Canasta
1939
BGG Geek Rating
5.8
based on 1,573 ratings
BGG Average Rating
6.4
community average
BGG Ranking
#4252
all board games
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Players
2-6
Weight
2.14/5.00
Playtime
45 min
Age
12+
⚙️ Game Mechanics
How this game works - core systems and player actions
📂 Categories
🎨 Artists
🏢 Publishers
American Oil Company (AMOCO)
Arrco Playing Card Co.
Association of American Playing Card Manufacturers
Auto Novelties Ltd
Brimtoy
David Westnedge
De La Rue
Duratone
E. E. Fairchild Corporation
Gladstone Games
Go! Games
Guinness Publishing Ltd
H. P. Gibson & Sons
Handa
Heraclio Fournier
Holdson
Hudson Industries Pty. Ltd.
John Sands Pty Ltd
John Waddington Ltd.
LAKE IN THE GAMES
Piatnik
Pleasantime Games
(Public Domain)
Russell Manufacturing Company
The Denver Dry Goods Co
The United States Playing Card Company
The Valentine Publishing Co. Pty. Ltd.
TS Spielkarten
Waddington Sanders Ltd.
Waddingtons
Whitman
📖 About This Game
The game of Canasta is said to have originated in Montevideo, Uruguay, around 1940. From there it spread to Argentina, the USA and throughout the world. It was extremely fashionable in the 1950's, threatening for a while to displace Contract Bridge as the premier card game.
The rules were standardized in North America around 1950 and it was this version of the game that gained worldwide popularity. In many countries, Canasta is still played in more or less its original form, sometimes alongside a number of variations. In North America, however, the game of Canasta has continued to develop, and the version now favored by many American players, called Modern American Canasta, is very different from the classic game.
Canasta is generally agreed to be best for four players, playing in partnerships. However, there are playable versions for two, three or six players.
Canasta is a standard deck playing card game modified by adding two decks together and adding all four Jokers.