How to play
Pis Yedili means “dirty seven”, and the name comes from the card everyone dreads being hit with. Like crazy eights, it’s a shedding game: match the pile, slow rivals down with action cards, and empty your hand first. This table seats four. You are at the bottom; the computer plays the left, top and right seats. A standard 52-card deck is used with no jokers, and each player is dealt seven cards. The dealer moves one seat each hand.
The opening card. The player after the dealer must start with a club. If they hold none, they keep drawing until a club turns up. Whatever club is laid first has no special effect, even a 7, an ace or a jack.
A normal turn. Lay a card that matches the top card’s suit or rank; the cards you can play are highlighted. You are also allowed to press Draw instead, even when you could play. After drawing you may lay any card that fits, including the one you just picked up, or press Pass. You only get one draw per turn. When the stock is empty, the discards under the top card are shuffled into a new stock.
When a player is down to one card, a “Tek!” badge appears by their seat. You don’t have to announce anything yourself.
The action cards
| Card | What it does |
|---|---|
| 7 | The next player must take 3 cards and loses their turn. They can dodge by laying any 7 of their own, which passes the bill on with 3 more added: 6, then 9, then 12. |
| 8 | Skips the next player. |
| 10 | Reverses the direction of play. |
| Jack | Goes on any card except another jack. You pick the suit everyone must follow next. |
| Ace | Every other player takes 1 card from the stock, and you go again, but only with a card of the ace’s suit. Without one, draw once and then play or pass. |
A few interactions are worth knowing. While a 7 penalty is waiting, the only thing you may play is a 7; a jack won’t save you. Your follow-up after an ace must match the ace’s suit, so a jack of a different suit isn’t allowed there either. And the effects only happen if the hand goes on: going out with an ace or a 7 ends the hand at once, so nobody draws.
Scoring
A match is five hands. When someone plays their last card, everyone else adds up the cards left in hand as penalty points:
- jack: 25
- ace: 11
- king or queen: 10
- 2 to 10: face value
Then the finishing card applies a multiplier. Going out on a 7 triples everyone’s penalty for that hand, and going out on a jack doubles it. The banner at the end of the hand shows “Last card counts ×3” or “×2” when that happens. After five hands the player with the lowest total wins; equal lowest totals share the win.
A rival caught holding a jack when you finish on a 7 pays 75 for that one card.
Strategy
Keep one 7 as armour. Since only a 7 answers a 7, holding one means a 7 aimed at you costs nothing; you pass 6 cards to the next player instead of taking 3. Playing your last 7 early leaves you open.
Jacks: flexible, but expensive. A jack is your exit when nothing fits, and it lets you name the suit you hold most of. But at 25 points it is the worst card to be caught with, and doubled or tripled it can decide the match. Keep one for the finish if you can; don’t hoard two.
Save a finishing combination. With two cards left, a 7 or jack as the final card raises everyone else’s bill. If your other card can go first, play it and keep the multiplier for last.
Use the ace’s second card. An ace makes three players draw and then hands you another play in the same suit. With two or three cards of one suit, starting the run with the ace sheds them faster.
Watch the “Tek!” badge. When the next player is on one card, an 8 skips them, a 10 turns play away from them, and a 7 forces three cards into their hand. The computer players think the same way about you.
For another Turkish table classic, try the capturing game Pishti; Color Clash is a shedding cousin with its own deck.
If you enjoy Pis Yedili, try Pishti or Poker Squares next.
