THE RULES AT THIS TABLE
How to play
Dead Last.
Dead Last is a version of Shithead, also known as Palace, for two to five players. Your aim is to clear your hand and both rows of table cards. Everyone who clears their cards becomes safe; the final player left with cards is Dead Last. These are the default rules used by the game.
1. Deal and arrange your table
The game uses a standard 52-card deck without jokers. Each player receives three face-down cards, three face-up cards and three hand cards. The remaining cards form the draw pile. The face-down cards stay hidden until the final stage.
Before the first turn, you can swap cards between your hand and face-up row. You cannot inspect or swap the face-down cards. A useful starting plan is to leave flexible cards on the table and keep lower ordinary cards in your hand. The game chooses a starting player at random.
2. Take a normal turn
On an empty pile, any rank is legal. Otherwise, match or beat the effective top rank: ordinary cards run from 2 up to ace, with the special exceptions below. Suits do not affect legality. You can play one card or several cards of exactly the same rank; you cannot combine different ranks in one play.
After a valid play, draw until your hand holds at least three cards, or until the draw pile is empty. If you already have three or more cards, you do not draw. Getting rid of your hand while the draw pile still has cards does not let you jump straight to your table cards.
The 9 and king are legal; the 4 is not. Playing the 9 gets rid of an ordinary card while keeping the king for a higher pile later. If the draw pile still has cards, draw one card to bring this three-card hand back to three.
When you cannot play
If no known card in your current playable row is legal, pick up the entire discard pile. It becomes your hand and your turn ends. You cannot choose to pick up instead of playing when you have a legal known card, and you cannot pick up an empty pile. A pickup does not trigger an extra draw.
3. Know the five power cards
| Rank | Effect | Exact rule |
|---|---|---|
| 2 | Reset | Always legal. The next player can play any rank. |
| 3 | Invisible | Always legal. Look past it to the previous non-3 card to work out the next legal rank. |
| 7 | Go low | The next play must be 7 or lower, except that 2, 3 and 10 remain legal. The 7 itself must be legal on the current pile. |
| 8 | Skip | Each 8 skips one active seat. An 8 must satisfy the current rank rule. |
| 10 | Burn | Always legal. Remove the entire discard pile and play again, unless you have become safe. |
The effective top is still 9. The next player needs 9 or higher, or an unconditional 2, 3 or 10. If those 3s had followed a 2 instead, any rank would be legal.
A 4 or another 7 is legal here. A king is not. A 10 is an exception because it can always be played. You cannot put a 7 on a king just because the 7 has a special effect.
4. Burn a pile and take another turn
A 10 burns the pile immediately. Four or more physically consecutive cards of the same rank also burn it. The matching run can be built across several turns or completed by playing several matching cards together. A burned pile is removed from play rather than added to anyone’s hand.
Your queen completes four consecutive queens, so the pile burns. If you still have cards, you act again on an empty pile. A 3 between the queens would break the physical run, even though a 3 is invisible for rank comparisons.
Drawing back to three still happens after a valid burn while cards remain in the draw pile. If the burn clears your final card from every zone and you become safe, your extra turn passes to the remaining players.
5. Clear the table, then trust your luck
Once both your hand and the draw pile are empty, use your face-up row. The same rank rules and matching-card plays apply. If you cannot play a face-up card, pick up the pile, then clear that new hand before returning to your remaining face-up cards.
When your hand, face-up row and the draw pile are all empty, select exactly one hidden face-down card. You must try a card rather than picking up in advance. If its revealed rank is legal, it is played normally and its effect takes place. If it is illegal, the entire pile, including that revealed card, goes into your hand. Your turn ends and the illegal card’s special effect does not run.
The 5 cannot beat the king. You pick up both the pile and the revealed 5. Your remaining hidden cards stay on the table; clear the new hand before trying them.
You become safe only after a resolved turn leaves all three of your card zones empty. Safe players leave the turn rotation. The match ends as soon as only one active player remains, and that player is Dead Last.
The situations that catch people out
What does an 8 do with two players?
One 8 skips your only opponent, giving you another turn. Two 8s skip two active-seat steps, bringing the turn back to your opponent. Effects apply once per card played, so more 8s do not always mean more turns for you.
Can an invisible card hide a reset or a 7?
It hides neither effect. Look through trailing 3s: a 2 still permits any rank, and a 7 still requires 7 or lower. If a pile contains only 3s, it has no effective top and any rank is legal.
Is this the same as every Palace game?
No. House rules vary. Dead Last’s defaults have no joker and no reverse rank; its special cards are 2, 3, 7, 8 and 10. If you are used to different rules, use this guide as the reference for this table.
Want to see the controls? Follow the first-game walkthrough. For decisions beyond legal moves, read the strategy guide.