How to Play Jenny Jenny

Jenny Jenny is a unique card game which is often, but not exclusively, played by children. Having a rather unusual playing mechanic it can be a fun diversion for players of any age. The game is designed to be played by two to four participants.

Jenny Jenny is played using one standard deck of 52 cards. The court cards (Jack, Queen and King) have a special purpose in this deck and thus have no specific ranking but are considered a type of currency which can be used by the player during the game to obtain cards they might be missing to form a special combination needed to win the game. The ranking of the remainder of the cards in the deck is as follows (from low to high); Ace, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10.

Possible initial configuration in Jenny Jenny

Possible initial configuration in Jenny Jenny

Determination of seating positions and first dealer can be performed in a variety of methods, with draw for high card a common such method. In this method, each player draws one card from the shuffled deck. The players then take seats in the order of cards drawn (from highest to lowest). If any player draws a court card, or multiple players draw cards of the same rank, those cards should be replaced and new cards drawn by those players. Whichever player draws the highest ranked card of all is set as the first dealer. After each deal, the role of dealer rotates around the table in a clockwise direction.

Once the first dealer is determined and the players seated, the dealer should thoroughly shuffle the deck and offer it to the player at his right to cut. After the cut, the dealer then begins dealing the cards in a clockwise direction around the table, starting with the player at his left. He deals the cards one-by-one and face down, continuing until each player has a total of seven cards. The dealer then places the remainder of the deck face-down in the middle of the table as the stock.

Before play begins each player should examine his hand. He should place any court cards (those of denomination Jack, Queen and King) in a face-up stack in front of himself at the table. After this, the player should then place any duplicate cards (cards for which the player has more than one card in that same rank in his hand, irregardless of suit), individually face-up in the center of the table. Any remaining cards player would retain in his hand.

After each player has arranged his hand as previously described, play of the hand can begin, with the player to the dealer's immediate left having the first turn, and the turns proceeding in a clockwise direction around the table.

On each turn, a player may take one of two actions, as follows:

The player may draw one card from the center stock pile, adding the card to his hand. If the card drawn is of the same denomination as any card that player currently already has in his hand, he places it face-up in front of himself, along with any other duplicate cards he may have already so placed. If the card is any Jack, Queen or King (court card) he adds this card to his pile of court cards already collected.
The player may instead, purchase a card that another player has face-up in front of himself (which was placed there because that player already has a duplicate of that card in his hand). The exchange rate for this trade is one court card, so the player performing this action must give one of his court cards to that other player who adds the card to his own pile of court cards. If a player does not currently have any court cards he may not make this exchange.

If, after completing his turn, any player has a complete sequence of cards from Ace to ten, (called a Jenny Jenny), irregardless of the suits of these cards, he calls out "Jenny Jenny" and immediately wins that game. The suit of the cards does not matter, as long as the player has a hand consisting of exactly ten cards, including one in each of the ranks, Ace, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9 and 10. Each deal should be considered a complete game.

Variations, Optional Rules and Similar Games

Although not included in the original rules, there are a few variations to the rules that are sometimes used:

Five Card Hands: One variant, which can make for slightly longer games is to reduce the number of cards dealt to each player in the initial deal. One number that seems to work well is to start with each player receiving five initial cards in the deal.

Additional Players: While the standard game is designed for up to four players, the game can also accommodate additional players by simply adding additional decks. For five to eight players, the game should be increased to two total standard decks and for nine to twelve players three standard 52 card decks should be used.