Third Wheel

Goal

3 players. Two play as the Duo. One is the Third Wheel. Roles are random.

• Duo: play cards to a combined score of exactly 100.
• Third Wheel: exhaust the shared draw deck before the Duo hits 100.

The deck

54 cards. Four suits — Heart, Flowers, Ring, Disco — ranks 1–13, plus 2 Wilds (the jester).

Everyone draws from the same deck. The Third Wheel starts with 5 cards. Each Duo player holds 5 and draws one at the start of their turn.

Turn order

Player 1 (Duo) → Third Wheel → Player 2 (Duo) → Third Wheel.

Duo turn

Draw one, then play one card. Its rank adds to the shared score. A Wild is 14 — a liability for the Duo.

• Score exactly 100 → Duo wins.
• Score over 100 → Bust. Score drops to 50.

Third Wheel turn

If they hold a card that matches the face value just played, they may play it. A Wild matches anything.

A match removes both cards from the game and subtracts the Duo card from the score. The Third Wheel draws a replacement only after a successful match. No match → they pass.

Bots

Easy bots play their lowest card (Duo) or match if they can (Third Wheel). Harder Duo bots try to land on 100 without busting.

House rules

Optional toggles in the lobby. Default play is unchanged.

Snap Match. The Third Wheel has no normal turn. After each Duo card they can match, play an action, SLAP!, or pass — then the next Duo player goes. A slap hit cancels the card. A miss means they discard one card of their choice.

Double-Down. When the Duo plays the same rank twice in a row, the next Duo player and the Third Wheel race to slap. Duo slap first: the score freezes and cannot drop below that total (even on a bust). Third Wheel slap first: the last two matching cards come off the table.

Action Cards. The deck becomes 60 cards (the two wilds become Take a Hike).

• Awkward Silence — after the Third Wheel cancels, the Duo can shield so the score stays. The Third Wheel can play it after a Duo card to cancel it without a match, or to counter that shield.
• Talking Too Much — the Third Wheel withdraws the last scoring card when the Duo is close to 100. The Duo removes the last Awkward Silence block.
• Read the Room — play from your hand to swap a random card between the Duo and the Third Wheel.
• Take a Hike — the Duo plays it as any rank 1–13. The Third Wheel uses it as any rank for matching and blocking.

Play Out Hands. When the draw deck is empty, the Duo keeps playing the cards left in their hands. The Third Wheel cannot slap, match, or block. If they hit 100 they win; if both hands are out of scoring cards, the Third Wheel wins.