52 Pickup - Variations

Variations

Other card games sometimes transpose into this game. For an example, a child falling behind in Go Fish or Crazy Eights, or bored by a never-ending game of War, may simply declare "52-Card Pickup!" and sweep all the cards off the table.

One variant has the "dealer" hold up the deck of cards in one hand in a grip similar to the grip one might use to shuffle the cards. The deck is usually pre-arranged to have a few black cards on the bottom. The "dealer" instructs the other player(s) to call out "smoke" if they see a black card, and "fire" if they see a red. They hold up the deck and take the cards one by one off the bottom as the other player(s) call out "smoke" ... "smoke" ... "smoke" ... and, with the first red card, "fire!" On hearing "fire", the "dealer" riffles the cards (as if to shuffle them) into the air, "firing" the entire deck of cards toward the other player(s).

The game is sometimes renamed to adjust for deck sizes other than 52 or to fool someone who is already familiar with the game under its normal name.

By introducing additional rules, the task of picking up the cards can be made so interesting that it becomes playable as a solitaire game. A popular rule of this kind is that only cards from the top of the heap may be removed, and that they must be removed in sets that form Poker combinations.

Similarly, a competitive element can be introduced, e.g. when one player must pick up the cards in red suits and another those in black suits. If the cards are substituted with more robust and easily distinguishable objects such as plastic spoons in various colors, the game becomes appropriate for a group of very young children to train locomotive and object control skills. Letter or word cards can be used for older children.

Another version of the game can be played where one player declares '52 card pick up' and is then granted power to throw each of the 52 cards individually at any of the opponents.