How to play Matatu
Matatu Classic uses the rules Ugandans know and love. Here’s everything you need — from your first card to the cut.
Your turn, step by step
- DealEach player gets 7 cards. One card beside the deck sets the cut suit for the whole game.
- OpenThe table starts empty — the first player opens with any card.
- MatchPlay a card with the same suit or number as the top card on the table.
- Or pickCan’t play? Tap the deck to pick a card. Then it’s your opponent’s turn.
Cards that change the game
Learn these and you’ll be cutting like a pro.
2 — pick two
Your opponent must pick 2 cards. They can answer with their own 2 — then you pick 2 instead.
Ace of spades blocks a 2
Facing a 2? Play the Ace of spades: nobody picks, and play starts again — the other player can play any card of any suit. Played normally, it’s an ordinary Ace.
8 and J — miss a turn
Your opponent misses their turn, so you play again straight away.
Ace — ask for a suit
Play an Ace on any card and choose the suit your opponent must follow. An Ace played as your last card ends the game.
The cut — 7 of the cut suit
The face-up card beside the deck sets the cut suit; it stays there all game and is never picked. Whoever plays the 7 of that suit ends the game immediately: both hands are counted and the lower total wins. The cutting 7 can be played at any time.
Card values
After a cut, add up the cards left in each hand. The player with fewer points wins.
More rules
Win outright
Play all your cards to win the game straight away.
25 seconds a move
From 10 seconds left your phone buzzes. If time runs out, you lose.
Reshuffle
When the deck is down to 5 cards, all played cards except the 5 newest are shuffled back in.
20-card limit
With 20 or more cards you can only pick when you have nothing to play — no matching card and no Ace (facing a 2: no 2 and no Ace of spades).
Draws
If a cut ends with equal totals, the game is a draw and stakes are returned.
Practise first
Try every rule against the computer — free and offline — before you play online.