Yaniv | יניב

Ever wonder how Israelis are so committed to their card games? They are probably playing Yaniv, one of Israel’s most popular and addictive card games.

It isn’t clear who invented the game and when, but legend has it that an Israeli backpacker by the name of Yaniv, along with his friend Asaf, invented the game while traveling through Nepal with a deck of cards!

Many claim to have run across the game in different countries all around the world, so the origin isn’t 100% known, and might never be. But as far as we’re concerned, it is definitely an Israeli creation!

The game is very simple, and perfect for all ages. All you need is a full deck of cards and at least two excited players.

How to play ♣♥♠♦

Joker is worth 0 points, Ace - 1, any face card (King, Queen, Jack) is 10 points, and the rest are the amount of the card number.

In a clockwise motion, each player picks up a card from the pile, and can then choose whether to keep it and switch out a card he already has or toss it back into the center pile. The point of the round is to reach less than 5 points in your hand. If that’s you, yell Yaniv! If you have the least amount of points you win the round, and the rest of the players collect the number of points they have in their hand.

This game can be played for hours on end, it’s so entertaining! There are many variations and exciting rule additions, so once you become an expert, be sure to amp up your game!