Karma Card Game — Rules, How to Play & Where to Play Online
Everything you need to know about the Karma card game — rules, how to play, Australian variations, special cards, and where to play Karma online.
Karma Card Game — Complete Guide
If you’ve ever sat cross-legged on a hostel floor in Byron Bay, dealt cards on a picnic blanket at a beach barbecue, or played round after round in someone’s share house while the kettle boiled — you’ve played Karma. You might not have known the rules were made up on the spot. You definitely didn’t question the name. It was just Karma, and everyone seemed to know how it worked until someone from overseas sat down and called it something completely different.
The karma card game is one of the most popular informal card games in Australia and New Zealand. It goes by other names in other countries — Shithead in most of Europe, Castle in parts of Scandinavia, Palace in North America, Shed in the UK — but in Australia and New Zealand, Karma is the name that stuck. Same shedding card game, different label depending on where you learned it.
This guide covers everything about the karma card game — what it is, the full karma card game rules, what’s holding it back, and where the game goes from here.
What Is Karma?
Karma is a shedding card game for 2–5 players using a standard 52-card deck (some groups add Jokers). The game likely originated in Scandinavia before spreading globally through backpacker culture during the 1980s and 90s. And if there’s one country where backpacker culture runs deep, it’s Australia.
The game arrived in Australia and New Zealand through the same hostels, campgrounds, and working holiday circuits that brought travellers from Europe and the UK. Somewhere along the way, it picked up the name Karma — possibly a nod to the blind face-down cards at the end of the game, where your fate comes down to pure luck. What goes around comes around. The name fit, and it spread through Australian share houses, school camps, and beach trips until most Aussie and Kiwi players assumed Karma was the game’s real name.
Unlike poker or bridge, Karma was never formally published. It spread word of mouth, taught around campfires and on long drives up the coast. That organic spread is exactly why there’s no single “official” ruleset — and why every group from Melbourne to Queenstown seems to play it slightly differently.
Karma Card Game Rules
Here’s a condensed overview of how to play Karma. If you’ve played any version of this shedding card game before, most of this will be familiar — though the specifics around special cards are where groups tend to diverge.
Setup
Each player receives 9 cards:
- 3 face-down (you can’t look at these)
- 3 face-up (placed on top of face-down cards, visible to everyone)
- 3 in hand
The remaining cards form a draw pile. Before play begins, players can swap cards between their hand and face-up cards to set up a stronger endgame position. Experienced Karma players will place their best special cards face-up to guarantee access to them later — it’s one of the few moments in the game where genuine strategy matters.
How to Play Karma
- The player with the lowest card goes first
- On your turn, play a card equal to or higher than the top of the pile
- After playing, draw back up to 3 cards (while the draw pile exists)
- If you can’t play, you pick up the entire pile
- Once the draw pile is empty and your hand is gone, play your face-up cards
- After those, play your face-down cards blind — one at a time, hoping for the best
- First player to clear all their cards wins. The last player left is the loser — and in true Australian fashion, they won’t hear the end of it
Common Special Cards
Most groups playing the karma card game use some form of special cards. These are the ones you’ll encounter most often across Australia and New Zealand, though the exact rules shift from table to table:
| Card | Common Effect |
|---|---|
| 2 | Reset — can be played on anything, resets the pile |
| 5 | Next card must be 5 or lower (common AU/NZ house rule) |
| 7 | Next card must be 7 or lower |
| 10 | Burns the pile, removing it from play |
| Four of a Kind | Also burns the pile |
The problem? Ask five different groups and you’ll get five different versions of these rules. The 5 and the 7 are especially contentious — some groups use one, some use the other, some use both, and some don’t make either card special at all.
For a detailed look at how special cards work in a structured, no-arguments ruleset, check out Joker Palace Game Info.
AU/NZ-Specific Karma Variations
Australian and New Zealand Karma has a few common house rules you might not encounter in other countries:
- The “lower” 5 — in many Australian groups, playing a 5 forces the next player to play a 5 or lower. This is less common outside of AU/NZ, where 7 typically fills the “play lower” role
- Jokers in the deck — some Aussie groups include Jokers as wild cards that can be played on anything, or that force the next player to pick up the pile
- “Pick up and skip” — a variation where if you pick up the pile, your turn is also skipped, punishing you twice. More common in casual beach games
- Multiple cards — some AU/NZ groups allow playing multiple cards of the same rank in a single turn, speeding up the game significantly
- No swapping — a minority of groups skip the pre-game swap phase, making the endgame entirely luck-based from the start
The Problem with Karma Today
Karma is one of those games that takes two minutes to learn and works anywhere you’ve got a deck of cards. But if you’ve played it seriously, you’ve hit the same walls everyone does.
House Rules Are a Mess
Every group plays differently. Does the 5 force lower or is it the 7? Can you play a 2 on anything or not on a 10? Does four-of-a-kind clear the pile or just end the turn? Can you stack multiple cards of the same rank? There’s no authority to settle any of it, so every new group — every hostel, every camping trip, every share house — means re-negotiating the karma card game rules before a single card is played.
No Competitive Format
Karma has no ranked play, no matchmaking, and no way to measure improvement. You play a few rounds, someone cops the loss, and that’s it. There’s no progression, no stats, and no way to test yourself against skilled opponents outside your immediate circle. If you’re genuinely good at Karma, there’s nothing to show for it.
No Proper Digital Version
If you’ve searched for “karma card game” online, you’ll know the options are grim. Most shedding card game apps are bare-bones — clunky interfaces, inconsistent rule implementations, and multiplayer that barely functions. The game was designed for a physical table, and most digital ports feel like afterthoughts. None of them capture the feeling of actually playing Karma with mates.
Luck Dominates the Endgame
The face-down card phase is Karma’s signature moment — and also its most frustrating. You’ve spent the entire game managing your hand carefully, making smart swaps and timing your special cards. Then it all comes down to blind flips. One bad card and you’re scooping up a massive pile with no way to have prevented it. Strategy takes a back seat to pure luck right when it matters most. You could say it’s… karma.
If You Love Karma, You’ll Love What Comes Next
Joker Palace takes the shedding mechanic that makes Karma addictive — the card phases, the pile management, the “don’t get stuck” tension — and rebuilds it for competitive online play. It’s not just Karma with an app. It’s what the karma card game would be if it had been designed with strategy and balance in mind from the start.
The house-rule chaos is gone. Joker Palace uses five structured special cards — including Override (only another Override can answer it), Reverse Rank (flips the entire card order), and Extra Turn (enables combos and tempo plays) — each with a clear, consistent effect. No more arguing about whether the 5 or the 7 forces lower before every game.
On top of that, Chaos Joker effects can trigger mid-match when a Joker is played, changing the rules for everyone at the table. That weak hand you were holding might suddenly become the strongest — or the other way around. It rewards adaptability over memorisation.
And the part Karma never had: a ranked competitive ladder with ELO-based matchmaking, stat tracking, and tiered progression. You’re not just playing to avoid being the loser. You’re playing to climb.
For the full breakdown of every special card, chaos effect, and the ranked system, see the complete Joker Palace game rules. For advanced competitive tactics, check out our Advanced Palace Card Game Strategies guide.
Ready to Play Karma Online?
If the karma card game got you hooked on shedding card games, Joker Palace is the next step. One ruleset, real competition, and mechanics that reward smart play over lucky draws.
FAQ
Is Karma the same as Shithead?
Yes. Karma, Shithead, Palace, Castle, Shed, and China Hand are all names for the same core shedding card game. The rules vary slightly between groups, but the gameplay — face-down cards, face-up cards, hand cards, and a central pile — is the same across all versions. “Karma” is the most common name in Australia and New Zealand, while other regions use different names for the identical game.
How many players can play Karma?
Karma is typically played with 2 to 5 players. Three or four players tend to produce the best games — there are enough cards in the draw pile for strategy to develop, but rounds don’t drag on. Two-player Karma is more of a tactical duel, while five-player games get chaotic fast as the pile grows unpredictably.
What are the special cards in Karma?
There’s no official standard. Most Australian Karma groups use 2 as a reset card, 5 or 7 as a “play lower” rule, and 10 as a pile burner, but the specifics vary enormously from group to group. Joker Palace standardises this with five defined special cards: 02 Reset, 03 Override (only another 03 can answer it), 05 Extra Turn, 09 Reverse Rank (flips the order so lower beats higher), and 10 Destroy (removes the pile from play). Four-of-a-kind also destroys the pile. See the full special cards breakdown for details.
Where can I play Karma online?
Joker Palace is one way to play a Karma-style shedding card game online. It features real-time multiplayer for 2–5 players, ranked matchmaking, and a fixed ruleset with special cards and Chaos Joker effects. Available free on iOS and Android.
What’s the difference between Karma and Joker Palace?
Karma is the informal card game you learned from mates — no fixed rules, no ranking, no digital infrastructure. Joker Palace takes that same shedding foundation and gives it the structure Karma never had: defined special cards with strategic depth (Override, Extra Turn, Reverse Rank), Chaos Joker effects that reshape the game mid-match, and a competitive ranked ladder with 9 tiers from Wood to Master. Think of it as the evolution of the karma card game built for online play.