Indeed, if a dealer turns over an ace at the game’s commencement, s/he then must play another card of the same suit or draw, just as s/he would have done five minutes into the game.

Your end-of-game question is a little trickier.  Basically:  a hand terminates the minute a person lays down his/her last card, even if that card would have subsequent effects if play were to go on.  In other words, even though a ’9′ would normally require the card-passing you refer to, if it is the very last card in my hand and I play it, the hand is over — time for every one else to tally up their penalties, and time for me to gloat.

1. When a 5 of spades is played, the next person can do nothing but pick up 5 cards or play the 2 of spades (in which case the next player would pick up seven, or roll over the pain with yet another 2).

2. A player holding just an ace does have Kapaga, because she could conceivably end the round. But since an ace must *always* be played with another card, the only way that could happen is if she played the ace, picked up another card from the discard pile of the same suit, & thus were able to immediately able to play that card too. Then and only then: round over.

3. Wow, what an esoteric situation! Has this really ever happened in real life? But yes, if four players are playing & all four nines are played, the hands “pass” to their original holders. Then if a player is cruel enough to play an 8 & demand a 9, then yes people pick & pick until a 9 is played — or until another 8 is played to relieve everyone from their misery (or avoid utter mutiny from the game).

4. You always have the option to not play a playable card, & opt instead to pick a card from the deck. It’s a free country.

5. Back to our players: Suzie plays a two. Louis has a 2. Louis has a couple of choices. CHOICE ONE Louis can hold his 2 in his hand, in which case he would have to pick up two cards and his turn is over. Romaine then can play any card that is the same suit as Suzie’s 2 (or an 8, or a Joker); if Romaine plays a 2, then she revives the pain & Dudley has to pick up four cards. CHOICE TWO Louis decides to play his 2 on top of Suzie’s 2, forcing Romaine to pick up four cards — unless Romaine also plays a 2, then Dudley has to pick up six cards. The *only* response to a 2 is to pick up penalty cards (no subsequent discard) or play another 2.

6. In the original Kapaga Greyzone, some Danes quarreled about the word “kapaga”. Apparently it could be spelled differently. I have no idea what it means. The word comes to me from sailors who replicated Leif Ericson’s voyage & were infected with this game in Greenland. See http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9803E0D91F31F935A25754C0A96E958260
and http://www.amazon.com/Viking-Voyage-Unlikely-Adventurers-Attempts/dp/B000C4SRV8

1. When someone plays the 5 of spades, is the next person limited to picking up 5 cards/playing a 2 of spades or can they respond?

2. If you have one ace in your hand and have already declared kapaga, does the round end when you discard the ace and before you need to pick a card for the ace? Or do you continue the game with the card that you just drew?

3. Four nines have just been played to render all effects neutral. A player plays an 8 asking for a 9. If that player has the other three 8s, do people keep on picking up cards until they get back to one of the 9s?

4. If a 9 of diamonds has just been played and I have a 9 of clubs, but no diamonds, and I like my hand, can I choose to draw 1 card from the deck? Can I choose to pass my turn indefinitely, whether or not I have the suit in my hand? If I could pass indefinitely, would I have to draw for cards on which I would not be able to respond or draw a card every turn?

5. When a player plays a 2, and the next player also has a 2, does the next player draw two cards and end his turn, play the 2 and end his turn as if it were a hot potato, or draw two cards and play the two?

6. What does Kapaga mean in Danish/Inuit?

1. Scores are tallied at the end of a hand. That means nobody with a score of 1900 can “accidentally” misdeal & instantly reset to zero (as a certain princess once tried to do, & she knows who she is).

2. The penalty for recycling the discard pile increases during a hand (or ’round’, as Ross calls it). It is reset to 100 each time a fresh hand is dealt. During a hand, this penalty increasing inexorably, even if it’s the same poor slob who keeps having to shuffle & recycle the discard pile.

3. The joker can be dropped like a neutron bomb on any card *except a 2 or the 5 of spades*. See item 6 below.

4. Yes if, thanks to a 9 or a 5 of clubs, a player inherits someone else’s hand with one card (or two or more cards that could be conceivably played all at once), that player best yell out “Kapaga” real quick before someone catches him with Kapaga. Because he has Kapaga, you see.

5. No no, a 2 or a 5 of spades can only be dropped on top of an 8 if they satisfy the demand of the 8-player. Example: Suzie plays an 8 & says “I want to see a spade.” Then Louis is free to drop his 5 of spades down (or a 2 of spades, if he’s less cruel). But if Suzie had said when playing her 8, “I want to see a 7,” then Louis would have no choice but to hold on to his deadly 5 of spades (or the less deadly 2). Of course, if Louis had an 8 of his own, he could play it on top of Suzie’s & say, “I want to see a 5.”

6. When a 2 or that old 5 of spades is played, the *only* thing the next player can do is play another 2 (thereby rolling over the pain to the next player, with interest) or shamefacedly pick up penalty cards. Only when that 2/5 of spades has done its damage (ie, when somebody has picked up cards as a result) can another player play on top of it — by following suit, or playing an 8 or a Joker.

7. (Bonus item — Ross didn’t ask, but it’s worth emphasizing) Even when a 2 or 5 of spades has done its damage (as described in the previous item), if nothing else has been played on top of it & someone subsequently plays a 2, it springs back to life, like some horrid undead zombie. Here’s an example: Suzie, Louis, Romaine, and Dudley are playing a friendly game of Kapaga. Suzie plays a 2 of hearts. Louis doesn’t have a 2, so he must pick up two cards (even though he has a Joker and an 8 — it seems unfair, but they do him no good in this situation). Romaine has no hearts and no 2s, so she picks up one card and the play moves on. But Dudley has a 2 of clubs — he plays it on top of Suzie’s 2 of hearts. Disaster for Suzie! Since she doesn’t have yet another 2, she now has to pick four cards. Louis, Romaine, & Dudley all taunt Suzie & she takes an angry swig of her malt liquor refreshment.

Portlanders