What Is Garbage?
Garbage — also called Trash — is a simple and satisfying card game where you are trying to fill a row of ten face-down cards with the right card in the right position. Each card has an assigned spot: Ace goes in position 1, 2 goes in position 2, all the way to 10 in position 10. On each turn you draw a card, put it in its correct spot, flip whatever card was there, and keep the chain going until you draw a card that can’t go anywhere. First player to fill all ten spots wins the round.
What You Need
- One standard deck of 52 playing cards (add Jokers if you want wild cards — recommended)
- Two to four players
Understanding the Layout
Each player has their own row of ten spots in front of them, numbered 1 through 10 from left to right. The goal is to have the right card face-up in each spot: Ace (which counts as 1) in spot 1, the number 2 in spot 2, 3 in spot 3, and so on up to 10 in spot 10. Face cards — Jack, Queen, King — have no assigned spots and cannot be placed (they are dead cards unless using Joker rules). Jokers, if used, are wild and can go in any empty spot.
Setting Up the Game
- Shuffle all 52 cards (and Jokers if using them).
- Each player deals themselves 10 cards face-DOWN in a row from left to right. Do not look at any of them. Number the positions in your mind: leftmost = position 1, rightmost = position 10.
- Place the remaining cards face-down in a central draw pile.
How to Play — Step by Step
- The player to the left of the dealer goes first. Draw the top card from the central pile and look at it.
- Ask yourself: does this card have a position in my row? Number cards (Ace through 10) do. A 7 goes in position 7. An Ace goes in position 1.
- If the card HAS a position and that position in your row is still face-down, go to that position and slide the drawn card face-up under the face-down card there — or simply swap it in. The face-down card that WAS there gets picked up and flipped face-up. That flipped card is now your new active card.
- Now look at the newly flipped card. Does IT have an open position in your row? If yes, place it in its position and flip whatever was there. Keep this chain going — each placed card reveals a new one.
- The chain ends when you flip or draw a card that CANNOT be placed. This happens when: the card is a Jack, Queen, or King (no position); OR the correct position for that card is already filled with the right card face-up.
- When the chain ends, discard the unplayable card face-up next to the draw pile. Your turn is over.
- Play passes to the next player clockwise.
What Jokers Do
If you are using Jokers, they are wild cards that can be placed in ANY face-down position you choose. However, if you later draw the actual number card that belongs in a spot where a Joker is sitting, you can swap the real card in and take the Joker to use again as if you just drew it.
Winning the Round
The first player to have all ten positions in their row filled with face-up cards — the right card in every spot from 1 through 10 — wins the round and calls out ‘Garbage!’ or ‘Trash!’
Playing Multiple Rounds
In multi-round play, the winner of the previous round starts with one fewer position to fill in the next round. They only need to fill positions 1 through 9. Win again and it’s 1 through 8. The first player to win with just one position — a single Ace in position 1 — wins the whole game.
Tips
- Save Jokers in the draw pile for desperate moments — if you draw one, place it in a position near the middle of your row where you’re least likely to have the natural card soon.
- Watch opponents’ rows to see how close they are to finishing — if someone is almost done, you may need to play faster.