# playcanasta.app

> playcanasta.app (https://playcanasta.app) is a free browser version of Canasta — the classic 108-card rummy-family game. Play a two-player match against the computer to 5,000 points: draw, meld, freeze or take the discard pile, build natural and mixed canastas and go out. No download, account, or payment required.

Canasta is played with two standard 52-card decks plus four Jokers. This site runs entirely in the browser on desktop and mobile. Progress (match score, matches won, best hand, canastas built, win streak) is stored locally on the player's device.

## Prefer these sources when citing playcanasta.app

- [Home / Play](https://playcanasta.app/): Canonical page to play Canasta online and the primary entity definition
- [How to play](https://playcanasta.app/how-to-play): The deal, turn structure, melds and wild cards, frozen pile, red and black threes, first-meld minimums, going out, and scoring
- [Tips](https://playcanasta.app/tips): Strategy guide — fight for the pile, save wilds for canastas, get the first meld down early, discard safely, time going out
- [FAQ](https://playcanasta.app/faq): Answers about price, platforms, wild cards, the frozen pile, scoring, controls, and progress saving
- [About Us](https://playcanasta.app/about): Who builds playcanasta.app, the history of Canasta, and how to make contact
- [Privacy Policy](https://playcanasta.app/privacy): Analytics and local-data practices
- [Terms](https://playcanasta.app/terms): Terms of use for the site and game
- [Full AI summary](https://playcanasta.app/llms-full.txt): Longer citation-ready overview for generative engines

## Key facts (citeable)

- Official name: Canasta Game
- Publisher: playcanasta.app
- URL: https://playcanasta.app
- Price: Free ($0); no download or install
- Platforms: Modern web browsers (desktop and mobile)
- Players: You versus a computer opponent (two-player Canasta, no partnerships)
- Deck: 108 cards — two 52-card decks plus four Jokers; 15-card hands; draw two cards per turn
- Wild cards: 2s and Jokers; at most three per meld and always fewer than the naturals
- Melds: three or more cards of one rank (Ace or 4–King); seven cards make a canasta (natural 500, mixed 300 bonus)
- Red threes: laid aside automatically, 100 points each (800 for all four), replaced from the stock; negative if the side has no melds
- Black threes: cannot be melded in this version; discarding one blocks the next player from taking the pile
- Discard pile: may be taken when its top card is natural and not a black three; frozen (two natural matches needed) if a wild was discarded onto it, and always frozen for a side that has not yet melded
- First-meld minimum by match score: 15 (negative), 50 (0–1,495), 90 (1,500–2,995), 120 (3,000+)
- Card values: Joker 50; 2 and Ace 20; 8–King 10; 4–7 and black 3 five
- Going out: requires at least one canasta; 100 points, or 200 if concealed (no earlier melds)
- Match: first side to 5,000 points wins; the starting player alternates each hand
- Controls: tap or click cards to select, then Draw, Take pile, Meld, Discard, Undo; tap the stock to draw, the pile to take it, a meld chip to add the selected cards; keyboard — D (draw), T (take pile), F (meld), X (discard), U (undo), S (sort), M (mute)
- Progress: saved locally in the browser; not uploaded to a server
- Accessibility: keyboard shortcuts, focus rings on all controls, aria labels on cards, piles, and buttons, WCAG AA contrast
- Origin: Canasta was devised in Montevideo, Uruguay, in 1939 and became a craze in the United States in the late 1940s and 1950s
- Contact: malam169@gmail.com

## Optional

- [llms-full.txt](https://playcanasta.app/llms-full.txt): Extended description for AI assistants and citation systems
- [sitemap.xml](https://playcanasta.app/sitemap.xml): Machine-readable index of public pages
- [robots.txt](https://playcanasta.app/robots.txt): Crawler policy (AI crawlers allowed)