The working class simply lacked time for leisure.

In ancient Japan, refined card games were played by nobility. This is a contemporary Japanese card game as you can tell by the use of the standard western 52-card deck. To win: At the end of the designated number of games, the player with the least points wins. For extended play, the other players count the remaining cards in their hands (each picture card is worth 10 points while the number cards have their face value.) Keep track of each player’s points. For simplified play, declare him the winner and deal again for a new game. Play continues with each player until one player has no cards in his hand. It must be an adjacent number (a 5, 6 or 8) and match the suit. Second play: The next player must play a card in his hand by placing it next to one of the cards in the center of the table. He can only pass three times during a game. If he cannot play any 6 or 8, he must pass. It must match the 7’s suit (spades, clubs, diamonds, hearts).

It must be a number adjacent to a 7, or in other words, it must be either a 6 or an 8. The object: To be the first to get rid of all the cards in your hand.įirst play: The first player must play a card in his hand by placing it next to one of the four 7s in the center of the table. Then, players take out the 7 cards in their hands and place them across the middle of the table. To begin: Deal out 13 cards to each of four players (or deal out all the cards to more or fewer players with some ending up with one more card). Best played with four people, Shichi Narabe may be played with three to seven people although the number of cards starting out with be uneven. To increase the length of play, you can keep track of points for each round otherwise, to simplify, you simply declare the first person to be rid of his cards the winner. A version of the game “Sevens,” Shichi Narabe is a quick and easy game to learn how to play, perfect for children and party guests. “Shichi” is the Japanese word for the number seven while “narabe” means “in a row,” and that is the basis for the card game “Shichi Narabe” when players simply take turns laying down cards in numerical order.

Seven and seven card game