Squeeze

Original card game by Joseph E. Reed

 

Squeeze is a chord-spelling game that helps players remember what notes are in a chord and which ones are not.

 

2-5 players

 

Before starting, determine which type of chord you will be spelling and make sure you have a list or chart of all those chords available if you need it.  There are several different kinds of chords (Major, minor, augmented, diminished, 7th chords, and more).  For charts you can go to the TOOLS page.

 

Deal:

Deal five cards to each player. Put the rest of the cards face down in the centre of table to form the stock pile.

 

Play:

The first player plays any card (except for a wild).  Based on that card, following players take turns adding notes until chords are spelled. 

For example, lets say

As more cards are added, the possible notes are narrowed down (and other chords are “squeezed” out).  Play proceeds clockwise, starting with the player to dealer's left.  ?-13 and Clock (chromatic scale) cards are wild but can only be played as the note that completes the chord.

 

Whoever completes the chord by playing the last needed card, starts off the next play.

 

If a player does not have a card that can fit into the chord, they must draw a single card.  If the card they pull is usable, they may play it.  Otherwise they must pass.

 

Whenever a player runs out of cards they draw five more from the stock pile unless the pile is gone.

 

Variation 1: The first card played indicates the root note of the chord that is being spelled.

Example 1: If playing Major chords and the first person plays a C, then the next card must be either an E or a G since a C Major chord is spelled C-E-G.  Say the next player puts down a G.  So the final card must either be an E or a wild card.

Example 2: If playing Minor 7 chords and the first person plays a D, then the next possible cards are either an F, A, or C since a Dm7 chord is spelled D-F-A-C.  Again, the final card may be a wild card.

If there are no more cards to draw from the stock pile and a chord cannot be completed after every player has passed, the cards are discarded.  Whoever had played the first card of the chord will start off with a new card.

 

When one player plays their last card, it signals the last hand of the game.  Whatever cards still held by players after this hand are discarded and not counted.

 

Scoring:

Every chord spelled is 1 point.  Whoever gets the most points wins!

 

Variation 2 (more advanced): The first card played can be any note in the chord that is being spelled.

Example 1:  If playing Major chords and the first person plays a C, then the next card may be an E or a G for a C Major chord (C-E-G), an Ab or a Eb for an Ab Major Chord (Ab-C-Eb), or an F or an A for an F Major chord (F-A-C).

 

Say the next player puts down a G.  We now know the chord cannot be Ab or F, so the final card must either be an E or a wild card.

 

Example 2: If playing Minor 7 chords and the first person plays a D, then the possible chords are

Dm7: D-F-A-C

Bm7: B-D-F#-A

Gm7: G-Bb-D-F

Em7: E-G-B-D

 

If the next card played is a G, then that squeezes out the Dm7 and Bm7 chords (since they don’t contain a G) so we’re left with Gm7 or Em7.

 

If the next card is a B then we know that the chord is Em7 (Gm7 doesn’t have a B) and that the final card must be an E. Again, the final card may be a wild card.

 

Variation 3:

Deal out all of the cards at the beginning so that all players have an equal number of cards.  Any extra cards are not included in play.  Everything else proceeds as above except if a player doesn’t have needed card, they simply pass. If a chord cannot be completed after every player has passed, the cards are discarded.  Whoever had played the first card of the chord will start off with a new card.