Paw and Claw

Setup

2–6 players, free-for-all. Decks scale as players + 1. Each player gets a 13-card Paw and Claw. Four rounds open at 50 / 90 / 120 / 150.

Cards

• Wilds (20): 2s — four per deck
• Wilds (50): Jokers — four per deck
• Red 3s: +100, set aside, replaced
• Black 3s: Discard only; block the pile; −100 if left in paw/claw

Turn

Draw two cards: both from stock, or take the top discard as one card and draw the other from stock (not when a black 3 blocks the pile). You may instead pick up up to 7 cards from the discard pile into your hand if you hold two matching naturals for the top card — then nest yourself (including that top card) and discard one.

Nests & wilds

Lay 3+ cards of the same natural rank (4–Ace). You may keep more than one nest of the same rank. Expand a nest and select 3+ cards to split them into a new nest (source stays at least 3). 2s and jokers are wild — add them to any of those ranks. A nest or pack with any wild is dirty; all naturals is clean. You need at least one natural (wilds alone cannot form a nest). Threes never nest. On your turn (and again before scores lock), you may move a wild from one of your nests to another as long as the source stays at least 3 cards — e.g. to clean a dirty pack.

Packs & going out

Packs are 7+ cards (clean +500, dirty +300). Empty your Paw to pick up Claw. You cannot empty your Claw / go out until you have ≥1 clean pack and ≥1 dirty pack.

Closing turns

When a player goes out, every other player gets one more turn: draw, nest, discard one card (even your last card without packs), then nest any leftover playable cards, then tap Finished. Scores appear after everyone has finished and wilds are rearranged.

House rule: Claw on last turn

If enabled in the lobby / setup, a player still in Paw may pick up Claw and play on their go-out or closing turn.

House rule: Steal from nests

Off by default. The host (or you, when playing vs bots) must enable it before the game starts. Then, once per opponent each round, you may take a nest card you can add to your own nest (their nest must stay at 3+). They'll see that a card was taken.

Turn alerts (iPhone)

Add Paw & Claw to your Home Screen, then allow notifications to get an alert when it becomes your turn in a hosted game. Requires server VAPID keys.