New to Canasta? Think “make sets of the same number.” Three kings start a set. Seven kings (with some wild cards allowed) make a canasta. Runs such as 4–5–6 do not count.
- Draw: press the face-down stock. Two players draw two cards; four players draw one. You can sometimes take the discard pile instead.
- Make sets (optional): select matching cards, choose their rank, and Stage selected set. Stage as many sets as you need, then Play staged sets. Selecting and staging are only a draft until you play them.
- Discard: select exactly one card and press Discard selected. That ends your turn.
Wilds and your opening
Twos and jokers are wild. A set needs at least three cards including two natural matches, with at most three wilds. A seven-card canasta needs at least four natural cards. Add cards to an existing set by staging the same rank. Wilds cannot move between sets.
Your first sets must total 50 card points together (15 when your score is negative, 90 at 1,500, or 120 at 3,000). Jokers: 50; aces and twos: 20; 8 through king: 10; 4 through 7 and black threes: 5. Bonuses do not help open.
Taking the discard pile
The whole pile comes with its top card, which must immediately join a valid set. Before you open, or while the pile is frozen, you need two natural matches in your hand. Otherwise a matching natural plus a wild, or a matching existing set, can work. The game chooses the matching cards for you. You can stage extra opening sets first if you need more points. A wild or any three on top blocks pickup. In this version, discarding a wild or black three freezes the pile until someone takes it.
Threes and going out
Red threes are automatically placed aside and replaced when dealt or drawn; red threes taken inside a discard pile are not replaced. Each earns 100 points (800 for all four), or loses those points if your side never opens. Black threes can form a natural set of three or four only when going out.
Two players start with 15 cards and need two canastas to go out. Four players start with 11, partner with the person across the table (seats 1+3 and 2+4), and need one canasta between partners. Dispose of your last card by melding or discarding. You may go out without asking your partner.
Scoring and finishing
A natural canasta earns 500 bonus points; one with wilds earns 300. Add melded card points and red-three bonuses, subtract cards still in hand, and add 100 for going out (another 100 if you had never previously melded and go out in one turn). When stock is empty, take a legal discard pile or end the round; a matching existing set can make pickup compulsory. A final unreplaceable red three ends the round. Play rounds to 5,000; ties continue.
The table explains your next action and rejects illegal moves without changing your cards. These are our published classic-style house rules; local Canasta traditions vary. See Bicycle’s rules reference.
Choose Play against computer to start immediately with computer opponents, or Play with friends for a private two-player or partnership table. Computer games never fill or replace seats in an existing friends’ table. Keep the invitation private. Your hand stays private, while your name, card count, discards and sets are shared. Rejoin in the same browser. Internet is required; no money or prizes.