Looking for a specific 5 Alive rule: | Setup | Playing the Game | Card Meanings | Elimination | Winning the Game | Sudden Death Variant | Team Game | FAQ | Components |
This post will detail how to play both the 1994 and 2021 versions of 5 Alive. The rules between the two versions are exactly the same. The look of the cards have changed though. Most of the pictures below show both the 1994 and 2021 versions of cards.
Objective of 5 Alive
The objective of the game is to be the last player with at least one Alive card remaining face up on the table.
Setup
- Give each player a set of five Alive cards of the same color.
- Return any Alive cards not given to a player to the box.
- Shuffle the rest of the cards. Deal ten cards face down to each player. Players can look at their own cards, but shouldn’t show them to the other players.
- Place the rest of the cards facedown in the center of the table to form a draw pile.
- The player that has been alive the longest, starts the game. Play will proceed clockwise to start the game.
Playing the Game
On your turn you will play one of the cards from your hand to the discard pile. Depending on what card you play, you will take a corresponding action.
If you play a number card, you will add the number printed on the card to the running total. To start the round the total will start at zero.
Every number card that is played will add to the total. When playing number cards you don’t want the total to go past 21.
If you play a Wild card (every card that isn’t a number card), you will take the action corresponding to the card that you played. See the 5 Alive Cards section below to see what each Wild card does.
If the only cards in your hand are number cards that will put the running total over 21, do not play a card on your turn. You will turn over one of your Alive cards to the other side. The running total then resets to zero.
If the card you played was the last card in your hand, all of the other players must flip over one of their Alive cards. The player who played the last card from their hand becomes the dealer. They will reshuffle all of the cards (not including the Alive cards). A new round then begins.
After playing a card, play passes to the next player in turn order.
5 Alive Cards
Here is a breakdown of all of the types of cards in the game. If the card doesn’t specifically mention changing the current running total, the card does not affect the running total. The pictures below show the cards from both the 1994 and 2021 versions of the game. The card on the left is the 1994 version of the card. The card on the right is the 2021 version.
Number Cards
Number cards add to the current running total when they are played. You will add the number from the card to the current running total in order to get the new total. You cannot play a number card if it would put the total above 21.
Draw 1
All of the players, other than the player who played the card, have to take one card from the draw pile.
Draw 2
All of the players, other than the player who played the card, have to take two cards from the draw pile.
Pass Me By
The card adds zero to the running total. After playing the card, play passes to the next player in turn order.
Reverse
The direction of play will reverse. If play was moving clockwise/left, it will now move counter-clockwise/right. If play was moving counter-clockwise/right, it will now move clockwise/left. When there are only two players, the card acts the same as a Pass Me By card.
Skip
The next player in turn order loses their turn. If there are only two players in the game, the player who played the card gets to immediately play another card.
=21
Set the running total to 21. You can play the =21 card when the total is already 21.
=10
Set the running total to 10.
=0
Set the running total to 0.
Re-Deal/Hand In & Re-Deal
The player who played the card gathers all of the cards from all of the players’ hands. They will shuffle the cards they gathered including the cards they held in their own hand. The cards are then dealt out to the players starting with the player to the left of the player who played the card. Reset the running total to 0. Play will then continue normally. If this was the last card in the player’s hand, the round ends and the rest of the players have to turn over one of their Alive cards.
Bomb
When you play this card, all of the other players must immediately play a 0 card (this does not include =0 cards or any other Wild cards). Any player that is unable to play a 0 card, has to turn over one of their Alive cards. Then reset the running total to 0.
Elimination
When a player turns over their fifth Alive card, they are immediately eliminated from the game.
Winning 5 Alive
The last player remaining with at least one Alive card face up wins the game.
Sudden Death Variant
Instead of using the normal end game criteria, you can choose to use this variant. This variant leads to a shorter game.
When the first player flips over their fifth Alive card, the game ends. The remaining players count how many of their Alive cards they haven’t flipped over. The player with the most Alive cards that haven’t been flipped over, wins the game.
If there is a tie, the tied players add up the value of the number cards left in their hand. The tied player with the lowest total wins the game.
Team Game Variant
Normally the game is played individually. You can play with this variant if you want to play in teams.
The players divide into two teams. Team members should sit where the two teams will alternate turns.
Each team only uses one set of five Alive cards. Each player gets their own set of ten cards for their hand though.
All Wild cards are treated the same as the normal game. If a Bomb card is played, a team could lose multiple Alive cards if more than one player doesn’t have a 0 card.
When a player plays the last card from their hand, the other team loses one of their lives.
When one team flips over their last Alive card, the other team wins the game.
For my thoughts on the game check out my 5 Alive Card Game Review.
5 Alive FAQ
If you have any questions about how to play the game, leave a comment below on this post. I will try to answer any questions asked as best and as quickly as possible.
Say I play a Bomb card and the rest of the players play a 0 card in order to avoid losing one of their Alive cards. What is the running total and whose turn is it?
When a player plays a Bomb card it automatically resets the running total to zero no matter what players are able to play a 0 card.
As for whose turn it is if all of the players play a 0 card, that is more up to interpretation. The instructions don’t really say what you should do. I personally would handle it where playing the 0 cards to avoid losing an Alive card does not count as those players turns. These cards are just played in response to Bomb card being played. Therefore I would say that the player after the one who played the Bomb card takes the next turn.
Components
- 108 cards
- Instructions
Year: 1990 | Publisher: Hasbro Gaming, International Games Inc. | Designer: Eàmon Bloomfield | Artist: NA
Genres: Card
Ages: 7+ | Number of Players: 2-6 | Length of Game: 20-20 minutes
Difficulty: Light | Strategy: Light | Luck: Moderate-High
Components: 108 cards, instructions
Where to Purchase: Amazon, eBay Any purchases made through these links (including other products) help keep Geeky Hobbies running. Thank you for your support.
For more board and card game rules/how to plays, check out our complete alphabetical list of card and board game rules posts.
Ty
Saturday 7th of September 2024
Can you play an equals 21 card right off the bat as the first card
Eric Mortensen
Monday 9th of September 2024
The rules at least for the newer version of the game don't put any restrictions on when you can play the =21 card. Therefore I see no reason why you couldn't play it as the first card. In fact this is a good way to potentially force the next player to lose one of their Alive cards right away if they don't have any cards that can't keep the total below 21.
Emil Haggar
Saturday 24th of August 2024
If there are two players remaining and one player holds the following cards, 2 ‘pass me by’ cards, one ‘reverse card’ and one ‘zero’ card……… Does this mean that this player, If they play - one ‘pass me by’ card followed by a ‘reverse’ card followed by a ‘pass me by’ card, followed by the ‘zero’ card,,, and win the round without the other player participating …..is this correct?
Eric Mortensen
Saturday 24th of August 2024
My answer here is based off the rules for the newer version of the game so things might differ with the older version of the game. I don't think the newer version changed anything that would change my answer, but I don't have easy access to the rules of the older version of the game at this time to verify.
Based on how I interpreted the rules, I don't think it would work in the way that you are describing. When there are only two players, the Reverse card acts as a Pass Me By card. The Pass Me By card does not act like a skip card though. It basically acts like a 0 card, but it doesn't have the benefit of being able to be used with a Bomb card. When you play a Pass Me By card it basically makes you add zero to the total and then play passes to the next player. In two player games the other player would get to take their turn after you play the card. The rules specifically say for the Skip card in two player games you get to take another turn right away. It does not say this for either the Pass Me By or the Reverse card so I assume it doesn't apply to either of these cards.
In your situation when you play the first Pass Me By card, you would add zero to the total. Then the other player would take their turn. The Reverse and other Pass Me By cards would work in the same way.
Jackie M
Thursday 30th of May 2024
If a player plays their last card and it happens to put the players over 21 points.1) Does that player still win the round and doesn't lose a life and 2) does the other players lose a life?
Eric Mortensen
Thursday 30th of May 2024
If the player's last card would put the total over 21, they can't play it. In the rules for the older version of the game, it specifically says "If you can only take the total above 21, then you do not play the card but must flip over an Alive card." I would interpret this to mean that the player wouldn't be able to play their last card. They would have to turn over and Alive card and the total would be reset to 0. Since the player was unable to play the card, the other players wouldn't have to turn over one of their Alive cards.
Linda
Sunday 26th of May 2024
What happens if the BOMB card is the last card played. Is it treated just like the last card played. Thank you
Eric Mortensen
Tuesday 28th of May 2024
Unfortunately your question isn't directly addressed in the rules. Therefore I can't give a definitive answer on how it should be handled. It would would be best if all of the players playing the game can agree on how it will be handled.
When you play a Bomb card as the last card from your hand, all of the other players definitely lose one of their Alive cards since you played all of the cards from your hand.
The question is whether you also take the action from the Bomb card as well. If you do this means all of the players would have to play a 0 card or they would lose another Alive card. The rules are not specific on whether the action of the last played card is applied. Therefore it is up to the players to decide. I personally would say that the other players would have to play a 0 card or they lose a second Alive card.
I am sorry that I couldn't give you a definitive answer for your question.
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