Lemon (card game)
.jpg) Initial card layout for 2 players. | |
| Origin | United States |
|---|---|
| Alternative names | unknown |
| Type | Matching |
| Players | 2-4 |
| Age range | 4+ |
| Cards | 52 |
| Deck | French/standard |
| Play | Simultaneous |
| Playing time | 5-10 min. |
| Random chance | Medium |
| Related games | |
| Limonada | |
Lemon is a matching card game where players compete to see who can get all their four of a kinds the fastest. This is not to be confused with the game by the same name.
Deal
Deal four cards face up in the middle. Then deal remaining cards face down according to the table below.
| Number of players | Number of cards dealt |
|---|---|
| 2 players | six sets of four cards |
| 3 players | 4 sets of four |
| 4 players | 3 sets of four |
The Play
When play begins each player views one pile of four cards. Players may trade cards in their hands with cards in the middle, as many as they like, holding no more than four cards at a time. That is to say, players must discard to the middle first, and then select their new cards. Players may change as many cards (1-4) as they like. Players can, at any time, place their pile face down and pick up a different pile and continue to play. When a player has four of a kind in one pile, he or she places his or her pile face up.
Win
A player wins when all his or her piles have four of a kind, are face up, and the player calls, “Lemon!”
Three (3) player
Four (4) player
Teams
An alternative with four players is to play with two teams of two such that a pair of players shares six piles and can then view two piles simultaneously.
Limonada
Limonada is a Lemon variant that uses similar game play, yet with Uno cards.
The setup for Limonada differs because an Uno deck contains 108 cards. Piles of four cards are distributed to each player such that each has an equal number of piles. The remaining cards are placed face up in the middle. For example, three players will each have 8 piles of four with 12 cards in the middle. Five players would have 5 piles of 4 cards with 8 cards in the middle.
Special rules:
1. Four of a kind is created by one card from each color with the same number/symbol, four plus-4 wilds, or four regular wilds.
2. When a player is down to one unfinished pile, he or she must say "Uno." If a player is caught without having said "UNO," that player must not play at all until another player has completed a pile.
3. When a player completes all four-of-a-kind piles, he or she must announce "Limonada!" to win.
Example of play: In the setup pictured at left above. A player could lay all four cards from a pile and pick the 5s from the middle to receive a completed stack that should subsequently be laid face up in front up the player.