How to Play Trash
Fill your row of face-down cards from ace to ten.
Also known as Garbage
Learn Trash, also called Garbage, for 2–4 players: fill your face-down spots from ace to 10, use jacks as wilds and shorten your layout each round. Work through one turn, then play in your browser.
One turn that fills three spots
Your 4 spot is face down and the top discard is the 4♣, so you take it instead of drawing. The 4♣ goes face up in the 4 spot and you pick up the card underneath: the 9♦. Its spot is open, so it goes in and you pick up the J♠. The jack is wild; you put it in the 10 spot and pick up the Q♥, which is dead, so you discard it and your turn ends.
| Situation | Result |
|---|---|
| Top discard is 4♣ and your 4 spot is face down | Take it: it goes in the 4 spot and you pick up the card underneath |
| You pick up 9♦ and the 9 spot is face down | It must be placed; you pick up the next card |
| You pick up J♠ | Wild: put it in any face-down spot, here the 10 |
| You pick up Q♥ | Dead card: discard it, and your turn ends |
A card that fits must be placed, and you may take the discard only when it fits. Filling your last spot ends your turn and wins the round; next deal you get one spot fewer.
Practise this game in your browser🎯 Objective
Turn every spot in your layout face up before anyone else each round, and be the first to win a round when you are down to the single ace spot.
🃏 Trash Setup & Rules
- 2 to 4 players. Two players use one 52-card deck; three or four use two decks shuffled together.
- Each player is dealt 10 cards face down in two rows of five, unseen: the top row stands for ace to 5, the bottom row for 6 to 10. At setup you can start with fewer spots, from 2 to 10.
- The next card is turned up to start the discard pile and the rest is the stock. The player after the dealer goes first, and the deal moves round each round.
▶ How to Play Trash
- On your turn draw the top card of the stock, or take the top discard if it fits one of your face-down spots.
- If the card is an ace to 10 and its spot is still face down, tap the spot: the card goes there face up and you pick up the card that was under it.
- Keep going with the card you picked up for as long as it fits a spot. A card that fits must be placed; you cannot discard it.
- Jacks are wild and fill any face-down spot. Queens, kings and cards whose spot is already filled are dead: discard them and your turn ends.
- Filling your last spot ends your turn at once; the card from under it goes on the discard pile for you.
- The first player to fill every spot wins the round. Next deal they get one card fewer, 9 spots covering ace to 9, then 8, and so on; everyone else keeps the same number.
🎬 Watch: How to Play Trash
This video is embedded from YouTube and remains the intellectual property of its respective creator and/or rights holder. Vanikar LLC claims no ownership of, or rights in, the video content, and no affiliation with or endorsement by its creator is implied. The video is displayed via YouTube’s public embed feature in accordance with the YouTube Terms of Service and the agreements between YouTube and the content uploader.
📖 Detailed Guide
Setting up your table
- From the game menu choose Trash, then pick 2, 3 or 4 seats and fill the empty ones with app opponents at Easy, Medium or Hard.
- Starting spots: 10 by default, from 2 to 10. Fewer spots is a shorter game, the same race started further along.
- Last turn: off by default. On, everyone else gets one more turn after a player fills every spot, and whoever also fills theirs wins the round too. Jack swap: off by default. On, you may replace a jack with its spot's real card and use the jack again.
- Tap Deal. Two players use one 52-card deck, three or four use two shuffled together. Each player's spots are dealt face down, the next card starts the discard pile and the rest is the stock.
Taking a turn
- Draw the top card of the stock, or take the top discard. The app lets you take the discard only when it fits one of your face-down spots.
- An ace to 10 whose spot is face down goes there face up: tap the spot. You pick up the card that was underneath and carry on with it.
- A card that fits a face-down spot must be placed, so the chain runs until you hold a dead card: a queen, a king or a card for a spot already filled. Discard it and your turn ends.
- When the stock runs out, the discard pile under its top card is shuffled into a new stock.
Jacks and dead cards
- A jack is wild and fits any face-down spot. Like any fitting card it must be placed; choose the spot you are least likely to fill otherwise.
- Queens and kings never fit a spot. Drawing one ends your turn at once.
- A card whose spot is already face up is dead too, unless the Jack swap option is on and a jack sits there: then the real card goes in and you take the jack back to use elsewhere.
- Everyone can see the card you hold, since it was drawn or turned up in view; only the face-down spots are secret.
Winning rounds and the game
- Filling your last spot is Trash! Your turn ends at once and the card from under that spot is discarded for you.
- By default the round ends there. With Last turn on, every other player gets one more turn, and anyone who also fills every spot wins the round as well.
- Every round winner is dealt one spot fewer next time: 9 spots for ace to 9, then 8, down to the single ace spot. Everyone else keeps the same number.
- The first player to win a round with only the ace spot wins the game. Players who manage it in the same round share the win.
📊 Trash Scoring
There are no points. Each round you win takes one spot off your layout, and the first player to win a round with only the ace spot wins the game. By default the first player to fill every spot wins the round at once; with the Last turn option on, everyone else plays once more and whoever also fills theirs wins the round too. Players who finish together on the ace spot share the win.
❓ Trash — Frequently Asked Questions
How many players do you need for Trash?
Trash is played with 2–4 players. On Vanikar, empty seats can be filled with AI opponents so you can always start a game.
What do jacks do in Trash?
A jack is wild: it fills any face-down spot. When you hold a jack and any spot is still face down, you must place it. With the Jack swap option on at setup, the real card for that spot can later replace the jack, and you use the jack again.
Can you take the top discard in Trash?
Yes, but only when it fits one of your face-down spots: an ace to 10 for an open spot, or a jack. Otherwise you draw from the stock.
How many decks does Trash use?
1 deck of 52 cards for 2 players, and 2 decks shuffled together for 3 or 4 players.
How does a game of Trash end?
Each round you win takes 1 spot off your layout: 10, then 9, down to the ace spot alone. The first player to win a round with only the ace spot wins the game, and players who do it in the same round share the win.
