The card game Fight The Landlord is a fun, strategic game played with three players.
Fight The Landlord is a race to see which player can get rid of their cards first.
Find the video tutorial and written explanation for how to play fight the landlord below. Be sure to keep the fight the landlord quick guide close while playing for a quick reference to help you learn as you play.
Fight The Landlord Tutorial
Needed
54 card deck (two jokers); three players, pen and paper for scorekeeping
Deal
The top card of the deck is flipped face up and placed into the middle of the deck. Each player is dealt 17 cards, one card at a time. The remaining three cards are placed into the middle. The player that was dealt the face up card is first to bid.
Objective
The objective of the game is to be the first player to play all your cards into the middle. Cards can be played into the middle in combinations. Once a combination is laid down, only a similar combination with a higher ranking can be played.
Card Rank
Red Joker, Black Joker, 2, Ace, King, Queen, Jack, 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3
(highest to lowest)
Suits do not matter during game play.
Combinations: example
Single Card: 4
Pair: 7-7
3-of-a-kind: 5-5-5
3-of-a-kind plus a card: 8-8-8-3
3-of-a-kind plus a pair: 10-10-10-4-4
Sequence (at least 5 cards): 3-4-5-6-7
Pair Sequence (at least 3 pairs): 4-4-5-5-6-6
3-of-a-kind Sequence (at least 2): 7-7-7-8-8-8
3-of-a-kind Sequence plus cards: 10-10-10-J-J-J-3-5
3-of-a-kind Sequence plus pairs: Q-Q-Q-K-K-K-3-3-9-9
4-of-a-kind plus two cards: 6-6-6-6-10-Q
4-of-a-kind plus two pairs: J-J-J-J-5-5-7-7
Bomb: 4-4-4-4 (beats any previous combination)
Rocket: Joker-Joker (beats any combination or bomb)
Bid
Players will bid on being the landlord. The landlord will play alone against the two other players. A bid can be one, two, or three, or a player can pass on bidding. The player that was dealt the face up card is first to bid. The bid winner gets the three additional cards in the middle.
Game Play
The bid winner is the first player to lay down a combination. The next player must play a similar style combination that has a higher ranking card(s). A player can always play a bomb, or a rocket, no matter what combination style is being played.
If a player cannot beat the previously played combination, the player will pass on playing. After two consecutive passes, the cards are cleared. The player of the last combination will start the new combination.
The player that gets rid of their cards first wins the round.
Score
If the landlord wins, the landlord scores the bid amount plus any multipliers from each opponent. If the landlord loses, the opponents each score the bid amount plus any multipliers. Both opponents score when the landlord loses. It doesn’t matter which opponent got rid of his/her cards first.
The bid is multiplied by two every time a bomb or rocket is played during the round. For example, if the bid was two, and one bomb plus a rocket was played during the round, the round is worth eight points. The original bid of two is doubled to four after the bomb is played, and doubled again to eight when the rocket is played.
Rules
The 2s and Jokers cannot be included in any sequence.
A player that passes on one turn can still play on a combination if play returns to him/her.
Only the same type of combinations can be played against each other. For example, a sequence of six cannot be played on against a sequence of five.