Rules for the card game Sten

Playing time: 20-30 minutes
Number of cards: 52 cards
Other equipment: An item that can be Stone

Game preparation: Shuffle all 52 cards in the deck and distribute the cards equally between players so that all players have the same number of cards. Find something that is a Stone, eg the box that the cards were in ... or a real stone if you have one.

Start of the game: The player who has the 7 of hearts places this card in the middle of the table so that all players can see it. After this, the player on the left places his first card or says Stone if none of the player's cards fit in the game right now. This is how the game continues, where each player lays down 1 card or says Stone and takes the Stone.

The course of the game: Hearts 8 can be placed above hearts 7, and then piles of higher heart cards (9, 10, Jack, Queen) can be built for the King, which is the highest card. When the King is placed, the entire pile of cards is removed from the game, and play continues in the other piles.

Below hearts 7, hearts 6 are placed, and then piles of lower cards (hearts 5, 4, 3, 2) are built up to hearts ace, which is the lowest card. When the ace of hearts is placed, the pile is removed from the table.

The 7s thus constitute the start of new card piles and new card suits, and the 7s must always be visible. For example, you cannot get rid of any of your spade cards until spade 7 has been placed on the table, and the piles of cards above and below must start with, respectively, 8 and 6. Cards may not be placed directly on top of the 7s, but only above and below. The 7s are placed at any point in the game when a player with a 7 in their hand has a turn and as the players are ready to play them next to the other 7s.

Get rid of all your cards in 1 turn: You look at your cards and you see that ALL the cards in your hand can be placed in the correct order in the piles that are in play on the table. When it is your turn, you place ALL cards in 1 turn and win the game. If you made a mistake and couldn't lay down all your cards anyway, you must pick up your laid cards back into your hand and take over the Stone.

The winner: The winner is the one who gets rid of all his cards first. The loser is the player who has the Stone.