Jackaroo Rules — the complete rulebook
Jackaroo (جكارو) is the Gulf's favourite board-and-card race game: playing cards drive marbles around a shared track. These are the full Jackaroo card game rules exactly as played on Karooty, where you can play free in your browser.
Setup and teams
- 4 players, 2 teams — you and the player sitting across from you are partners.
- Each player has 4 marbles waiting in their base (the four holes beside the board).
- The race: bring your marbles out of the base, send them once around the shared track, and bring all of them into your goal — the four protected holes branching off the track.
- The game uses two standard 52-card decks shuffled together. Each player is dealt a hand of 4 cards; when every hand is empty, new hands are dealt (the discards are reshuffled in when the draw pile runs low).
How a turn works
On your turn you play one card from your hand and make the move it allows. If none of your cards gives you any legal move, you must burn a card instead — discard it with no effect and pass the turn. You never simply skip for free. Play then passes clockwise to the next player.
Card values table
| Card | What it does |
|---|---|
| A | Bring a marble out of your base onto your start square, or move a marble 1 or 11 steps. |
| 2, 3 | Move 2 or 3 steps forward. |
| 4 | Move 4 steps backward (track only — never inside the goal). |
| 5 | The wildcard: move any marble on the track — yours, your partner's or an opponent's — 5 steps forward. See "The 5 wildcard" below. |
| 6 | Move 6 steps forward. |
| 7 | Move 7 steps, or split the 7 between two marbles (each part at least 1). |
| 8, 9 | Move 8 or 9 steps forward. |
| 10 | Move 10 steps, or make the next player blindly discard one card and lose their turn. |
| J | Swap one of your marbles with any other marble on the open track (rival or partner — never one of your own, never a marble protected on its base). |
| Q | Move 12 steps forward. |
| K | Bring a marble out of your base, or move 13 steps as the plough: every marble it passes or lands on — friend or foe — is sent home. |
Bringing a marble out, and base protection
An Ace or King brings a marble out of your base onto your start square on the track. If an opponent's marble is sitting there, it gets captured and sent back to its base. If your own or your partner's marble occupies the square, you can't bring one out until it moves.
A marble standing on its own start square is fully protected: nobody may pass it, land on it, capture it, or swap with it — even the King's plough stops dead at it (that King move is simply illegal).
Movement, blocking and captures
- You may never pass over or land on your own marble (the only exceptions: the King's plough mows through everything, and the 5 wildcard passes over anything).
- Partners' and opponents' marbles can be passed over freely.
- Capture: land exactly on a marble and it is sent back to its owner's base. This applies to opponents and to your partner's marbles — landing on your teammate sends them home too, so count your steps.
The special cards in detail
King plough (13): the marble charges 13 steps and every marble in its path — passed or landed on, friend or foe — goes back to its base. Only a base-protected marble stops it.
The 5 wildcard: moves any marble on the track 5 forward. Pushing an opponent's marble never takes it into their goal — it is shoved straight past their goal entrance along the track, forcing another lap. Whoever's marble sits on the landing square is captured, friend or foe.
The 7 split: divide the 7 steps between two marbles (6+1, 5+2, 4+3 …) or spend all 7 on one. Each part follows normal movement rules. If your part puts your last marble into the goal, the remainder may be spent on your partner's marble.
The 10 skip: instead of moving 10, you may target the next player: pick one of their cards blindly — they discard it and lose their turn.
Jack swap: exchange the positions of one of your track marbles and any other track marble. Marbles in a base, a goal, or protected on their start square can't be swapped.
Entering the goal
- Entering the goal requires an exact count — a move that overshoots the last goal hole is illegal.
- An enemy marble sitting on your goal entrance (the last track square before your goal lane) blocks you from turning in until it moves or is captured. Your own team never blocks you.
- Marbles inside the goal are untouchable — no capture, no swap, no plough can reach them. They can't be jumped either, so a marble ahead of yours in the lane blocks the holes behind it.
Winning — and helping your partner
Once all 4 of your marbles are in your goal, your cards now move your partner's marbles. The game ends when a team gets all 8 of its marbles into their goals — that team wins.
Frequently asked questions
Can the 5 move an opponent's marble into their goal?
No. When a 5 pushes a marble that isn't on your team, it travels along the open track only and is pushed straight past its own goal entrance — it has to go all the way around again.
What happens if I have no legal move?
You must burn a card: discard one card from your hand with no effect and pass the turn. You never skip a turn without giving up a card.
Can the King's plough capture marbles inside a goal?
No. Marbles inside the goal are fully protected from everything — captures, swaps, the 5 wildcard and the King's plough.
Can I land on my partner's marble?
You can, but it counts as a capture — your partner's marble is sent back to its base. Only your own marbles can't be landed on at all.
How many cards and decks does Jackaroo use?
On Karooty, Jackaroo uses two standard 52-card decks shuffled together. Each player holds 4 cards, and fresh hands are dealt whenever every hand is empty.