Switch Variations and House Rules
Families differ. Switch is passed down at the table rather than read from a book, so almost every household has its own version, and arguments about "the real rules" are part of the fun. The rules our online game uses are a common set, explained on the rules page. Below are the choices you can change in Settings, followed by other versions you may meet.
How Long a Game Lasts
We count hands won: the first player to win three hands wins the game. In Settings you can choose one hand for a quick game or five hands for a longer one. We chose counting hands over keeping a points total because it is easy to follow at a glance and needs no adding up.
Scoring with points. Some families score like Crazy Eights: when someone goes out, the others count up the cards they still hold (Aces often 20 or more, picture cards 10, the rest their number), and the player with the lowest total after an agreed number of hands wins. Our game uses these values only to settle the rare blocked hand.
Black Jacks: Pick Up Five
On by default. The Jack of spades and the Jack of clubs make the next player pick up five cards. They can pass it on with the other black Jack, so the player after them faces ten, or cancel it with a red Jack. In our game the cancelling red Jack also reverses play, as any Jack does, so the turn goes back to whoever played the black Jack.
With this rule on, black Jacks pick up five instead of reversing the direction; only red Jacks reverse. Turn it off and all four Jacks simply reverse the direction.
Other versions. Some tables say a red Jack cancels the pick-up but does not reverse, or that only the Jack of hearts can cancel. Some make only the Jack of spades a pick-up card. In some homes the "pick up five" card is the Queen of spades instead.
Passing a 2 On
On by default. When a 2 is played on you, you may answer it with a 2 of your own, and the next player must pick up four (then six, then eight). Turn this off and a 2 cannot be answered: you just pick up two and lose your turn.
Other versions. Some families let a black Jack answer a 2, or a 2 answer a black Jack, adding the totals together. Others let you answer a 2 only with a 2 of the same suit. Agree before you start.
Saying "Last Card"
Off by default. Our game announces "Last card!" for every player automatically. Turn on You must say "Last card" and the job becomes yours: whenever you hold two cards, a large Last Card! button appears. Tap it before you play your second-to-last card. If you play without tapping it, you pick up two cards as a penalty. The computer players always remember to say it.
Other versions. At a real table the penalty only happens if another player catches you before your next turn, and it might be one card or two. Some families also make you say "Last card" when you could go out on your next turn, not just when you hold one card.
Other Rules You May Meet
- Eight cards each, or five. We deal seven to everyone. Large groups often deal five.
- Keep picking up. Some families make you pick up until you get a card that fits, as in Crazy Eights. We use the more common Switch rule: one card, then pass if it doesn't fit.
- Runs. Some tables let you play several cards of the same number at once, or a run in one suit (5, 6, 7 of hearts). This speeds the game up a lot.
- Queens. In some homes a Queen must be "covered": you play another card straight after it, or pick up one.
- 7s or Kings as action cards. A few versions make a 7 or a King another miss-a-turn or reverse card.
- No finishing on an action card. Some families say you cannot go out on an Ace, a 2 or a black Jack. Our game lets you go out on any card, and its power does not apply.
- Two decks. With six or more players, shuffle two decks together.
Which Rules Should I Pick?
For a first game, leave everything as it comes: black Jacks on, passing 2s on, and "Last card" said for you. Once you feel at home, switch on the "Last card" rule for a bit of extra tension, or turn off the black Jacks for a gentler game. If Switch feels busy, the plainer Crazy Eights is the same family of game with only one special card.