1: Use one regular deck for every two or three players. Deal everyone the same number of cards.Three or seven cards each is usual. The card backs do not have to match.
2: Stack the rest face down in the middle. Turn the top card face up beside the stack.The dealer may then say: "This game of Mao has officially begun."
3: The player on the dealer's left goes first, and play passes clockwise.Three players or more.
4: Play one card that matches the face-up card in suit or in value.It goes on top, and the next player has to match it.
5: No card to play? Draw one card from the stack.Some tables also have you say "pass" or knock on the table.
6: Break a rule and you are handed one card from the stack as a penalty.The giver says what you did wrong, never the rule behind it.
7: Nobody explains the rules. A new player works them out by watching and by trial and error.Many dealers say only: "The only rule I can tell you is this one."
8: Play your last card and say "Mao" to win the round.Forget the word and you are penalized, and the round goes on.
9: The winner often deals the next round and may add one new rule in secret.The sheet Adding a new rule has the customs.
1: Use one regular deck for every two or three players. Deal everyone the same number of cards.Three or seven cards each is usual. The card backs do not have to match.
2: Stack the rest face down in the middle. Turn the top card face up beside the stack.The dealer may then say: "This game of Mao has officially begun."
3: The player on the dealer's left goes first, and play passes clockwise.Three players or more.
4: Play one card that matches the face-up card in suit or in value.It goes on top, and the next player has to match it.
5: No card to play? Draw one card from the stack.Some tables also have you say "pass" or knock on the table.
6: Break a rule and you are handed one card from the stack as a penalty.The giver says what you did wrong, never the rule behind it.
7: Nobody explains the rules. A new player works them out by watching and by trial and error.Many dealers say only: "The only rule I can tell you is this one."
8: Play your last card and say "Mao" to win the round.Forget the word and you are penalized, and the round goes on.
9: The winner often deals the next round and may add one new rule in secret.The sheet Adding a new rule has the customs.
Show all 43 rows (34 more)
Card rules many tables start with 9
1: An 8 reverses the order of play.Some tables give that job to the 2.
2: An ace makes the next player skip a turn.Play jumps to the player after.
3: A jack is wild: when one is played, a new suit is called.Wild means it can go on any card.
4: Name every spade as you play it.Playing the ace of spades, you say "ace of spades".
5: A 7 makes the next player draw a penalty card, and you say "Have a nice day".Staying silent costs you a card of your own.
6: A 7 played on a 7: say "Have a very nice day", and the player after that draws two.The first penalty moves on with the second 7.
7: Each 7 after that adds one "very" and one card.It goes on for as long as 7s can be played.
8: One card left in your hand? At some tables you have to say "last card".Miss it and you take a penalty card, so it is not your last card any more.
9: At some tables one card has a name of its own, said in place of its real name.Wikipedia's example: "That's the badger" for the nine of diamonds.
Talking, penalties and points of order 9
1: No talking, apart from the words a rule requires."Six of spades, I didn't forget this time" earns a card for the extra words.
2: The usual penalty is one card for each offence.Two offences in one turn, two cards.
3: At some tables you thank the dealer for a penalty card.One "thank you" usually covers every card handed over at once.
4: A turn usually has a time limit of about 5 to 10 seconds.Too slow, and the card comes with the words "delay of game".
5: A penalty called in error goes back to the caller as a "bad call".Some tables word it "frivolous card-giving".
6: "Point of order" stops play. Everyone puts their cards down.Any player may call it. At some tables only the dealer may.
7: A point of order is for settling a dispute over a penalty.It is also the moment to shuffle the played cards into a new stack.
8: Most tables penalize touching your cards during a point of order.Being slow to put them down counts as touching.
9: "End point of order" starts play again, and the cards are picked up.Some tables say "point taken".
Adding a new rule 9
1: In many versions one rule is added, silently and in secret, with each round.The winner of the last round makes it, or at some tables the next dealer.
2: The maker sometimes tells one other player, such as the dealer.Then the rule is called the same way every time.
3: Any rule is allowed as long as it treats every player alike.A rule aimed at one player is frowned on.
4: Kind one: when something happens, a player must do something.Say a phrase, or knock on the table.
5: Kind two: when something happens, something about the game changes.The order of play, say, or whose turn is next.
6: Kind three: something must always, or must never, be done.Hold your cards in your left hand. Straighten the pile.
7: Kind four: the play itself changes.All kings are treated as jacks.
8: The trigger can be one card, a kind of card, or something harder to spot.Any red 3. The fourth card in a row of one suit. An odd card on an even one.
9: A new rule rarely carries a penalty of more than one card.After many rounds the rules pile up, and only their makers know them at first.
Teaching new players 7
1: How much is a new player told? Tables differ, so decide before you deal.Whatever you tell, say that you may tell no more.
2: The strictest start: "The only rule I can tell you is this one."Wikipedia says that in most cases no rules are revealed at all.
3: A gentler start: give the goal, which is to get rid of all your cards.Some groups reveal that much.
4: Gentler still: outline the basic rules of play and leave the rest to be found.Some groups do this too.
5: Word every penalty the same way each time it is given (ours)."Failure to name a spade" tells a newcomer what happened, not why.
6: Start a new table with a few card rules, not a dozen (ours).The fewer rules in play, the sooner a pattern shows.
7: Keep this paper with the dealer (ours).Finding the rules out is the game.
How this list was compiled: Written for this site on 2026-10-13, in our own words. Mao, also written Mau, is a traditional card game with no governing body and no official rules: the rules differ from table to table. Every row was checked on 2026-10-13 against English Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0, Mao (card game): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mao_(card_game), which gives three or more players, about one 52-card deck for every two or three players, three or seven cards each, a card turned up beside the stack, play to the dealer's left, a card played that matches in value or suit, a card drawn when none can be played, one penalty card for an offence with the offence stated and the rule unexplained, the common card rules of the second sheet, the rules of speech, the point of order, the time limit, the bad call, the word said on the last card, a rule added each round and the four kinds of rule. Wikipedia's article carries clean-up notices about its citations and says no set of rules is canonical; this page gives the rules it calls common and says so where tables differ. The card game rules site Pagat, https://www.pagat.com/eights/mao.html, was read the same day: it places Mao in the Eights group, says its mark is the rule against explaining or asking about the rules, and gives no rules of play for that reason. Left out: the sayings some tables attach to kings and queens, the names some tables give the dealer and every story about where the game's name comes from. Mau-Mau is a different game and is not described here. The examples under kind two of Adding a new rule and the rows marked ours are this site's own and are not official. Licence: own work
How it works
Mao, also written Mau, is a card game for three or more players in which nobody may explain the rules. Newcomers learn them one penalty card at a time. These sheets are for the dealer, who has to know them.
Read the full guide
How to play the card game Mao: a first round, seen by a newcomer
You are dealt seven cards and told one thing: nobody explains the rules. A 9 of hearts is face up, so you play the 9 of spades. A card comes back with the words "failure to name a spade". You ask what that means and get another, for talking. Two turns later you are saying "four of spades" out loud.
How to play the game Mao as the dealer
Card rules many tables start with and Talking, penalties and points of order are your crib sheet. Adding a new rule has the four kinds of rule a winner can make, and Teaching new players has what a table may say before the first deal.
Questions and answers
How do you play the Mao card game?
Deal everyone the same number of cards and turn one up. In turn, play a card that matches it in suit or value, or draw one. Anyone who breaks a rule is handed a penalty card. The first player out of cards wins.
What are the rules of the Mao card game?
No list is official, and rules differ from table to table. Common ones: an 8 reverses play, an ace skips a player, a jack is wild, spades are named aloud, and a 7 hands the next player a penalty card.
Is the Mau card game the same as Mau-Mau?
No. Mau is another spelling of Mao. Mau-Mau is a German card game that Mao most likely descends from, and it is a different game that this page does not describe.
How many players do you need for Mao?
Three or more, and Wikipedia calls five to eight best. Use about one 52-card deck for every two or three players. Decks with different backs can be mixed.
Can you tell new players the rules of Mao?
Tables differ. Some say only that the one rule they can tell is this one, some give the goal of emptying your hand, and some outline the basic play. The rest has to be worked out during the game.