Kemps is a fast partnership card game for four or more players in teams of two, played with one standard 52 card deck. You collect four of a kind and give your partner a secret signal so they shout Kemps, while watching the other team so you can call Stop Kemps on them first. In pagat.com's version, each lost hand earns your team a letter, and the first team to spell K E M P S loses.
Kemps is the card game that turns your table into a spy film. The cards are simple, there are no turns, and the real game is reading faces. It's loud, it's quick, and it's one of the best card games I know for a group of teenagers or a family that likes a bit of chaos.
Kemps setup: teams, deck and the deal
| What you need | Kemps |
|---|---|
| Players | Usually 4, or any larger even number |
| Teams | Pairs, with partners sitting opposite each other |
| Deck | One 52 card deck; pagat.com suggests two decks with more than eight players |
| Hand | 4 cards each, and never more than 4 |
| Middle | 4 cards dealt face up in a row |
| Goal | Four cards of the same rank, like four 8s or four queens |
Agreeing your secret Kemps signal
Before a single card is dealt, each team goes off privately and agrees a signal. It has to be silent: a gesture, a body movement or a hand signal. Bicycle suggests things like puckering your lips, winking or scratching your ear. Pagat.com is strict that words aren't allowed, so saying elephants as a code word is out.
Here's the rule many groups don't know. Pagat.com says your signals can only ever mean one thing: I've got four of a kind. You can use fake signals to confuse the other team, but a signal that means anything else, like which rank you're collecting, counts as table talk, and the penalty if you're caught is losing the game. You're also allowed to agree new signals between hands if you think the other team has cracked yours.
How a hand of Kemps plays out
- The dealer gives everyone four cards. Once everybody has looked, four more go face up in the middle, one at a time.
- When the last middle card lands, play starts. There are no turns. Anyone can grab a middle card at any moment.
- As soon as you pick up a card, you put a different card from your hand face up in its place, so you always hold four.
- If two people go for the same card, the first one to touch it gets it.
- When nobody wants any of the four middle cards, the dealer sweeps them away and deals four fresh ones.
- This keeps going until someone shouts Kemps or Stop Kemps, or the deck runs out.
Calling Kemps and Stop Kemps
| Call | Who says it | If they're right | If they're wrong |
|---|---|---|---|
| Kemps | You, when your partner has four of a kind | The other team gets a letter | Your team gets a letter |
| Stop Kemps | You, when you think an opponent has four of a kind | The team you stopped gets a letter | Your team gets a letter |
| Real deal | Nobody: the deck runs out and no one wants the middle cards | No letter for anyone | No letter for anyone |
When someone shouts Kemps, the hand stops dead and the caller's partner shows their cards. With Stop Kemps, the opposing pair both show theirs. Pagat.com's game ends when a team has lost five hands and spelled the whole word K E M P S. That team loses.
Bicycle's points version of Kemps scoring
Bicycle keeps score the other way round. A correct Kemps call from your partner wins your team a point. A wrong call loses you a point. You can also shout Kemps and point at an opponent if you think they've got four of a kind: right wins you a point, wrong costs you one. The first team to four points wins, or you can set any target you like.
Both versions work. Letters are easier for kids to follow because everyone can see who's close to losing, and points suit a longer evening where you'd rather crown a winner.
Peanut Butter and other Kemps variations
- Start on GO: some tables let play begin only when the dealer says GO, rather than when the last middle card lands.
- One card at a time: you must discard before you pick up another card.
- Peanut Butter: pagat.com describes a version where you say peanut butter if you think your partner has four of a kind, and jelly if you think an opponent does. Spoken signals are allowed, and teams agree an odd number of hands to play.
How to win more often at Kemps
Pagat.com shares a list of tips from experienced players, and they're good ones. Keep your signal simple. Agree with your partner to look for the signal every time the middle cards are swept away. Don't make it obvious which rank you're collecting, and pick up cards you don't need now and then to throw the other team off. If you work out what your partner is going for, discard cards that help them.
My favourite tip is the bluff: fake a signal so the other team shouts Stop Kemps, without confusing your own partner. That's a free letter for them to carry.
My verdict on Kemps
Kemps suits a group of four to eight who don't mind a bit of shouting. It's perfect for teenagers, and grown ups get every bit as competitive. Pick partners at random, give each team two minutes to agree signals outside the room, and play the letters version to K E M P S. The mistake to avoid is a signal that's too clever. If your partner can't spot it, you're beaten by your own team.
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If your crowd loves this, there are plenty more noisy group ideas in my party games roundup, and my guide to family game night picks by age helps when the youngest players need something gentler.
Related guides live in the Free Games to Play Offline and Online: Every Guide in One Place (2026).
Frequently asked questions
How many people do you need to play Kemps?
You need an even number of players in teams of two, usually four. Pagat.com suggests a second deck when more than eight people play.
Can you talk to your partner in Kemps?
No. Signals must be silent, and they can only mean that you have four of a kind. Pagat.com treats any other kind of signal as table talk, which loses you the game.
What is Stop Kemps?
Stop Kemps is the call you make when you think a player on another team has four of a kind. If you're right, their team gets a letter, and if you're wrong, yours does.
How do you score Kemps?
In pagat.com's version, each losing team gets a letter and the first to spell K E M P S loses. In Bicycle's version, teams score points and the first to four wins.
How many cards do you hold in Kemps?
Each player holds four cards at all times, and four cards sit face up in the middle.
