President (Scum)

President is a shedding card game where the goal is to empty your hand before everyone else. It appeared in the Western world during the 1980s and is a Westernized version of Chinese climbing games such as Zheng Shangyou and the Japanese Daifugo. Most players know it by harsher names like Scum or Asshole, and the social hierarchy is the whole point. The first player out becomes the President, the next is Vice President, and the last player holding cards is the Scum. In the full game the Scum pays a card tax to the President before the next hand, which makes it harder for the bottom player to climb and easier for the top player to stay there. The 2 is the highest card in the deck, outranking even the Ace, which trips up new players who expect Aces to win. A 2020 study in Sustainability on intergenerational play found that shedding and climbing card games strengthen social bonding and strategic thinking across age groups. Deal a hand in your browser and see if you can claim the top seat.

1. Four players share a 52-card deck, 13 cards each. The 2 is the highest card, followed by Ace, King, Queen, Jack, and so on down to the 3, which is the lowest.
2. The player holding the 3 of clubs leads the first hand and must include that card in their opening play.
3. On your turn, play a combination that beats the one currently on the table, or pass. Valid combinations are a single card, a pair, three of a kind, or four of a kind.
4. To beat the current play, your combination must be the same type (same number of cards) and a strictly higher rank. A pair of 8s beats a pair of 7s, but a single 9 cannot beat a pair.
5. If every other player passes in a row, the last player who played wins the pile and leads a fresh combination of any type.
6. The first player to empty their hand is the President. Play continues to rank the remaining players, with the last player holding cards becoming the Scum.

• A 52-card deck is dealt evenly. The 2 ranks highest, above the Ace. The 3 ranks lowest. Suits do not matter.
• Legal combinations are singles, pairs, three of a kind, and four of a kind. All cards in a combination must share the same rank.
• A play must match the type of the current combination and outrank it. You cannot switch from a pair to a single mid-pile.
• If you cannot or do not want to play, you pass. Passing does not skip your future turns in the next pile.
• When all other players pass, the pile clears and the player who last played leads a new combination of any type.
• Players are ranked by the order they empty their hands. First out is President, last out is Scum.

• Save your 2s. A single 2 beats any other single card and can break up an opponent's run toward the end. Hold them until they win you a cleared pile.
• Shed your low singles early. Low cards are hard to play late because any higher card beats them. Get rid of 3s, 4s, and 5s while the pile is still low.
• Break pairs only when you must. A pair of low cards is easier to dump in one play than two separate singles, so keep pairs intact until the right moment.
• Pass strategically. If a rival is about to empty their hand, passing keeps your high cards for a fresh pile where you can lead and control the pace.
• Count the high cards. Track which 2s and Aces have been played so you know whether your remaining high cards are safe to lead.

• Crazy Eights: Another shedding card game, but you match the top card by rank or suit and use 8s as wild. President trades the matching rule for the climbing combination mechanic.
• Daifugo: The Japanese climbing game that is the immediate ancestor of President. The rules are nearly identical, with 8s acting as revolution cards in some versions that reverse the rank order.
• Revolution President: A house rule where playing four of a kind instantly reverses the rank order, so 3s become the highest cards and 2s the lowest. It throws all careful planning into chaos.

• The social ranking system turns every hand into a mini drama of who climbs and who falls.
• Games are fast and forgiving, usually wrapping up in 5 to 15 minutes.
• The climbing combination rule is easy to learn but rewards careful card counting.
• It scales well from three to eight players, making it a flexible party game.

Play President directly in your browser against three computer opponents. No downloads. No registration. Our version enforces combination rules, tracks the pile, handles passes automatically, and ranks players as they empty their hands. Select cards from your hand, play a valid combination, or pass. Claim the President seat and see if the Scum can climb back next hand.

President is a fast, social shedding game where every hand reshuffles the hierarchy. Dump your low cards, save your 2s, count the high cards, and try to empty your hand first. Deal a hand now and see if you can climb from Scum to President.

• President (card game) - Wikipedia
• President - Britannica (history and rules)