The rules of Macao.
Macao is a card game for 2–6 players with 54 cards (52 plus two jokers), where you get rid of your cards by matching the suit or rank of the one on the table. It’s the most played card game in Romania: a 2 or a 3 makes the next player draw, a 4 makes them sit out, an ace goes on anything and calls for a specific suit, and jokers pile on penalties that can stack.
House rules, checked against the engine that applies them · updated
- Players
- 2–6
- Length
- 10–20 min
- Difficulty
- Easy
- Leaderboard
- Yes
How to play.
Match the suit or rank and be the first out of cards.
- 01♠
The deck and the deal
- Played with 54 cards — the full deck plus the black joker and the red joker.
- Each player gets 5 cards. The first card turned onto the table is always a regular one: if a special card comes up, a regular one is found further down the deck.
- 02♥
A regular move
- You play a card with the same SUIT or the same RANK as the one on top.
- The only exception is the ACE: it goes on any card, whatever the suit or rank.
- There is NO passing: if you can play and want to, you play; if you can’t, you draw a card.
- Drawing ENDS your turn. The card you draw can’t be played on the same turn, even if it fits — you drew precisely because you had nothing to play.
- 03♦
The special cards
Card What it does 2 The next player draws 2 cards. 3 The next player draws 3 cards. 4 The next player sits out a turn. A 4 played on a 4 makes the player after that sit out two turns. Ace Goes on any card, whatever the suit or rank, and you call the suit the next player must play. Black joker The next player draws 5 cards. Red joker The next player draws 10 cards. 7 A regular card at this table: it doesn’t block penalties. - When a 4 is played on you, you get the only choice that resembles a pass: you can sit out the turn EVEN IF you hold a 4, to save it for later.
- A joker has no suit and no rank, so it goes by COLOR: the red one goes only on ♥ or ♦, the black one only on ♣ or ♠. A joker can go on any other joker.
- And the other way around: only red cards go on the red joker, only black cards on the black one — or another joker. An ace goes on a joker too.
- 04♣
Stacking penalties
- Instead of drawing, you can pass the penalty on — but only with a penalty card (2, 3 or joker) that matches the one on top.
- Matching works as usual in this game: same SUIT or same RANK.
- On a 3♣ you can play 2♣ and 3♣ (the suit), but also 3♦ or 3♠ (the rank). Your opponent then draws the combined penalty.
- On a 2♠ any other 2 works — 2♦, 2♥, 2♣ — because the rank is the same.
- On a 3♣, 2♥ or 2♠ will NOT work: neither suit nor rank matches.
- Jokers are the exception and link only by COLOR: the black joker goes on a 3♣, the red one doesn’t.
- A joker ALWAYS goes on another joker, even in a chain: the red joker goes on the black joker, and the penalty reaches 15 cards. On a 2 or a 3, though, the joker keeps to its color.
- On a joker there’s no suit or rank to follow, so any 2 or 3 of the same color works — on the black joker, any ♣ or ♠ — or the other joker.
- Whoever can’t continue draws all the piled-up cards, and the chain starts over from zero.
- 05♠
Several cards at once
- If you have several cards of the same rank and the first can be played, you can play them all in one move.
- Their effects add up: two 2s make a penalty of 4, and two 4s make the next player sit out two turns.
- Jokers go down one at a time — they have no rank for anything to match, and their color decides the chain.
- 06♥
Macao!
- When you’re down to one card, you must call “Macao!” The button appears on the table by itself.
- If you forget, anyone can catch you until your next turn starts, and you draw 5 cards. The only pause: while a penalty chain is open nobody can be caught, because no cards are drawn during a chain.
- 07♦
End of the match
- You win by running out of cards. There is no other way to win.
- The match does NOT stop at the first player out of cards. Whoever runs out leaves play and takes a place — first out takes 1st place, second out 2nd place — and the rest play on until only one player still has cards. That player finishes last.
- When the draw pile runs out, the last card played stays on the table and the ones under it become the new draw pile IN THE ORDER THEY WERE PLAYED — the first played is the first drawn. They are not shuffled.
- Very rarely, at tables of five or six, the cards end up circling among the same players without anyone getting rid of them. The match then stops by itself, and the remaining places go by how many cards each player has left — closest to empty first.
- 08♣
Thinking time
- The host picks the pace when opening the table: 10 or 30 seconds per move, or no timer. While no match is running, the host can change it in the table settings. The timer is shown on the table.
- At a table with a clock, if you run out of time you are ELIMINATED from the match: your cards leave the game and the others carry on without you.
- The server doesn’t play for you. A player who has left the table but kept playing cards would hold the others in a match with no opponent.
- When only one player is left, the match ends and that player wins.
Rules differ from one place to another. The tables here play the version written above, so everyone plays by the same rules.
Do you play it differently?
The most common variants of Macao, and what happens with each one at the tables here.
The 7 that cutsnot played here
In many regions, a 7 played on a penalty cancels it. NOT at these tables: the 7 is a regular card, and a chain stops only when someone can’t continue it and draws everything.
Macao for pointsnot played here
The version where the match doesn’t end with the first player out: several hands are played, and the cards left in hand add up as a penalty. Here it’s played for places, not points: the first out takes 1st place, and the match goes on until only one player has cards.
The joker that goes on anythingnot played here
Some people play the joker as a card with no restrictions. Here it goes by COLOR: the red one on ♥ or ♦, the black one on ♣ or ♠ — or on another joker. That’s what keeps penalty chains from going on forever.
The king that reverses directionnot played here
In some variants, a K reverses the order at the table. Here the king is a regular card. Direction changes only through who sits where.
Several cards of the same rank in one moveplayed here
Played here too: if the first can go down, you can play all the cards of that rank at once, and their effects add up — two 2s make a penalty of four.
How to play better.
Keep a 4 for when you get one
A 4 played on you is the one spot in the game where you may sit out a turn even though you could answer. It’s worth using: a 4 kept in hand blocks someone else later, when it really matters, and the turn you lose now costs you less than a hand left with no defense.
Play the red joker late
It’s the heaviest card in the deck — ten cards drawn — but also the hardest to place: it goes only on red or on another joker. Played early, you waste it on an opponent who still has eight cards and barely feels it. Held back, it’s the card you end a chain with when someone is about to get out.
Count what’s been played, not what you hold
There are four cards of each rank and two jokers. If you’ve seen three 4s on the table, the fourth is with someone or in the draw pile — and if it’s with the opponent on your left, there’s no point in giving them a chance to use it.
The ace calls the suit the next player does NOT have
An ace goes on anything, so you don’t save it for the right suit — you save it for the right MOMENT. Call the suit you hold least of, not most: if your opponent has drawn three times in a row after clubs were played, call clubs. A well-called ace makes the next player draw without you playing a single penalty card.
Pass penalties on, don’t swallow them
Any 3 and any ♣ goes on a 3♣. Before you draw four cards, check whether you have a 2 or a 3 of the same rank — the rank matches even if the suit doesn’t. The chain grows, but not for you.
Call “Macao!” before you play the card that leaves you with one
The button appears by itself, but the window closes when your next turn starts. Five cards drawn for one second of inattention is the most expensive mistake in the game.
In depth: How to win at Macao.
Questions about Macao.
- How many players can play Macao?
- Between 2 and 6. The seats are chosen when the table opens, and any left empty can be taken by bots.
- How many cards do you start with in Macao?
- 5 each. The rest stays on the table as the draw pile.
- How long does a match of Macao take?
- About 10–20 min. The host sets the pace: 10 or 30 seconds per move, or no timer at all.
- Can I play Macao against the computer?
- Yes. The host can seat bots in the empty seats, at two skill levels. But the moment the first bot sits down, the table drops off the leaderboard: a bot has no rating to put at stake.
- Do Macao matches count toward the leaderboard?
- Yes, as long as everyone at the table is human. Each game has its own leaderboard, with an Elo-style rating that starts at 1000.
- Do I need an account to play Macao?
- To sit at a table, yes. The rules above, the catalog and the leaderboards can be read without one, and you can watch an open table from the sidelines.
- Does it cost anything to play Macao here?
- No. The site is free: no subscriptions, no in-game payments and no playing for money. The account is free too.
Now you know the rules.
Create a table and play — no account needed.