Crabs in a Bucket

About this board game

Crabs in a Bucket is a fast-paced shedding card game for 2–6 players that plays in about 15 minutes. Blend luck and strategy as you race to play or discard every card in your hand.

Each player begins with seven cards. The deck includes 52 suited cards resembling a standard deck, along with 22 unsuited Joker Crabs, each based on a real crab species. During the game, players use two discard piles: one for suited cards and another for Joker Crabs.

To play a suited card, match the suit or number of the card on top of the main discard pile. After playing a suited card, you may also discard every higher-value card of the same suit from your hand, creating opportunities for powerful turns and surprising comebacks.

• Match suits or numbers to play suited cards.
• Chain higher cards of the same suit after a successful play.
• Use Joker Crab effects to disrupt opponents or create unique combinations.
• Draw cards when you cannot make a play at the end of your turn.

Joker Crabs bring distinctive effects to the table. Most can help you by forcing an opponent to draw from their hand or enabling special combinations. However, when a Jack, Queen, or King is on top of the main discard pile, Joker Crabs cannot be played.

The Lobster is the ultimate obstacle: it cannot be played at all. If it remains in your hand, you must find a creative way to discard it without playing it. With colorful crab characters, tactical hand management, and a race to shed your cards, Crabs in a Bucket delivers compact, lively card-game competition.