Dutch Blitz is a card game of speed that is perfect for 2-4 players.
How do you play Dutch Blitz? In Dutch Blitz, players use cards from their Post, Blitz, and Wood Piles to build upon Dutch Piles in the center of the table. Dutch Piles begin with a “1” card and may be build up by adding cards of the same color in ascending order. The first player to exhaust his Blitz pile wins the round.
In the following, we’ll tell you exactly how to set up and play Dutch Blitz as well as a great outdoor variation of the game.
- Contains Dutch Blitz and Expansion Set
- Combine packs to play with up to 8 players
Playing Dutch Blitz: Quick Guide
Each deck of Dutch Blitz has a different design printed on the back, either a pump, carriage, pail, or plow.
The faces of the red and blue cards feature a Pennsylvania Dutch boy, while the faces of the yellow and green cards show a Pennsylvania Dutch girl.
- Number of players: Dutch Blitz can be played with 2, 3, or 4 people. You can purchase an expansion pack to play Dutch Blitz with up to 8 players.
- Deck: Dutch Blitz is played with 4 decks of 40 cards each, for a total of 160 cards.
- Object of the game: The object of the game is to use as many cards from your Blitz pile as possible to build cards in sequential order of the same colors in the center Dutch piles.
- Winning the game: Whoever accumulates 75 points first wins the game.
Setting Up the Game
Each player chooses one of the deck designs (pail, plow, carriage, or pump) to keep throughout the game and will build three groups of cards in front of them to play with.
These groups of cards are called the Post, Blitz, and Wood Piles.
- Shuffle the Cards – Each player shuffles their hand (which should contain 40 cards) face down.
- Create the Post Piles – Players each place the top three cards from their hand face up in front of them. These cards constitute the three Post Piles. If only two people are playing, each player will create 5 Post Piles instead of 3.
- Create the Blitz Piles – Each player counts out 10 cards and places them in a stack to their right, in line with the Post Piles. This stack of 10 cards is their personal Blitz Pile.
- Keep Remaining Cards in Hand Facedown- These cards will be flipped over three at a time to gradually build the Wood Pile.
Understanding the Piles
There are four different types of piles in Dutch Blitz: the Dutch Piles, the Post Piles, the Wood Piles, and the Blitz Piles.
Dutch Piles
The Dutch Piles are stacks of cards of each color that are formed in the center of the play area. They are played in sequential order in ascending order from 1-10.
All players can play their cards on the Dutch Piles. The Dutch Piles are where players accumulate points.
Post Piles
The Post Piles are stacked to the left of the Blitz and Wood Piles. The Post Piles are built sequentially in descending order alternating boy, girl, boy, girl, and so on.
The top card from any of the Post Piles may be played onto the Dutch Piles when possible.
Wood Piles
The Wood Pile is stacked to the player’s right and is built from cards in that player’s hand. The Wood Piles are created from sets of three cards turned over at a time.
Blitz Piles
The Blitz Pile is stacked to the right of the player and contains 10 cards. The Blitz Pile is used to “Blitz” other players by using up all of the cards in the pile before any of the other players. The first player to use all of the cards in their Blitz Pile ends the round.
How To Play Dutch Blitz
Remember that the goal of the game is to use as many cards as possible from the Blitz Pile to build cards in sequential order from 1-10 and of the same color in the Dutch Piles in the center.
Once all players have their cards set up, play may begin.
Start Playing
Players select a Scorekeeper who signals the start of the game. In Dutch Blitz everyone plays at the same time.
Using Number 1 Cards
If any of the face-up cards in front of any player is a Number 1 card, it is removed from the pile and placed in the center of the game area to start a Dutch Pile.
If the Number 1 card is taken from a player’s Post Pile, it must be replaced by the top card from their Blitz Pile. Each player should maintain the same amount of Post Piles throughout the game.
If the top card of a Blitz Pile is played, it is not replaced with another card – remember your goal of using up your Blitz Pile!
Continued Game Play
When any player has a Number 2 card that is the same color as any of the Number 1 cards in the Dutch Piles, they can place that card on top of the matching Dutch Pile.
Players can continue to play cards in this manner, building the Dutch Piles in ascending sequential order.
Be aware that many times throughout the game two or more players will attempt to add a card to a Dutch Pile at the same time. Only the player whose card first touches the Dutch Pile may play their card.
When None of the Cards Can Be Played
When none of a player’s face-up cards can be placed on the Dutch Piles or played within the Post Piles, they count off three cards from the pile held in their hand, with the third card being placed face-up to the right of the player to form or add to the Wood Pile.
This can be repeated as many times as needed until a card can be played and the player becomes unstuck.
The top card from the Wood Pile can be played on a Dutch Pile at any time, but neither the Wood Pile nor the cards held in players’ hands may be shuffled at any time (nor may the Blitz Piles).
If no more plays can be made and the player has repeatedly gone through the pile held in their hand, the player may remove the top card from their Wood Pile and place it on the bottom.
This will cause fresh cards to be exposed as the player resumes flipping three at a time.
When a Player Runs Out of Cards
When a player has used all of the cards in their hand, they then pick up their Wood Pile, turn the cards face down, and counts off three of the cards, flipping them face up to create a new Wood Pile.
This may seem repetitive and a waste of time, but remember that players are continually adding cards to the Dutch Piles, and thus, what was unplayable a few seconds ago may very well be the card that’s need by the time the player flips several groups of three again.
Other Game Rules
A player can build from their Blitz Pile, Wood Pile, or Post Piles onto any of their other Post Piles. A card can be taken from the Blitz Pile to replace any cards moved from one Post Pile to another Post Pile.
The Post Piles are played in sequential descending order, and each card must alternate between cards with a Dutch boy on them and cards with a Dutch girl on them.
The number and color of the cards in the Post Piles must remain visible to all players throughout the game.
Cards for the Dutch Piles can be drawn from the Wood and Post Piles.
Winning the Game
The object of the game is to be the first player to run out of cards in your Blitz Pile each round. When a player uses the last card in their Blitz Pile, they yell “Blitz!” and the round immediately ends.
Several rounds are played until a player reaches 75 points.
If more than one player reaches 75 points, the player with the higher score wins.
Dutch Blitz Scoring
At the end of each round, players count the number of cards left in their Blitz Pile and give that total to the Scorekeeper.
The Scorekeeper writes down the amounts, and then collects all of the Dutch Piles and gathers them into one stack.
The players all gather their personal Post, Blitz, and Wood Piles as well as any cards remaining in their hand and set them aside.
Then everyone works together to sort the cards from the stack of Dutch Pile cards back into their suits: pump, plow, pail, and carriage.
Each player counts their cards that were played on the Dutch Piles and gives that amount to the Scorekeeper.
Each player gets one point for every card they had played in the Dutch Piles and loses two points for every card left in their Blitz Piles.
Dutch Blitz Variations
Dutch Blitz expansion packs are sold for those who wish to play with more players and are designed to accommodate up to 8 players.
Another fun twist is to either buy or make jumbo cards for an active, chaotic yet incredibly fun outside game.
Related Questions:
Can You Play Dutch Blitz With a Normal Deck of Cards?
Nerts is a game that is similar to Dutch Blitz and is played with 4 decks of normal playing cards.
Do Post Piles in Dutch Blitz Have To Be the Same Color?
Post Piles in Dutch Blitz can be different colors.
Conclusion
Dutch Blitz is a fun, fast-paced card game that is easy to learn. All you need to get started is the Dutch Blitz deck or 4 decks of regular playing cards to play a similar game called Nerts.
