There is a good chance that most people reading this have already heard of the Pitty Pat card game. But it’s just as likely many of you haven’t played it too! So while the game is definitely in the public consciousness, it’s not quite as popular these days.
Let’s take a look at how the game works.
What is the Pitty Pat Card Game?
The Pitty Pat card game is a children’s classic! It’s simple, quick gameplay would be the perfect playing card game to play with younger children. Sure Snap is always a popular option, but Pitty Pat involves more gameplay.
Pitty Pat is even the national card game of Belize, so how can you not give it a try? In Pitty Pat, players deal five cards – one card at a time. The aim of Pitty Pat is straightforward, be the first player to discard all their cards.
But of course, things won’t be as easy as they sound, will they? First, you need to match them with the cards in the discard pile to get rid of them. Now more experienced card players may have already noticed that this gameplay sounds a little familiar.
That’s because Pitty Pat is essentially a Rummy-type of game. But it’s simpler than classic Rummy games like Rummy 500 or Liverpool Rummy. There are no melds or point scoring to worry about.
But that doesn’t mean playing Pitty Pat can’t be a lot of fun! Pitty Pat can be played between 2 – 4 people, making it the perfect card game to play at home with young children. But while it might seem like a “kids” game, older players will still enjoy playing Pitty Pat.
Before we look at the rules, you need to know and share some tips for playing; let’s first look at what you’ll need to play the game.
What You’ll Need To Play?
You’ll need a deck of playing cards to play Pitty Pat, and like many card games, the Joker cards aren’t used. So finding a deck of cards shouldn’t be overly complicated. But you could always look online if you want something extra-special!
These Christmas playing cards would be great for playing Pitty Pat over the festive period. Or you could opt for these fantasy-style unicorn playing cards from Bicycle. These playing cards are of all styles/ designs, so look around and see what you can find.
Rules and Gameplay
The Aim of The Game
The aim of Pitty Pat is simple; you need to be the first player to get rid of all their cards. You can remove cards from your hand by matching them with cards from the discard pile. Like any good card, game luck plays a big part in how you’ll do, but there is also room for some strategic play.
The Set-Up
To start a game of Pitty Pat, first, choose a dealer. The dealer will need to shuffle the deck (you can use an automatic card shuffler) and then deal five cards to each player. Cards should be dealt with one at a time, starting with the player to the dealer’s left.
And then remaining cards are to be placed in the center, and you can flip over the top card to form the base of the discard pile. Once this is done, you are ready to start playing the Pitty Pat card game, so let’s take a look at the rules.
Playing Pitty Pat
The player to the dealer’s left should go first, and the game should continue in a clockwise motion from there. In your turn, there are a few different actions you can take. To help make this easier, we’ve listed the possibilities below.
If you have a card in your hand that matches the card currently on show on the discard pile (the top card), then you can discard it. However, you can also discard a second (non-matching) card by placing it on the discard pile to be the next top card.
If you don’t have a matching card, you must take a card from the stockpile and add it to the top of the discard pile. If you can match this card, you can discard your matching card along with another card on top of the discard pile.
However, if you can’t match the stockpile card, you pass your turn to the next player. Don’t worry if this happens because it’s highly likely every player will have to pass a few times throughout the game.
So, this is how Pitty Pat works; however, there are a few extra rules worth knowing about. The first is matching cards; if you’re lucky to be dealt a matching pair of cards in your hand, then you keep the pair till all your other cards have been discarded.
Once you do this, you can discard the pair and finish the game. Secondly, if the stockpile is depleted at some point and a player can’t use the top card from the discard pile, then you will need to reset the discard pile.
To do this, the dealer should reshuffle the discard pile and then flip the top card over to form a new stock and discard pile. The game can then continue as normal.
Pitty Pat – The Fun Card Matching Game: Verdict
So, that’s the Pitty Pat card game! This fun card game is perfect for children and families. It’s fast-paced and easy to play, so if you’re looking for a fun game to play for an afternoon, give Pitty Pat a try.
