Build each suit outward from the seven, or pass and hold on.
Also called fan tan, parliament or domino. No tricks, no bluffing, just building four suits outward from the sevens — and deciding when to block.
A 52-card deck dealt out entirely. Hands will be uneven and that is fine.
Whoever holds the seven of diamonds plays it into the middle. If nobody has been dealt it, the holder of any seven may start, by agreement.
Play exactly one card, and only one of these:
A seven, starting a new suit row. A card one higher than the top end of an existing row — the eight on the seven, then the nine, up to the king. A card one lower than the bottom end — the six under the seven, then the five, down to the ace.
If you can play, you must. If you cannot, you pass.
The first player to shed every card wins. The others score penalty points for what is left in hand, one per card, or face value if you prefer a longer game.
Holding a seven back is the only real weapon in the game. Nobody can play a single card in that suit until it appears, so a player sitting on two sevens can lock the table for several rounds — at the cost of being stuck with them if the game ends first.
Holding the card immediately above or below a seven does much the same thing on a smaller scale.