Snap Rules
When the two cards match this point's rule, slap your pad first. First to 5.
Snap Rules is a two-player card-slapping game based on Snap, where a new rule is set for every point, such as same shape or same colour. When the two cards match the rule, slap your pad first to win the point.
Two cards flip in the middle and the rule changes every point: same shape, same colour, same number, adds to 6 or nothing alike. Slap your pad first when they match, and keep your hand still when they nearly do.
Also known as Snap, Snap card game, Slap snap.
- How you hold it
- Face-off
- Match
- First to 5
- Length
- About 1 minute
- Play
- Friend or bot
How to play Snap Rules: quick rules
About 1 minute at first to 5. Full rules, options and bot levels are further down.
- 1Each point has a rule. It shows in the countdown.
- 2Two cards flip in the middle.
- 3When they match the rule, slap your pad first.
- 4Slap when they don't match and your rival gets the point.
Snap Rules rules
The cards
- Each card shows 1 to 5 identical symbols in one of 4 shapes (circle, square, diamond, plus) and one of 4 colours.
- Every colour except one also carries a mark (a stripe, a dot or a ring), so colour is never the only thing to go on.
- The symbols are laid out like dice pips, so the cards read the same from both ends of the phone.
The rule for each point
- Each point uses one rule, and never the same rule twice in a row.
- Same shape: both cards show the same shape.
- Same colour: both cards are the same colour.
- Same number: both cards show the same number of symbols.
- Adds to 6: the two numbers of symbols add up to 6.
- Nothing alike: shape, colour and number are all different.
- With the Simple rule set, only Same shape, Same colour and Same number are used.
- The rule shows in the 3, 2, 1 countdown and stays as a small badge in each half while the point runs.
Play
- After the countdown both cards lie face down for a moment, then they flip, and keep flipping to new pairs.
- The first pair is never a match, and a match always comes within the first 7 flips.
- Plenty of pairs are near misses that share something the rule doesn't ask for, such as the same colour on a Same shape point.
- With Speed-up on, the flips come faster as the point goes on.
Slapping and scoring
- Snap: the first player to slap their pad on a matching pair wins the point.
- Wrong slap: slap on a pair that doesn't match and your rival gets the point. With Gentle fouls on, your pad is locked for a moment instead and play goes on.
- Slapping while the cards are still face down counts as a wrong slap.
- Only your first slap on each pair counts, and a finger resting on the pad isn't a slap.
- A slap made just after a flip, too fast for anyone to have seen the new pair, is judged on the pair before.
- If a match is flipped away with nobody slapping, it's simply missed and play goes on.
Ties and replays
- If both players slap a match at almost exactly the same instant, it's "Too close!" and the point is replayed with no score.
- If a whole point passes with nobody slapping, it is replayed with no score.
- If three points in a row are replayed this way, the third is settled by a coin toss.
- Pausing mid-point cancels it; it is dealt again under the same rule, so a pause can't dodge a rule you don't like.
Winning
- First to the target wins: 3, 5 or 7 points.
- With Golden snap on, one point per match (from point 3) may be dealt with gold cards. A snap on it scores 2, but never past the target; a wrong slap on it gives your rival 1.
Tips to win at Snap Rules
- 1Read the rule badge before every flip. Most wrong slaps come from slapping on a match from the last point's rule.
- 2Watch for near misses: a pair can share a colour on a Same shape point, and that's exactly when careless players slap.
- 3For Adds to 6, learn the pairs by heart: 1 and 5, 2 and 4, 3 and 3.
- 4On Nothing alike, check all three things, shape, colour and number, before you slap.
- 5A wrong slap gives your rival a full point, so when in doubt, hold back. A missed match costs nothing.
Where Snap Rules comes from
Snap Rules is built on Snap, a traditional British card game that has been played since at least the 19th century, often with specially printed picture cards. Players turn cards over in turn and race to call or slap when two match.
Controls
Phone flat between you. Each player owns a half, and the far half faces the far player.
- Each player has one round slap pad in their half. Tap it to slap.
- Touches anywhere else in your half do nothing.
- Both players can slap at the same time; the earlier slap wins.
- A finger resting on the pad from the countdown has to lift and touch down again to slap.
Options
Every option is free. Defaults are marked.
| Option | Choices | What it does |
|---|---|---|
| First to | 35 (default)7 | The score that wins the match. |
| Rules | Simple (3 rules)All (5 rules) (default) | Simple uses Same shape, Same colour and Same number only. |
| Speed-up (extra) | On (default)Off | Flips get faster through the point. |
| Golden snap (extra) | On (default)Off | One gold pair per match from point 3, worth 2. |
| Twist (extra) | OnOff (default) | The rule changes once, partway through the point, with a "New rule" stamp. |
| Gentle fouls (extra) | OnOff (default) | A wrong slap locks your pad briefly instead of giving the point away. |
Play Snap Rules against the bot
The bot plays Blue. It sees only the two face-up cards and the rule, the same as you, and never knows what is coming next. Each flip it either slaps after a human-like reaction time or holds back.
Easy
Slow to react, misses plenty of matches and sometimes falls for a near miss.
Normal
Reacts at a steady pace, misses the odd match and only now and then slaps a near miss.
Hard
Quick and accurate, rarely misses a match and almost never falls for a near miss. A fast, careful player can still beat it.
Online, tournaments and hints
- Online
- One phone onlyEvery point is won by whoever slaps first, so it depends on both players' live reactions and stays on one phone.
- Tournament
- Can be drawn in a tournamentIn a tournament it is always first to 5 with All rules, Speed-up and Golden snap on.
- Hints
- No hints here: it's all about your own reactions.
How it feels
- A card tick on every flip and a thwack with a hand print on your pad when you slap.
- The winning cards glow and slide into the winner's half like a won pile.
- A buzz and a small shake of your half on a wrong slap.
- Haptics follow your phone's settings and the in-app vibration switch.
Accessibility
- Colours carry marks (stripe, dot, ring or plain), and the rule badge shows an example pair.
- Card colours are never the players' red or blue.
- One pad, one finger: it can be played one-handed.
- Simple rules and Gentle fouls are a gentler start for new players.
- With reduced motion on, slides and shakes are dropped and stickers fade in.
Snap Rules questions
Two cards flip in the middle and each point has a rule, such as Same colour or Adds to 6. Slap your pad first when the pair matches the rule; slap on a pair that doesn't and your rival scores.
In classic Snap you slap on any matching pair. In Snap Rules the rule for a match changes every point, so you have to be right as well as fast.
Your rival gets the point. With the Gentle fouls extra on, your pad is locked for a moment instead and play goes on.
No. The first player to the target, 3, 5 or 7 points, wins. A slap too close to call is replayed, and three replays in a row are settled by a coin toss.
Yes. Snap Rules in Duo Clash is built for two players on the same phone. Phone flat between you. Each player owns a half, and the far half faces the far player.
Yes. The bot plays Blue. Choose Easy, Normal or Hard.
Play Snap Rules on one phone
Free on Android. Sit face to face, or take on the bot on Easy, Normal or Hard.
