Satti: Lucky Sevens

How to play Satti: the rules step by step

Satti uses one standard 52 card deck. Every player is dealt the same number of cards, six by default. The rest of the deck goes face down in the middle as the draw pile, and one card is turned face up next to it to start the discard pile. The first card turned up is never a 7.

On your turn:

• Play one card that matches the top card of the discard pile, either the same suit or the same rank. A 9 of hearts can go on any heart or on any 9.
• If you have a card that fits, you must play. You can't draw instead.
• If nothing in your hand fits, draw one card from the pile. With play after draw on (the default), if the card you drew fits, you play it straight away. Otherwise your turn ends.
• Special cards change what happens next: 7s make the next player draw, Jacks change the suit and 8s skip the next player. They are explained below.
• The first player to get rid of every card wins the round.
• If the draw pile runs out, the discard pile, apart from its top card, is shuffled to make a new one.

Special cards in Satti: 7, Jack and 8

Seven, the card the game is named after, is the attack card. When you play a 7, the next player must draw 2 cards and loses their turn. With 7-stacking on, which is the default, they can answer with a 7 of their own, of any suit, instead of drawing. That passes the penalty on and adds 2 more, so it climbs to 4, then 6, then 8 until someone has no 7 and has to draw the whole lot. A forced draw always ends that player's turn, even if one of the drawn cards would fit.

Jack is wild for suit. You can play a Jack on any card, whatever suit or rank is showing, and then you choose the suit that the next player must follow. The next player can match the suit you named, or play another Jack. The one thing a Jack can't do is dodge a 7: while a draw penalty is waiting for you, only a 7 can stop it.

Eight skips the next player. An 8 is not wild and has to match by suit or rank like a normal card. Once it is played, the next player's only move is to tap Skip. If they try to play a card or draw instead, they pick up one penalty card and are still skipped. Eights don't add up: an 8 played on top of an 8 is just one new skip for the player after.

Satti house rules you can change

Open House rules in setup, or in the lobby when you host an online game, to match how your family plays:

• Cards dealt per player: 5, 6 or 7. Fewer cards make a quicker, swingier round. More cards give you more choice and a longer game.
• 7-stacking: on by default. Turn it off and every 7 simply makes the next player draw 2, with no way to pass it on.
• Play after draw: on by default. Turn it off and drawing always ends your turn, even if the new card fits.

How a Satti round is won

The round ends the moment one player plays their last card. That player comes first. Everyone else is ranked by how many cards they are left holding, so fewer cards means a better place, and the player with the most cards comes last. Then you can play again straight away.

In the rare case where the draw pile and the discard pile are both empty and a player has to draw, the round stops there and everyone is ranked by the cards left in their hand.

Satti strategy tips

Satti looks like pure luck, but the player who plans ahead empties their hand far more often. Try these:

• Keep a 7 in reserve when you can. It is your only defence against a stacked penalty, and it lets you send the pile straight back.
• Play the suit or rank you hold the most of. Every card of that suit you keep is a card you can play later.
• Save a Jack for when nothing else in your hand fits. Playing it early wastes your one escape card.
• When you play a Jack, name the suit you hold the most of, not the suit of the Jack itself.
• Watch the player after you. If they are down to one or two cards, hit them with a 7 or skip them with an 8 rather than playing a harmless card.
• When an 8 lands on you, tap Skip right away. Trying anything else only adds a card to your hand.
• With two cards left, think about the order. Play the card that leaves your last one most likely to fit.

Play Satti with friends online or against the computer

Pick 2 to 6 players. To play alone, choose Play vs computer and every other seat is a computer player. Easy computers often play a random card that fits. Smart computers keep 7s for stacking, play the cards they hold most of and pick the suit they are strongest in after a Jack. You can set the speed to relaxed, normal or fast.

To play with friends, tap Invite friends. You get a link to share on WhatsApp or anywhere else, and a six character room code friends can type on the Satti screen. Friends take seats as they join and the computer plays any seat left over. You can send emojis and short messages while you play.

Satti, Crazy Eights and Badam Satti

Satti belongs to the big family of shedding games, where the goal is to be first to empty your hand by matching the top card. Crazy Eights and Mau-Mau are well known cousins, and Uno is a boxed version of the same idea. The name comes from saat, seven, the card that does the most damage in this game.

It is easy to mix this game up with Badam Satti, which has a similar name but plays completely differently. In Badam Satti, players lay cards in rows building each suit up and down from its 7. That is not the game here. Our Satti is the matching and drawing game described on this page.