. This is the gamble, because they don't know which card their neighbor has. If the player has a deuce then of course they have nothing to lose by trading. If they have an ace, the highest card, then they will want to keep it.
• After that player has made his choice then the next person to the left has his/her turn, and so on until you get back to the dealer. The dealer has the option to keep his/her card or discard it and take the one on top of the deck (which is face down). If they choose to do this, they are stuck with this card.
• EXCEPTION: If the player to your left has a SEVEN then you are stuck - you cannot trade with them or the player next to them, even if the person on your right traded with you.
• NOTE: If the player on your right trades with you and you end up with a lower card, you don't need to trade with the person to your left since you know the player on your right has a card lower than yours.
• After the dealer makes his/her choice, everyone turns over their cards and the person(s) with the lowest card loses the hand. They have to put their chip into the kitty - or if you're playing with dollar bills they will turn over one corner of their bill. Ties are not "broken" - both players have to comply.
• The deal moves to the left and the game continues. When the first player is left with no chips - or all four corners are folded - they get one more chance (called "on their honor" or "riding the bus"). After that, they are eliminated. Of course when we played I was the first eliminated! :-P
• Play continues as players are eliminated, and the last person left wins the pot!

After doing some Internet research, I have found a few variations of the game that you might want to include. For example:

• Having only "three lives" instead of five.
• Using KINGS instead of SEVENS or the elimination of this rule altogether.
• At the end of the round, if the dealer chooses to take from the deck, and if they draw the same card, this becomes a "pair" and makes them automatically "safe" in the round.
• Aces low and therefore kings guarantee your safety.
• Other names such as "Cuckoo", "Chase the Ace" and "Renter Go Round."

Try playing this at your next gathering - it's a lot of fun!