01 May
How to Play Trash Card Game Cover Image

How to Play Trash Card Game & Game Rules

Okay, I’m always down for a card game that’s easy to learn but still gets a little competitive. A bit of luck here and there, and just some overall simple fun and games – as card games should be.

Trash, also known as Garbage, is exactly that – you’re mostly hoping for lucky card flips, but there’s a sneaky side too. Think you’ve got what it takes to fill your board faster than your opponent? Let’s dive in, this one’s a blast!

How to Play Trash (Garbage)

The Setup

This is a two player game. One’s the dealer, the other goes first. (Whoever draws the highest card is the dealer is an easy way to decide). Simply swap each round.

Shuffle a regular deck, then deal both players 10 cards face-down in two rows of five. Five on the top row and five on the bottom. Now from left to right, picture each card as a value from 1 to 10.

A diagram showcasing the setup of the Trash card game for two players with one set labelled one to ten.

The top left card is one and the bottom right card on the bottom row is 10. The numbers are in order. The rest of the deck then goes face down in the middle of play and becomes the Draw Pile.

How to Play

Objective: Replace all the face-down cards in your two rows with face-up cards where each card value is in the right slot representing its number from one to ten.

The non-dealer starts by taking a card off the draw pile. The value of this card then goes in the representing slot in your table of cards. For example, if you draw a six, you put the six in the space of the six in your two rows of five, replacing your face down card.

A diagram showcasing how Trash card game is played, where the player drew a six and puts it in the six slot.

The face-down card that was there then gets flipped and becomes the next card you place. Say you get a three, the face-up three goes in slot 3 and you pick up the face-down card that was there, flipping it up and repeating the process.

A diagram showing the Trash card gameplay, where the player puts a six in the six, and takes the three to put in the three slot.

Note: If you draw a Jack, you can play these ANYWHERE! Simply flip a card of your choosing and put the Jack in its place. Say you put the Jack in slot two and then later draw a two, you can place the two in the slot and move the Jack somewhere else. You can win the game with Jacks in a slot instead of the number.

You keep doing this until one of the following conditions happen:

  • If you get a King or a Queen, you need to place this in a discard pile and your turn is over.
  • If you flip a number card but you’ve already put a face-up card in that slot (for example, you draw a six but you already have a face-up six in the six slot), discard the six and your turn is over.

Once your turn is over, you switch to the second player. They repeat the process, but they can either start by drawing a card from the Draw Pile, or taking the card that you just discarded.

It’s as simple as that!

Winning a Round and The Game

Keep repeating the process of having a turn until ALL your numbered spaces are filled with the right cards, or with Jacks as placeholders.

However, that’s not the end of the game.

Put the deck together and reshuffle it, dealing the cards out again in the same way. HOWEVER, this time, the winner gets one less card, so has nine in total. See how the game evolves?

Play keeps going, removing a card each time some wins, until someone finally only has ONE space…

On the final round, one player (or both) will have one slot left to fill and will need to get an Ace or a Jack to fill the gap. Fill that space and you win the WHOLE game!

And that’s Trash!

Trash Tips & Tricks

  • Start of turn choice: Can grab from the draw pile or the open discard pile. Sometimes that top discarded card is exactly what you need!
  • Memorize your cards: Knowing what’s face-down helps you plan your moves.
  • Jackpot! Those Jacks can become lifesavers, use them wisely.

Trash is a long game (well, about 15 minutes tops), but that makes it even more fun to see the lead change hands, going back and forth and back again.

That said, I got absolutely stomped on my first game with my partner. She was out and I still had nine cards to fill, meaning I won just one game in 11. Made her happy though and was good fun.

This game doesn’t take a lot of strategy if any and is pretty much down to the luck of the draw, which is simple and great for chatting over.

Ready to try your luck?

How to Play Trash Card Game Online

There aren’t many websites you can play Trash card game online if you’re looking to play with a friend or against the computer, either practising or just for fun.

Therefore, it’s always better to grab a deck of cards and start playing with friends, colleagues, your partner, or kids!