Shithead the Card Game

This video is about my variation of Shithead. It covers the basics of play and the power cards that are used. This is the first video that covers how the game is played out and I am posting a second video that will cover some of the other little nuances that I didn't get a chance to cover.
If anyone has questions or needs clarity on any of the rules, please leave a comment or message me directly. I'll leave the link to Twitter until I get a better set up. Mobile. ShitheadCards
As someone pointed out, I goofed. This was a stacked deck for demonstrable purposes and I didn't cover what happens if you don't have a card that can be played from your hand. If you cannot make a legal play, you have to pick up the entire pile of cards so far.
Since I'm here, I made this for people who have already known how to play, but like me, was looking for new variations to use. I should apologize because that was the frame of mind I was in when making this.
I was more intent on making the Cut Throat video which is my actual variation on the game, but I understand my way of playing, i.e., picking first before playing and such, differs enough from any other I played that I wanted to cover those points in-depth.
I hope this doesn't deter anyone from trying out my set of rules. And I promise, Cut Throat is where its at anyway. Namaste

[@brownbag111]

Loved this game growing up. That’s the exact rules we used to play in Scotland over 20 years ago! Thanks for jogging my memory.

[@EthanAlmasy]

Awesome, so happy you found this game again

[@paulrussell1207]

Up in Aberdeen in the 2000's we played 9 was invisible and 7 reversed things. And you dealt the whole pack, no pile top-ups at 3, and the face up cards were what they were, you didn't get to pick them or swap them etc.

[@The_God_Squad]

Jog your bog mate

[@oppgemini2130]

Learned this game in juvie we called it OG

[@jorenmartin5171]

Yaaap I played og all the time I used to bet snacks on it😂💯🤦🏾

[@rivermuoth7994]

yeah that's what we called it in the mental ward

[@-Tetsuo-]

YEAA BRO ME TOO HAHA, when I got out I played it with all the homies in highschool, we made some great memories 💯

[@Jayoo35832]

Mannnnnn

[@dazees5159]

i learned in rehab called it eat it

[@deanblanton6804]

We play this game in school all the time

[@indiaramodesto9034]

So thankful to find this video. We call this game tres so was hard to find this video to remember how to play the game when it’s actually called something different.

[@EthanAlmasy]

Lol this game is called so many things too, but I'm happy you rediscovered it! Have fun

[@gregbearne2195]

I taught my fellow patients in the ‘ looney bin’ how to play. It eased their anxiety. And helped this depression they had. Beautiful game x

[@EthanAlmasy]

We passed this game around a shelter I was in long ago. One day we saw it had caught on when people we taught we teaching others to play too lol

[@gregbearne2195]

@@EthanAlmasy It is a beautiful mix of competitiveness, math, memory and togetherness x

[@danielramadelcastillo8890]

Excellent tutorial of this card game. Thank you very much.

[@zoekim1868]

John - Thank you for enlightening me on the ways of the Shithead. I am so excited to share this game with my many friends and my family of shitheads, haha. Also, I love how you say “card.” I hope you have a great day and a great life.

[@SplinterAce]

Used to play that all night while backpacking across India... Good times

[@thomasroberts9404]

We never used the 3 or 8. Just 2 and 10. And four in a row would discard the draw pile as well.

[@EthanAlmasy]

Less than cards are really neat for lowering the pile to a low number and tripping others up lol, so I highly recommend it. 7, 8 and 9 are commonly used but use whatever you like really. I like the match cards, sometimes called mirror or invisible cards. 3 is my preferred but again, use whatever card you and your friends like.

[@christovix4540]

I always played with the following special cards 2: resets the deck to the bottom, but you dont get a free play, the next player can play anything 7: the next card must be 7 or lower, or a 9 or 10. 8: skip the next player, the card must be played in order. 9: invisible card, can be played at any time, the next player plays on whatever card was below it. 10: burn the deck, draw, play again. -If there are 4 of the same card in a row, the deck burns, even if 4 different players played one of each card. The person who played the 4th card draws and plays again. A 9 may be played between. -You cannot play your face down cards until all 3 face up cards are played. We called it Shaft Thy Neighbor. I don't remember what we called it before this event. But we were playing on a ferry from Vancouver to Victoria, and an old british lady walked by and shouted "Oohhhh SHAFT THY NEIGHBOR!" And naturally that's what we called it afterward. This would have been 16-17 years ago. ...damn.

[@EthanAlmasy]

Shaft thy neighbor is an awesome name! I've been playing for years, I think 2003 was when i got first shown it and we called it Risk because no one had a name for it at the time

[@christovix4540]

@@EthanAlmasy I think I started playing in grade 9 or 10. Uhh, so like, yeah 2003/2004ish, I graduated in 2006. But admittedly I don't think I've played in 10 years or so. I stumbled onto this video because I was just researching card games in general!

[@fr_z_n3727]

Love this game Played 2 is restart but no free play 3 is invisible / match 7 is lower but you can play 7 on 7 10 is burn and free play Four of a kind burn Draw card after you played 3 card minimum while deck is up Got me thinking now, I wanna come up with a turbo version with mates like 10 burns no free play unless it's a 4 to do a 10-4 and get the worst card down 8 in hand at start choose to redraw the other 2 cards 777 gives you a free play Royal Flush in hand, burn your hand Such a versatile game

[@EthanAlmasy]

If you look at the rules I have for Cut Throat, that's a turbo version of Shit Head. In short, draw before you play and not after, 2 isn't a free play like you said, we removed the 4 of a kind clear, changed it to 5 card minimum but 3 or 4 is fine if that's your thing, and a 10 card maximum. We introduced Cancel Cards (4, 7, 9 and King of Spades only). The purpose was to block 10s and other power cards and to speed up play by having more options. We also use 6s and Js to force the next player to Face Cards (J, Q, K, A) or Power Cards (2, 3, 8, 10) respectively. There's more to it if you're interested but that's the basics. Oh and 2s got repurposed to Links to speed the game up further

[@mikeclapsadle5616]

How can I send you $2 so you can get a new deck of cards?

[@EthanAlmasy]

Lol I have so many decks already, those were my travel ones that stay in my backpack and are worn in quite well. My sister and I since this video was posted and actually made a custom deck specifically for Shithead/Cut Throat. I found this cool site where you can upload the graphics and just get your own custom deck made, they're promoting it to put on pictures of grandkids and nonsense on cards but my sister's pretty good with Photoshop so we just did a tailored deck.

[@christovix4540]

@@EthanAlmasy I did this for Kings Cup (the drinking game) several years ago, so that the rules would be directly on the cards, and you don't have to remember them while drunk. XD Which site did you use? I can't remember which one I used, it was so long ago 😫

[@pruthivip8217]

We use 7 for a less than, J for a skip and an 8 for a reverse direction of play. your variation is interesting as well :)

[@EthanAlmasy]

That's the best thing about this game, whatever cards you use for the magic/ power/ special cards is okay, it all works out. After all my rules were developed, I got curious about looking at what some other people did to see if I could introduce anything new. I never did, I couldn't find anything that meshed well with mine. I was however surprised at the sheer amount of variances in the cards people use. And there are some very clever rules out there. Right now something about evens and odds comes to mind. Good luck with the game, hope you always have good company to play with

[@pruthivip8217]

@@EthanAlmasy You too man

[@chemicalhaze7607]

Hahahaha need a lot of card games when I’m trapped in a psych ward

[@EthanAlmasy]

I learned and fell in love with this game while in a homeless shelter, made for a great pass time, and it's super simple to teach: the 2, 3, 8 and 10 are special, always beat the top card showing or pick up the deck if you cannot, first one out wins, last out is the shit head and deal. .....this game didn't need multiple 15 minute videos to teach....

[@ag9652]

Pretty similar to how I play it. Only difference is the "power cards" 2- Resets so that the next player can play anything. 7- Skips the next person's go 8- Next person goes lower 10- Burns the pile 2 and 10 can be played at any time

[@EthanAlmasy]

We use to play 10 could be played at anytime as well, but when we started adding in some other cards we said, a 10 isn't less than 8 so it can't be played. It struck lol, and we've played that way ever since

[@jaredwang3336]

In the variant I learned, 10 actually can be played on the “lower than” card. For us, it was 7 and 10 can be played on 7 because power cards are okay to be played on each other.

[@Dyzzi24]

What happens if someone places an 8, but the next player don’t have any number lower than an 8 to play? Or if they just don’t have anything they have in their hand to ply in general

[@EthanAlmasy]

When a player cannot make a play (using your example of an 8) by not having a card less than 8, they have to pick up the entire deck. That player now lays first starting a new deck with plenty of cards to choose from lol

[@andersonjones6594]

@jrgreen Man that was so wonderfully explained.. Keep it up.. I'm just thinking if you know how the donkey card game is played, please make a video of it..

[@poetrycinema4232]

What if you don't any power cards in the hand or you open face down card and can't play it Will it be passed

[@EthanAlmasy]

If you mean what happened when you can't play because all of your available cards are no good, then you have to pick up all the cards in the face up play pile. This will happen whenever you cannot make a play

[@user-xb4cg1ji7r]

What if your at the card you can’t see and only card you play is lower then the card in the pile, what do you do then

[@EthanAlmasy]

That player will have to pick up. Any turn that a player cannot make a valid play (besting the top card on the deck) they have to pick up. But, more importantly, if you are at your bottom most cards (those that are face down and on your turn you have to draw one), if by chance you cannot play because that card will not beat what's on top, when you pick up the deck you also take the drawn card with up. It doesn't go back face down or up, it's added directly to your hand with the rest. Furthermore, you do not have to say what it was. That card might not have beat what was just showing but it may be the right card next time, or not. But it's yours and that info is yours alone. Hope that helps and is clear enough. I'm much better explaining in person (lol I hope)

[@user-xb4cg1ji7r]

Thx u I get it a little better now haha

[@pipluplover2473]

Hi, i love the tutorial, but i have a question. Say someone were to have 2 cards in their hand while player 2 has 0. Player 1 plays a 5, and then player 2 plays a king from the face pile. However, even though player 1 has one more card in their hand, the card is not higher than a king. What happens then?

[@EthanAlmasy]

Sadly, your player one who cannot beat the opponents King will pick up the deck of face up cards. With Shithead it's worth trying to hold onto a couple good cards, or even just one really, just to save your ass. Sometimes you'll have bad picks the whole game and othertimes who you're playing against will get the bad picks, it happens. Rule of thumb is: if you can't beat it, pick it all up. Good luck with the game, I hope you enjoy it as much as I have over the years

[@pipluplover2473]

@@EthanAlmasy thank you for clearing it up! I will have so much fun with the game :)

[@EthanAlmasy]

@@pipluplover2473 lol, I hope you do! Have fun

[@leopagan9806]

Great Video ! I like the way you described it. Please make more card game videos.

[@EthanAlmasy]

Thanks, I appreciate the compliment!

[@mrbigm5720]

One of the first card games I learnt, and it was I jail

[@EthanAlmasy]

That's cool man. I learned it from some guy in school but I never really got into until I was living in a homeless shelter lol. Hope you're doing well now, all the best in life

[@jmg3657]

What if you don't have a power card to counter what has been played do you then pick up all the face up deck?

[@EthanAlmasy]

Yes that's correct; whenever a person cannot play a card they must pick up all the face up cards. Honestly that's less a big deal than what you would think. Anyone that picks up likely has a lot of cards and then hopefully some 4-of-a-kind which can be quickly cleared.

[@davisgriffin1677]

I use to get really high and play this for hours

[@cubiusblockus3973]

3-to-Ace high. Deal 3 to each player for down cards, then deal 5 to each player. If you cant play higher or equal to the card in play, you pick up all cards in play. 3 cards have special abilities: 2 restarts the deck, place on any card and any card can be placed on it. Card number 7, the player can place it on any card below 7, but the next player to play a card must also place a card equal to or lower than 7. Card number 10, clears the cards in play, place on any card and clears the cards in play out of the game, player that clears the cards in play places new card into play. This allows players to strategize thier top 3 cards at begining of the game. Players are allowed to place doubles, triples, quadruples of a kind of card, e.g. 4 4's or 3 aces. placing more than 2 of a kind clears the deck out of the game. This allows players to clear massive hands from picked up cards in play by clearing most the cards in thier hand in a single turn. This is the variation i use for Shit Head! Im gonna try your variation.

[@EthanAlmasy]

Yours is very similar to mine with some tweaks. We'll clear on four of a kind only but all players can contribute (that is, one player doesn't need to lay all four at once but can) with the last player whom contributed the fourth card claims the clear. 7, 8 and 9 seem to be the usual less than cards. I use 8 because it's more in the middle to have an even number of higher than and lower than cards. Thanks for adding in your rules, I like seeing what other people use.

[@jesserai]

We don't draw first here, just 2 power cards , 2 and 10 ( 2s beat everything but anything can go on it [after you lay a 2 your opponent goes next] and 10s blow up the pile, [guy who plays ten plays the next card as well] We call it Blind 3 here.

[@jesserai]

And all face up cards must be played before the blind 3 can be touched.

[@EthanAlmasy]

That's fairly similar tbh. It use to be that we didn't touch the bottom cards until the top 3 were played as well. We changed it up when we played Cut Throat so that instead of getting pinned by a card showing (I.e., if I see your next card is a King, I'll hold an Ace until then to catch you), we made it so you still got a chance. Totes optional, play the way it works best for you.

[@schoaskopf2]

what is the point of burning the deck?

[@EthanAlmasy]

Two main reasons: first you should do it to prevent yourself from having to pick up the cards, especially if the pile is all trash cards. Like, if there's a couple 4s or 5s, or just cards you really don't want to be holding. The second reason to burn a deck is to remove cards from play that might be good for your opponent. It's like this, you can't make 4 of a kind clears if you can't make a 4 of a kind right. So burning is a tactic for hindering that.

[@maciegidley7621]

How can I play a card when Ace high is in the middle and I have jack , queen in my hand but there is no pack left to pick up from as it has all been cleaned ?

[@EthanAlmasy]

Hey, Super sorry about the long delay, two of my best friends got married this week, and me and my wife stood for them. if i am reading this right, it sounds like you are asking 'what happens if the cards I am holding can't be played and there are no more cards to draw from', and the answer is: since you cannot play either of the cards you are holding, you have to pick up the deck and add them all to your hand. I hope I didn't misunderstand the question, and that the answer makes sense to you. And don't forget, if you do pick up the deck, you now get to play first and start a new deck.

[@marcuslow6064]

@Matthew Bülow I think what John was trying to say is just picking up those face up cards in the middle excluding others that was cleared by a 10 or 4 of a kind.

[@sara1chupeta]

In Portugal this game is called 'TRÊS AMIGOS'

[@EthanAlmasy]

Neat! I've heard it called 3's/ Three's before, but I like yours better

[@heather8117]

Could you share some more advanced strategy for me? Would appreciate it. My husband and I play every weekend and just love it.

[@EthanAlmasy]

Well there's two main ways to play shithead. First is attempting to play each round without stocking up on cards so you never have more than 3 or 4 cards. It's best to hold on to a 2, 10 or 8 so you don't get caught. The other is to not worry about picking up the deck and more so you should pick up the deck so that you actually have a handful of cards. You can pick up the deck at any time by simply saying I can't play on it and you can't be called out on it either. With the second method you're hoping to get multiple four of a kind so that you can quickly lay them as clears. Both are good, having lots of cards seems to win more often but I don't find it quite as fun. The other thing I would tell people to do if they're playing my variation of shit head is to remember that they can chain off of the bottom cards when they get there. So if you're 3 face up cards are 3 sevens for the sake of an example, if the last card you play from your hand that lets you get to the bottom three cards it's also a 7 then you would play all four of them together. This is also a clear and then gives you a free pick from your bottom facedown cards because you have to play again. When I'm playing with a couple of my friends is not uncommon that just before you get to your bottom cards somebody plays a combination of four of a kind, twos and tens, chaining into the faceup cards, and then on from there. The final thing would be to make sure when your opponent picks up to deck you keep one of their cards in mind, preferably something low like a four or high like a Jack or queen. On your turns always make sure to play such that that one card you've chosen you're trying to beat. If someone has a handful of cards you can't beat them all, but you only actually need to beat one. Those three things should help you win a number if your games lol. Me and my wife tend to play this to lol, she stocks cards and I play fast to chain into the bottom. It's a great game and I hope you both continue to have fun with it

[@heather8117]

@@EthanAlmasy Thank you so much. This gives us a new perspective. Much to thing about.

[@devinhawks5584]

I play the same game but with different rules and my family calls it palace

[@muhammadarsum169]

I’ve played this before I call it palace

[@EthanAlmasy]

I've always seen Palace as an official name and the numerous variations as whatever people like to call it. I call my version Cut Throat but when I learned it first it was called Risk before changing it to Shithead cause it sounded better lol

[@Rainman1503]

Learned this shit in my old access school that was ran by probation 😂. Fun times

[@melaniecorona8634]

I learned this is a lock down treatment center 😭😭

[@metalhammerm6903]

Great game! Love it thank you!

[@script_kiddie_1394]

Hi there, Jonathan!

[@jon_13]

Sup dude

[@asyn1x616]

I play shithead at my school with my friends in form

[@shiven5407]

nice vid man

[@benergy3343]

It’s a good game, but in Derby we play different rules, suck as a joker reverses it, we play less than a 7 instead of 8, we don’t play on the 2, always play a card then pick up, good game tho

[@EthanAlmasy]

The less than card does vary a lot between versions; I was taught to use 8 and it's been than way ever since. I think every version but mine plays that you lay first and draw second. I started that way but when I merged rules with a friend in Calgary we also decided to draw first instead. The reasoning is it increases how fast a game/hand can be played. For example, playing a 9 or anything really, and drawing a card that is of lower value, say a 5, that could have been played instead of the 9. It also helps in that you are less likely to stock shitty cards that you would have otherwise been able to play. Good Gaming my friend!

[@benergy3343]

John Green agree agree, I guess it’s fun to play the game with different people to get a feel of different rules

[@vinish542]

it’s pronounced “shy theed”

[@angeld.mercado9845]

Us in SA-ACCESS we call it LUCKY

[@ethelreddd]

we call it flip ten or turn the ten here in sweden :p

[@SriramIyerNanu24]

You forgot to mention what to do if there is no card that can be played. The person has to lift the entire pile.

[@andrewbrown5300]

Some of their rules were wrong, 7 is high or low, 8 is miss ago, 2 and 10 reset the deck

[@bigcnmmerb0873]

@@andrewbrown5300yes this is how I remember having my power cards as well

[@OliverCovfefe]

Many good memories of playing this in HS during lunch. Can't be mistaken for a betting game by teachers but complicated enough to remain interesting. Though, we referred to it as "Shampoo", maybe as something opposite of "Shithead" lol.

[@Uraganasviesulas]

i also say ShItHaEd

[@-Tetsuo-]

I learned how to play this when I was in juvenile hall 😂 but I forgot how to play so thank you for this video

[@EthanAlmasy]

That's awesome Haha, I started playing in a homeless shelter lol

[@louisegreen5513]

N

[@oppgemini2130]

Same here lol

[@victorbenitez1822]

We called it 3’s

[@jamaya.l2084]

This is called graveyard in NZ, instead of the 8 we use the 7 as the play less than. The cards facing down are the ones that are only to be played when all the other cards are played.

[@EthanAlmasy]

Pretty similar then. I've seen 7 as less than before, and a couple others. You can use almost any card for any power really, all what you are taught. I like the name too, first time I've heard it called that

[@andrewbrown5300]

This is very similar to how we played it in the army

[@crimewave01]

A mate from Norway showed me this game we stayed up until 5am playing most fun I've ever had he didn't know what the English name of the card game was its a crackup to hear its called shithead lmao

[@bryancepeda2415]

my friends in school called this game “lucky bastard” and had a house rule of playing a four of a kind blew up the stack. i show it to anyone i can it’s fun as hell !

[@metalhammerm6903]

By the way when I was taught to play this game we called it lucky

[@treacs666]

Interesting how differently people play this. The variables are minor but still frustrating to watch it differently 😂

[@EthanAlmasy]

Very true, someone could very well make a series on all the different variations that exist. Not so secretly, I enjoy seeing and hearing about other rules people use

[@redddead6359]

Me and my friends call it O.G. usually we only count on 2 and 10 as powers cards

[@danmcdaid]

We played it tonight with 2, 10 and 7 as power cards. The idea of adding in jokers as bomb cards really appeals though

[@mr-barehiney]

_The rules i play with: 5, (can go on any card) you can't put higher than five on that card, has to be equal or lower) or you can use one of the special cards, which are: 2, 5 , 9 and 10. You can put 2 on anything, and you can put anything on 2. 5 (you already know) 9 is basically a mirror, it mirrors the card underneath, so for instance, if the card underneath is 8 then you have to put an equal number or higher. 10 is basically a bomb. It blows up other cards and it's still your turn after you blow them up. Also, if you let's say that each person (assuming there are 4 players) puts one of their e.g 9, so this person puts a 9 this person puts a 9 etc. So whoever puts the 4th one blows the rest up and it's their turn again. So basically 4 of a kind or whatever. It works like the previously mentioned 10 except you need 4 of the same numbers whereas the 10 can blow anything up._

[@EthanAlmasy]

Your 2, 5, 9 and 10 are my 2, 8, 3 and 10 respectively lol and we have the same 4 of a kind clear rule. It's what I like about Shithead, same game with different power/ magic cards

[@mr-barehiney]

@@EthanAlmasy Also i forget to mention that it's whoever has the lowest card starts (you don't draw one from the pile, you place one of your own. Then obviously draw a card to replenish). So if you have something like 3 of clubs which is the the lowest card possible. You start. So in other words, spade is the highest, clubs is the lowest. If you have 7 of hearts and somebody else has 7 of diamond, they start since their card is lower.

[@karenzernicek-morton2256]

My cousin taught me this game but we didn’t play with the 3’s and 8’s like you do and she called it Codsack

[@ihalloway]

in Lithuania we called it Russian durak (not plain durak) , other friend called it japanese durak ... but thats how it goes when people dont do research and explanations goes from mouth to mouth... in our case if u put 2 on any card , u can put any card additionally on top , another special card was 10 , sometimes there was 3 , if u put 3 u take all cards, but because of game breaking we disliked it so we changed it that you take 3 cards .. there was no sp. card 7

[@qfox16789]

We do 2: Can play anytime and resets the deck 3: Ghost card 7: Have to play lower than 7 10: Burns the deck and play again Then we have the complete four of the same suit in a row and burn it. This doesn’t count if there’s a 3 in between. Also anyone at any point can lurch in and complete a four out of their turn to burn the deck and give them another go

[@EthanAlmasy]

Neat! We'll use 3s in between 4-of-a-kind with ours. The lurch in actually sounds cool, I'd like to try it out

[@maxtory4469]

9:22 what if u didn’t have the 2

[@EthanAlmasy]

Well, if I didn't have it there I would have been screwed and then I would have picked up the entire deck and add it to my hand.

[@sjfamily1581]

Good question. Always fun watching someone pick up 25 cards then come back and win because you don't got nothing underneath haha

[@joshuagarcia7534]

In high school we called it dutch

[@zoekim1868]

Hi John, Just returned to this video 3 months later so that we could play yet again, haha. Once again, a lovely and informative video. The Shitheads are back to playing a great game! Hope your life is still great.

[@Didih94]

What happens when someone place an ACE on the deck and you can't go hight cause you have other cards, no power cards. Do you take the whole pile??

[@EthanAlmasy]

You do yes, if you do not have a card to play (or lie and say you can't cause yes you can do that and yes it's a legit tactic), you pick up the pile, the entire pile. It's not awful though; having more cards can be the best in Shithead. You know most of what's played now and can better guess at what's left. Any 4-of-a-kinds you have in hand are easily cleared or saved for clears. You might still have a handful of shit, depends on what's left in the deck if any, what's cards might have gotten discarded already (ruins 4-of-a-kinds), and what's left as facedown cards, but picking up the pile doesn't have to be bad.

[@squareinsquare2078]

These aren't my rules, but whatever rules you want, I'll destroy you. I'm ace at shithead. What a game, I've played thousands of hands.

[@EthanAlmasy]

It's a thousands of hands kinda game lol, and I'd bet you'd enjoy what we play then, but I'm biased

[@johnforrestboone1]

I know this game as "shitboots"

[@abobakrsebai1016]

What happens if you play a card that is facing down but it does not match the rules so let’s say the card facing up was a nine then I played the card facing down which turns out to be a five what happens then

[@EthanAlmasy]

You would have to pick up all those face up cards in the pile including that 'five' you picked up. It would then be your play to start a new pile. If you happened to pick up a lot of cards, check for any four of a kinds, they work like tens and can be useful for thinning out your hand. Good gaming

[@Matvakia]

my friend called it village idiot and we played on the last day of school, whoever lost would be the village idiot

[@EthanAlmasy]

That's a great name for it, I really like that one

[@lidormizrhai1176]

The game could be literally anything

[@EthanAlmasy]

Can be called anything and the rule cards vary between versions so yeah, it really could lol. Pagat.com lists a bunch of shithead variations on his site

[@jamesgorvett3038]

Lots of memories playing this in HMP GLOUCESTER back in the day it's a shame that more people don't know about the game

[@stuartwadlow1650]

I used to play this in the 90s during my student days.

[@guerillagardener2237]

I personally knew the people that invented this game, originally the parents of the inventors suggested calling it by the name of the village that they came from. Parkham, but being as they were teenagers at the time, they opted for shithead. Names of the inventors are , Janes Simpson, william rennie, Robert Davies, wendy baker, lucy Baker, and Abigail sergeant of the village called parkham circa late 1980s.

[@oceaniidol]

i learned this game at the psych ward and we called it shaboots:>

[@EthanAlmasy]

Neat, I learned mostly in a homeless shelter myself; it's a game found everywhere lol. I once heard it called Shit Boots, sounds similar to what you use

[@oceaniidol]

@@EthanAlmasy aa! i see where it came from then! it was an under 18 ward so they probably wanted to make it clean :)

[@petemilne7264]

What if there are no cards left in the draw deck, but no one can go because the card played is higher than everyone elses cards in their hand?

[@EthanAlmasy]

Well, we don't need to consider every player, just who's turn it is when this happens; and this will apply whenever the top card on the deck cannot be beat. So, when a player cannot beat the top card because either the cards in their hand are no good, or if they have no cards in hand and are instead playing from their bottom most cards (those that are laid face down at the beginning) which also cannot beat the top card on the deck, they will have to pick up all of the cards in the deck. That player then starts the pile anew by playing a card face up starting the deck. Hope that clears everything up for you, namaste

[@neos4517]

@@EthanAlmasy ​ This seems like an important rule that could have been added in the video!

[@dot9424]

Played this for the first time an hour ago and the rules we used were: 2| resets deck 10| burns deck Joker| "gifts" deck to whomever you want There was no value flip card like 8, but that certainly is interesting. Also, 3 was just the lowest card, not a ghost.

[@EthanAlmasy]

We've used the joker in a similar manner in the past but weeded it out after sometime. I recommend the less than card at it's pretty common across a lot of the shit head games and it gives you one more means of lowering a deck. Without it, high cards are pretty much the greatest cards in the game and nothing can beat them otherwise

[@durakas321]

if you like this game you can play it online, here's a link to google play : play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.braziusproductions.cardgamekarma

[@skie6282]

Played this but everyone had 5 in hand and 7 was the less then card but a really fun and evil varient is using the 3 as a true shithead card, as in when someone "plays a 3" no matter the card in the pile the player can actually show another player the 3 card, forcing that player to pick up the whole pile! Then the 3 is set aside like its burned. Its alot of fun makes everyone want to burn the deck when they can unless they want to play a 3 and bring out brutality when it is played! Also if you show someone the 3 and they have a 3 they can save themselves by showing their 3! Then the original 3 card shower has to pick up the pile!

[@EthanAlmasy]

We've played around with something like that before, we called it the forced pick up card but naming it the Shithead card is more awesome. The pair of Jokers were used first, with Jokers being able to deflect one another and then get perma burned after like you mentioned with your 3s. We now use something called the Queens Gambit to similar effect but it's only used with the Cut Throat rules since it fits better

[@ihalloway]

I would suggest 3= next player takes 3 cards (other variants force him to take all stack but its op i think) would be fun to add more power cards, like putting in wild joker

[@EthanAlmasy]

We use to use the Joker as a force pickup and sometimes still do. Basically, shuffle two jokers into the deck and deal all the cards like normal. If a player draws the Joker during the regular play it's treated like a landmine that goes off when it's exposed and that player picks up all the cards in the pile so far. Same if it's in the bottom 3 cards as well. But! If by chance a player was dealt the card into their first 6 cards, the ones you have to start with, then it's a grenade instead. Now a player can choose when to use it. They can play it anywhere on their turn, like a power card, and whomever they played it to has to pick up the entire pile. Got to trust players to be honest though. Me and my friends are competitive but we all play fair so it's not much of an issue but I can see how other people may have issues. If you decide to try it out, let me know how you enjoy it

[@benito7789]

well our variation is very different to this lol

[@stefansmith7060]

so how do you play a card when the opening card you flip is a king and there isn't anything matching or higher in your hand?

[@EthanAlmasy]

you pick up. whenever you cannot play a card from your hand you have to pick up the deck, whether it is one card or nearly all of them. furthermore, i should add, if you pick up and are holding more than three cards, you may continue picking up from the pile on your turn if you want. the rule is you must pick up when have less than three in hand, but you can choose to continue picking up even if you have more, you just don't have to. also, you can lie and claim you cannot play and then pick up the deck if there are valuable cards there you want. hope that's clear but if not let me know. Namaste

[@matthewsteers454]

what happens if you are forced to play a card faced down, but it doesn’t work either?

[@EthanAlmasy]

if you have no cards in your hand, and only the face down cards left, yes you have to pick one of your face down cards to play. That card you choose is now the one you have to play. if you cannot play it because it won't work, don't show it to anyone, nobody needs to know what it was, but you have to pick up the deck as well since you couldn't play. otherwise keep picking from the face down cards until you win or your luck runs out lol. I hope this helps and I answered your question clearly, Namaste

[@shrimp727]

Thank you John very cool 👌

[@rijanvandoorn6897]

what if you can't play? do you have to take the pile in your hand?

[@EthanAlmasy]

Yup that's right. Whenever someone cannot play they must then pick up all the cards played to the pile so far which could be only a couple cards or almost the entire deck. If you do pick up a lot of cards remember that 4 of a kind clears like a 10 does and you may have a few of those after picking up.

[@laurissagarza]

Is this similar to crazy 8s? Except u have to beat the card showing ..

[@EthanAlmasy]

Well, it isn't similar to how I play Crazy 8's, but that doesn't mean much. But yes, you always have to beat the top card showing, and if you cannot you need to pick up the deck and play all of those out.

[@petefinn6000]

Bored to death by your speed of explanation!!!zzzzz

[@EthanAlmasy]

Me too, but I'm long winded by nature. This could have been under a minute tbh lol

[@hgdsrty8831]

Hi great video but I have a question. 2 players have one card each at the end and neither player can play, are they both shitheads or can we use the 3 face up cards?

[@EthanAlmasy]

It's pretty unlikely to happen honestly just due to how the cards and turn order goes. But I have had cases where good cards have been cleared and both players are holding shitty cards that they just can't get out. The only real solution is for one person to pick up and intentionally play so the other person can get ahead or to call a draw and redeal. If it happens to you feel free to pull from the bottom cards though, make it your own thing. I'm still adding and making small changes to this game afterall lol so everyone else should too. There's a bunch of neat rules and stuff others use that worth looking into too

[@hgdsrty8831]

@@EthanAlmasy thankyou and I appreciate your response. Funnily enough me and my partner were playing last night and it happened twice lol both of us unable to play with 1 card left each.

[@EthanAlmasy]

@@hgdsrty8831 I'm always happy to chat about my version of the game haha, but yeah it's so strange that happened. Just because I'm curious, you mean that you both have your 6 bottom card or less remaining and the deck is all used right? And that there's one card face up that is the playing pile in the middle? And you are both only holding one card each in your hand that can't really be played? My guess is that one of you must have cleared the deck right there at the end unless you got stuck picking up the deck which left only bunk cards left. If that's the case then yeah, concede or redeal is what I'd probably do. I usually concede myself to the other player but that's my own preference having played so much lol. Good luck and have fun playing

[@jaredwang3336]

If a person picks up the deck, it skips the player’s turn in our variation. The next player actually would be free to play anything.

[@jaredwang3336]

Is this a common rule for many variations of this game?

[@EthanAlmasy]

I think most of not all of the apps and online ones I've tried does just that. The first people I played with didn't though; the picker-uper plays again to start a new deck. It stuck

[@jaredwang3336]

John Green that is good to know.

[@jaredwang3336]

I guess everyone plays differently but that was what my friends taught me as part of game rule

[@heather8117]

What are the odds of winning shithead, as played here, 11 times in a row!? Seems impossible; I think my husband is letting me win.

[@EthanAlmasy]

Haha a friend of mind had 12 months of playing before he showed his gf how too play, and he hasn't once since lol so I say the odds are probably just in your favor

[@heather8117]

@@EthanAlmasy I was serious. I hate losing at shithead. So competitive. I guess there is less to chance than I thought. We seem to win in clusters one day I can't lose the next I can't win give or take. Well shoot, I'll have to tell him he was right; hate when that happens.

[@EthanAlmasy]

@@heather8117 A game of shithead can be won or lose just because of a bad deal, sucks as that may be. But to help you out, remember to play using which ever tactic is best at the time; fast and few cards or stocking and having many cards. If you are not drawing many power cards (2, 3, 8, 10) then start picking up the deck to have more cards to choose from. Then be clever with your plays. Say you have 3 of the Queens in your hand but no idea about the fourth, your husband may have it already. Bait him by playing 2 Queens on your turn, hope he plays a third Queen then play the fourth yourself for a clear. You steal the clear this way instead of giving it to him. Then if you have an abundance of cards, play any extra four of a kinds you may have; you'll thin your hand and look like a champ while you are at it lol. It can be intimidating too giving you a edge. The cards you get are luck, your skill isn't. I'm also nearly 20 years in this game, so maybe I just see it differently. Have great games! P.s., my wife hates saying I'm right too, lucky for her it doesn't seem to happen too often haha

[@heather8117]

@@EthanAlmasy Thank you so much for the Great tips! We will have fun trying these out. Good stuff.

[@connieferrier8958]

Nnnotohy lay?

[@ethankennedy8235]

what happens if you can’t play any card

[@EthanAlmasy]

If you mean that you are holding cards but none of them will beat what's showing on the deck then you pick up, sort your hand and begin a new deck by playing any card from your hand you'd like, usually starting low (4, 5, 6) or mid range (9, J, Q). Don't play anything you couldn't beat yourself, and if your opponent is holding a near unbeatable card (2, 3 8, 10) it probably doesn't matter anyway. Hope this is clear and answers your question, have a great one!

[@dylanzachan2328]

Jokerz!

[@49684]

🍕🍕🍕🍕🍕

[@irecluse7169]

I recognize this game but me and my friends has some kid friendly name for it

[@EthanAlmasy]

Cool, do you remember what is was? I went through a period where I was trying for a new name but shithead i's ingrained now lol and nothing else sounds right

[@irecluse7169]

@@EthanAlmasy i dont remember

[@zyrofx9804]

3 Up 3 Down

[@henre61]

John Green called it moonshine

[@janep3377]

how many players can play the game? 2, 3, 4?

[@EthanAlmasy]

You could have however many you like if you mix in a couple decks but I'd say 4 players tops. I like 3 at most but I wouldn't turn anyone away either.

[@janep3377]

@@EthanAlmasy Thank you!

[@davidwattleworth8296]

how u only have 5 subscribes

[@EthanAlmasy]

Didn't even see that lol, but no matter, I uploaded these because this game is special to me, and in particular, the Cut Throat portion. I just wanted it out there so that maybe, someone might play with my rules someday. Ain't doing it for the views or the subs. I do secretly wish I was able to explain the whole thing in 5 minutes though, I feel most people are probably put off by seeing four videos.

[@davidwattleworth8296]

+Jrgreen no dont worry i understand the struggle i been doing youtube for about 2 years and just hit 44 subs but hay im gonna try this game out

[@JaredWang-he9cc]

For our variation, we use those special cards: 2 - resets the deck and can be played anytime. 4 - invisible, "glass" card; can be played anytime. 7 - next card needs to be lower than 7, equal to 7 or a 10; it can be played anytime. 10 - burn the deck, can be played anytime (including the 7). All those special cards mentioned above can be played anytime. Also, 4 of the same number card must be played in the sequence, but it also burns the deck.

[@JaredWang-he9cc]

Special cards are 2, 4, 7 and 10. Other cards are normal cards

[@JaredWang-he9cc]

Also in the variation I learned from my friends has a few differences. A 10 can be played even on the lower card (in this case a 7) even though 7 requires a lower card. And. 7 can be played on top of everything instead of in sequence since it is a special card

[@MexieMex]

Wow, treat yourself to a new deck, they should have been binned ages ago.

[@EthanAlmasy]

Lol I have one actually, and I should post a video. My sister and I designed a custom card deck and had it professionally printed. She did all the hard work so I should probably show it off as thanks

[@MexieMex]

@@EthanAlmasy re do this video with them, I couldn't concentrate I was fixating on the cards so much LOL

[@EthanAlmasy]

@@MexieMex haha sure, my wife suggested I should so why not. I'll try to have one up later today

[@Lahorca]

Hey man! We used to play a version of this game in school called "el juego del gordo" ("The fat guy game", because the one that showed us the game happened to be fat). Years went by and we forgot the rules, which we couldn't search for because we didn't know the real name of the game. I remember that at the end sometimes the game could stay stucked but maybe it was because we played a bad version. Thanks a lot for the explanation! PS: Your voice reminds me to Grant Sanderson's from 3Blue1Brown

[@EthanAlmasy]

Happy you enjoyed it! The Fat Guy Game has a nice ring to it, and probably easier to say around children that shit head is lol. I looked up Grant Sanderson, he's interesting to listen to, I'm probably going to watch some more of his videos. And thanks for the compliment, it was nice to wake up to, Namaste

[@singletotakentv9583]

Isn't 7 a mirror card?

[@EthanAlmasy]

Can be, I've seen it as mirror/ match before in other variations. Use what you like really

[@JaredWang-he9cc]

For the variation I learnt, 7 is play lower than. 4 was the mirror or “glass” card

[@atruvillion2984]

At the end didn't you play an 8 on an 8? I thought 8 was less

[@EthanAlmasy]

I may have said something about this in the second video but I can't quiet remember. Either way, a card can always beat itself is the (near) golden rule. An 8 can be played on an 8 just like a 9 can be played on another 9. I usually tell people when showing them in person that they need to play equal to the card showing or better. I say better and not higher because of the 8 being less for a turn.

[@moonwhistle]

Those bracelets make me feel physically sick.

[@EthanAlmasy]

Lol well I'm curious why? And if it's helps, all three brackets are lost or broken now, including that pinkie ring

[@oscaritothegamer_yt4104]

Quit yapping next time pls

[@EthanAlmasy]

That's unbelievably rude my dude