Do You Canasta?
In Do You Canasta?, Alysen, a student from Boulder, Colorado, blogs about her experiences with the game of Canasta.
Alysen plays Canasta with her family and friends: "My family has been playing Canasta for over three years. We have taught many people the game, including the 2005 CU Softball Team, close friends, other relatives (besides the five of us) and on lookers."
She plays Modern American Canasta rules with a few additions and variations, which she calls "Hargrove House Rules". One of the rule modifications is related to "going out concealed". Under normal rules, this means to go out by paying a canasta, having not previously played any cards, and is worth a 100-point bonus.
Under their house rules, they define "going out concealed" as going out by playing a canasta, regardless of whether or not you've played off on your team's melds. They also give this a 1000-point bonus to reward the dangerous but potentially-lucrative strategy.
