Canasta: play free online

You get the classic rules, 108 cards, a learning mode with a coach and a daily deal, on a phone or a computer.

How to play Canasta online on Klyo

Start your turn by drawing: tap the stock or the Draw from stock button. To take the whole pile, select the matching cards in your hand and tap the pile or Take the pile. Then choose cards to meld. The Meld button lays them down, and tapping one of your melds adds wild cards to it. One selected card and Discard end your turn.

Canasta rules

The game uses two decks with four jokers, and everyone gets 11 cards. Jokers and twos are wild. A meld is at least three cards of one rank, from four to ace, with at least two natural cards and at most three wild ones. Seven cards make a canasta. Red threes go straight onto the table and you draw replacements. You may take the pile only to meld its top card at once. If it is frozen, meaning a wild card lies inside or your pair has not melded yet, you need a natural pair of that rank. A black three or a wild card on top blocks the pile. A deal ends when someone runs out of cards, which requires a canasta in the pair, or when the stock runs out.

Scoring and the first meld

A joker is worth 50 points, a two or an ace 20, eight to king 10, and four to seven or a black three 5. A natural canasta scores 500, a mixed one 300, and going out 100, or 200 in a single turn. A red three is 100, and all four are 800. Cards left in both partners' hands count against you. A pair's first meld needs at least 50 points, 90 from 1500 points, 120 from 3000, and only 15 with a score below zero.

Canasta strategy: how to win

Make your first meld early, because until then red threes subtract points instead of adding them. Hold on to natural pairs, since only they open a frozen pile, and a big pile often decides the deal. Do not spend wild cards too soon: a natural canasta is worth 200 more, and a meld holds at most three wild cards. Throw a black three when the next opponent could take the pile, and avoid ranks your rivals have already melded. Going out brings only 100, so do not rush if you can still build a canasta.

Modes and levels

Short plays to 2000 points and Classic to 5000, both at easy, normal or hard level. The Daily deal gives everyone the same starting cards, stays at normal level and keeps its own streak. Learn plays to 2000 points with a coach who explains each step, while your rivals play slower and weaker.

What makes this version different

The Hint button selects cards and leaves the decision to you. After every deal a table breaks down melds, canastas, red threes, going out and cards in hand.

Where did Canasta come from?

Canasta appeared in South America in the 1940s, in Uruguay and Argentina, and its name is the Spanish word for basket. It became popular in the United States and Great Britain in the 1950s.