ClapOut

The card game you clap

ClapOut is a free colour-and-number card game for two to six players, played on any phone — open the page, type your name, and you are at the table. No install, no account.

On your turn, play a card that matches the pile by suit or by number, or play a wild. The first to empty their hand wins. When a play leaves you holding one card, clap — tap CLAP or clap out loud — before the next player moves. Forget, and anyone at the table can catch you for two cards.

The four suits are elements that act on each other: Tide douses Ember, Ember lights Dusk, Dusk sets Sol, Sol dries Tide. When your card changes the pile's element, the two clash — overpower the old element and the next player draws one; fizzle against it and you draw one. Three of the same element in a row is a Surge: shed one more card at once.

Host a table and share its four-letter code, join a friend's, or tap Quick play — real players first, and friendly bots fill the empty seats.

How a game works

1. Sit down. Type a name and tap Quick play to be matched with other players, Host a table to get a four-letter code for your friends, or type a friend's code to join theirs.
2. Set the table. The host picks the house rules and the turn timer, adds bots to any empty seat and taps Start when everyone is in.
3. Play your hand. Your cards are on your phone, and only on your phone. On your turn the cards you can play rise out of your fan; tap one to play it, or tap the draw pile. Every turn has a clock, ten seconds unless the host chose longer.
4. Clap out. Clap when you are down to one card, catch anyone who forgets, and empty your hand first to take the pot.

How ClapOut works, step by step

Why people play it

• Everyone already knows the basics. Match the pile by suit or number. Hush a player, Rewind the turn, Toss two cards at the next seat. The complete rules take about ten minutes to read, and the game carries its own illustrated rule book.
• The clap is a real race. In the same room, clapping out loud into your phone counts just like tapping CLAP. The listening happens on your phone, and no sound is recorded or sent.
• The elements make every suit change a decision. The elements guide walks through every Clash and Surge, and the host can switch them off for a plain game of matching.
• The table plays fair. Our server shuffles, deals and checks every play against the rules, and your phone is only ever sent your own hand. Nothing you can buy changes the rules.
• Never short of players. Four bots, Nana, Rocket, Sly and Chaos, each with their own style, can fill any empty seat. Meet the bots.

Quick answers

Is it free?

Yes. Every card, house rule, bot, private table and voice chat is free, and you never need an account. Games are played for a small stake of Claps, the game's own play currency, which the game hands out for free every day.

Does it work on my phone?

It runs in any modern phone browser, such as Safari on an iPhone or Chrome on Android, in portrait or landscape. Desktop browsers work too.

What if my connection drops?

Refresh the page. Your browser remembers your seat, so you come straight back to the same seat with the same hand.

More questions and answers