How to Play Bokau

Be the first player to empty your hand. Every round, cards are either discarded (good for everyone) or carried by one unlucky player (bad). The last player stuck with the most cards is the Bokau — the loser.

From highest to lowest: A, K, Q, J, 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2. All four suits use the same order. High cards are dangerous — they make you carry rounds. Low cards are blessings.

A standard 52-card deck is shuffled and each of the 4 players receives 13 cards. The player holding the Ace of Spades (A♠) starts the game and must play A♠ as the very first card.

The first card of each round sets the leading suit. If the first card is 7♦, everyone must play a Diamond — as long as they have one. You can never play another suit while holding a card of the leading suit.

If a player has no card of the leading suit, they may play any card. This breaks the suit. When that happens, the player who played the highest card of the leading suit must carry ALL cards played this round back into their hand.

If all four players play the leading suit, nobody carries. All four cards are permanently discarded, and the player with the highest card of the leading suit starts the next round.

After a round fully resolves, the first player whose hand is empty wins immediately. Remaining players are ranked by cards left — fewer is better. Ties are broken by fewer carried rounds, then by play order in the final round.

The player left with the most cards receives the Bokau title. Nobody wants to be the Bokau.