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Nekonyancer

Let's learn how to play Canasta!

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This tutorial exists thanks to: Nekonyancer0

NekonyancerWelcome to *Canasta!* This game is said to have originated in Uruguay in 1939. In the 1950s, it became extremely popular in the United States, and from there, it spread across the world. [green][tip] This tutorial is best viewed on a computer![/green]1maintitlebar_content

NekonyancerIn *Canasta,* two teams of two players will form sets of cards called Melds, play them, and then add to them. If a Meld grows to 7 cards, it is called a *canasta,* which is worth bonus points!2maintitlebar_content

NekonyancerIf a player completely empties their hand and their team has already melded a Canasta, they *"go out,"* ending the round. Then points are tallied up, and the next round starts! Reaching 5000 points will trigger the end of the game. At that point, [green]the team with the most points wins![/green]3maintitlebar_content

NekonyancerCanasta uses two *standard decks* of playing cards. When I say *"standard deck,"* I mean the kind with four *suits* (♠️♣️[red]♥️♦️[/red]), 13 *ranks* (2-3-4-5-6-7-8-9-10-J-Q-K-A), and two jokers. [green]Unlike most games, Canasta will actually use those jokers![/green]4maintitlebar_content

NekonyancerAt the beginning of each round, BGA deals a hand of *11 cards* to each player. You should be able to see ours at the top of the screen. The number of cards in each player's hand is [red]*public knowledge.*[/red]5hand_count_11941354

Nekonyancer[blue]On each player's turn, they must follow three steps:[/blue] *1.* Draw a card from the [green]*deck*[/green] OR draw the entire [blue]*discard pile.*[/blue] *2.* Play *melds* (optional). *3.* Discard a card.7deck_card

NekonyancerWhen drawing from the [green]*Deck,*[/green] there are no restrictions. We can only draw the [blue]*Discard Pile*[/blue] if we can immediately use the *top card* to play a meld or add to an existing meld. 8deck_card

NekonyancerAt the moment, as the light blue background indicates, the Discard Pile is [blue]*frozen.*[/blue] When it's frozen, we not only have to meld or add the top card - we must also meld or add another two cards in our hand with the *same number.* [green]More on this later.[/green]9discard_wrap

NekonyancerIn this case, the top card of the Discard pile is a *4,* and there are two more *4s* in our hand, so we can do it! *Click here!*10card_80

NekonyancerOkay, the 4♣️ went into our hand. The rest of the Discard Pile will go into our hand after we play a meld with the 4 or add it to an existing meld. *Select the [red]three 4s.[/red] Then click on [green]"Meld / Add"[/green] at the top!*1myhand_item_78

Nekonyancer*Great!* The melded cards were placed on the table in front of us. Hmm, the rest of the Discard Pile hasn't gone into our hand yet... [green]Oh! There's another condition we have to satisfy first.[/green]1meld_wrapper_1_0

NekonyancerYou see, each card has a *point value.* On the first turn on which we meld cards, we must meld enough to meet a point *requirement.* [blue]The value of each card is as follows:[/blue] *Joker:* 50 points. *A, 2:* 20 points. *K, Q, J, 10, 9, 8:* 10 points. *7, 6, 5, 4, 3:* 5 points. [green]By melding three 4s, we earned 15 points![/green]3meld_wrapper_1_0

NekonyancerThe *point requirement* will change from round to round, depending on our team's [green]*cumulative score*[/green] at the beginning of the round. *Less than 0 points:* no requirement. *0-1495 points:* 50 points. *1500 - 2995 points:* 90 points. *3000 or more:* 120 points. *7000 or more:* 150 points (only in long games) In this case, since we had *0* points at the beginning of the round, our meld requirement was set to *50.*5player_score_92146574

NekonyancerYou can see our Meld score and point requirement [red]*here.*[/red] If we meet the requirement, it will retroactively validate our actions so far, and BGA will add the rest of the Discard Pile into our hand. If we can't find a way to meet the requirement, we'll have to *undo* our actions.6required_score_display_1

NekonyancerTo meet the requirement, we'll have to play more melds. Luckily, we have three 9s in our hand! *Select the [red]three 9s.[/red] Then click on [green]"Meld / Add"[/green] at the top!*8myhand_item_56

NekonyancerGreat! Each 9 is worth 10 points, so this meld brings us up to... [red]Shoot. Only 45.[/red]1meld_wrapper_1_1

NekonyancerGood thing we have a *2* in our hand! 2s and Jokers are *Wild* cards. They can be a part of any meld, though there are a couple restrictions: [red]*1.*[/red] Each meld must have at least 2 cards that are NOT wild. Thus, *2/2/9* is not a valid meld of 9s. [red]*2.*[/red] No meld can have more than 3 Wild cards. Thus, *2/2/2/2/9/9* is not valid.2myhand_item_6

NekonyancerHmm. If we had a *pair* of cards, we could combine it with our 2 to make a new meld of 3 cards... but we don't. [blue]That's okay. Instead of making a new meld, we can add to an existing one.[/blue]3myhand_item_46

NekonyancerLet's do it! *1.* Select the [red]*2. *[/red] *2.* Select the [blue]*Meld of 9s.*[/blue] *3.* Click on [green]*"Meld / Add"*[/green] at the top!4btnPlayCard

NekonyancerGreat! 2s are worth 20 points, so by adding it to a Meld, we increased our total score to *65!* By meeting our requirement, we proved to BGA that we are allowed to meld cards this turn, which we had to do in order to draw the Discard Pile. With all that sorted out, BGA added the rest of the [blue]*Discard Pile*[/blue] to our hand.1meld_wrapper_1_1

NekonyancerI'm sure you're wondering what [red]*these numbers*[/red] represent. They keep track of how many Wild cards and how many Natural (non-Wild) cards we have in each meld. [blue]( Natural cards + Wild cards = Total )[/blue]2meld_card_counter_wrap_1_1

NekonyancerIn this particular meld, we have three Natural 9s and one Wild 2, making a total of 4 cards. Therefore, *3 + 1= 4.* The Wild 2 was rotated 90 degrees simply to make it clear that there are Wild cards in this meld.3meld_wild_1_1

NekonyancerIt's important to keep track of the cards in each meld because any meld that grows to *7 cards* is called a *Canasta* and is worth bonus points. A *Natural Canasta* has no wild cards and is worth *500* bonus points. A *Mixed Canasta* has wild cards and is worth *300* bonus points.4meld_wild_1_1

NekonyancerThere's a [red]*Red 3*[/red] on our board simply because one happened to be dealt to us. Whenever this happens (or whenever a player draws a Red 3), it is immediately placed on the table, and the player draws another card to replace it.5meld_wrapper_1_-1

NekonyancerEach Red 3 is worth [green]*100 bonus points*[/green] at the end of the round. However, if we don't have any melds at that time, it will instead be worth [blue]*-100!*[/blue]6bonus_score_1

NekonyancerThat's why our opponents currently have [blue]*-100 bonus points;*[/blue] they have a Red 3, but they don't have any melds yet.7bonus_score_2

NekonyancerLet's get back to our turn. We drew cards and made two melds. The last step is to *discard* a card. Since we want to make as many melds as we can, we should discard a number that we have only one of. *Select the 3♠️. Then click on [red]"Discard and end turn"[/red] at the top.*8myhand_item_107

NekonyancerOkay, now it's [green]nekonekoneko3's[/green] turn!1player_name_92143487

NekonyancerHe chose to draw a card from the [green]*deck*[/green]...1deck_card

Nekonyancer... and then he played a meld of three 6s. Remember, they'll have to meld more cards and get above their requirement of *50 points.* Otherwise, they'll have to undo their turn.1meld_wrapper_2_0

Nekonyancer[blue]Wow, two aces and a joker.[/blue] Aces are worth *20* points each. Jokers, while functionally the same as 2s, are worth *50* points each. That brings them up to *105* points, well above their requirement.1meld_wrapper_2_1

NekonyancerFinally, they discarded a 3♣️ to end their turn. Now it's [red]nekonekoneko4's[/red] turn (our partner). They don't have to worry about the point requirement because we already broke it for our team. They can play melds or add cards freely!1card_43

NekonyancerThey started by drawing a card from the [green]*deck*[/green]...1deck_card

Nekonyancer... then they added another *4* to our existing meld of 4s, increasing our score by 5 points. It's not much, but every bit helps!1meld_card_counter_1_0

NekonyancerNice! They also added a *9* to our meld of *9s.* It now has a total of 5 cards. We only need two more to make it a *Canasta.*1meld_card_counter_wrap_1_1

NekonyancerFinally, they discarded the 3♠️ to end their turn. Next is [green]nekonekoneko5's[/green] turn, but I think I'll just skip it and get to our next turn!1card_57

NekonyancerOkay, nekonekoneko5 discarded a [red]*5♥️*[/red] to end their turn. We already have two 5s in our hand, so this is perfect! *Click here to draw the [red]5♥️[/red]!*1card_15

NekonyancerJust like before, we have to play a meld with (or add) the card we just drew. Once we do that, we'll draw the rest of the Discard Pile. Alternatively, we can *undo* and just draw a card from the deck instead. *Select the [red]three 5s.[/red] Then click on [green]"Meld / Add"[/green] at the top!*1myhand_item_4

NekonyancerOkay, the rest of the Discard Pile went into our hand: three black 3s! We have enough of them to make a meld, but Black 3s have a special quirk: they can only be melded at a specific time: just before the player *goes out.*1myhand_item_57

NekonyancerIn addition, Black 3s [red]cannot be picked up[/red] when they are on top of the Discard Pile. Neither can wild cards (2s or Jokers). [tip] Discarding a 3 or wild can block an opponent from getting a critical meld!2myhand_item_57

NekonyancerThere's nothing else we can do this turn. *Select the [blue]6♣️.[/blue] Then click on [red]"Discard and end turn"[/red] at the top.*3btnDiscardCard

Nekonyancer[blue]Okay, I think you've seen enough of the gameplay![/blue] Players will continue drawing, melding, and discarding until the round ends, which can happen in two ways: [red]*1.*[/red] Someone goes out. [red]*2.*[/red] The deck runs out of cards and someone is forced to draw from it.1maintitlebar_content

NekonyancerTo *go out,* we need to do two things: [red]*1.*[/red] Empty our hand by melding all our cards. Melding all but 1 card is good enough, as it can be discarded at the end of the turn. [red]*2.*[/red] Have at least one *Canasta* on the table (meld of 7+ cards).2maintitlebar_content

NekonyancerIf we like, we can ask our partner for *permission* before going out. This can be done by each player once per round. [green]If our partner says yes,[/green] we must follow through and successfully go out that turn. If we can't, we'll get a -100 point penalty for wasting everyone's time. [red]If they say no,[/red] then we can't go out. They might say this if they have a lot of high-value cards in their hand. Unplayed cards are worth negative points!3maintitlebar_content

NekonyancerIf the deck runs out of cards, we can choose to end the round by drawing from the empty deck or extend the round by drawing from the Discard Pile. As usual, we can only draw from the Discard Pile if we can immediately meld or add the card. !!! If the Discard Pile is not frozen and the top card can be added to an existing meld, we will be obligated to draw it.4deck_card

Nekonyancer[blue]Once the round ends, each team will score...[/blue] - Points from each card equal to its point value. - [red]Negative[/red] points from each unplayed card in a hand equal to its point value. There are also several ways to get [green]bonus points...[/green]6maintitlebar_content

Nekonyancer[green]Bonus point categories:[/green] • 100 for going out. • an extra 100 for going out *concealed* (melding one's entire hand in one turn). • 500 for each Natural Canasta (no wild cards) • 300 for each Mixed Canasta (with wild cards) • 100* for each Red 3. • an extra 400* for having all four Red 3s. * Point values are negative if the team has no melds.7maintitlebar_content

NekonyancerAfter awarding points, BGA will collect all the cards and deal new hands for the next round. At the end of a round, if one team has at least *5000 points,* the game will end. [green]Whoever has the most points wins![/green]8maintitlebar_content

NekonyancerThere are just a few more things to mention. First of all, if there's only one card in our hand and only one in the Discard Pile, we can't draw from the Discard Pile. Next, I haven't explained how the Discard Pile can [blue]*freeze.*[/blue] There are three ways: [red]*1.*[/red] Your team has not yet broken the initial point requirement for melds. This is why it was frozen during our first turn.9card_107

Nekonyancer[red]*2.*[/red] There's a wild card (2 or Joker) somewhere in the Discard Pile. [tip] Expert players will sometimes discard wilds to limit their opponents' options! [red]*3.*[/red] There's a Red 3 somewhere in the Discard Pile. This is rare and can only happen at the beginning of a round.10maintitlebar_content

NekonyancerThere are several options in the lobby that will change the rules of the game. For example, you can allow *sequence melds* (5♣️, 6♣️, 7♣️) or melds made entirely of wild cards. You can also increase the length of the game to 10000 points. I suggest looking through them before you start a game. They're all carefully labeled.12maintitlebar_content

Nekonyancer[blue]*Thank you for playing through this tutorial for Canasta!*[/blue] If you have any questions or comments about the tutorial, feel free to send *Nekonyancer* a message! A big thank you goes out to *ufm* for bringing this game to BGA! Have fun! :D13maintitlebar_content

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-You-		nekonekoneko4		Completed melds	Meld score	Bonus
✋	🕶	✋	🕶	/ 1	/

nekonekoneko3		nekonekoneko5		Completed melds	Meld score	Bonus
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Canasta

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-You-

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