Egyptian Ratscrew (ERS), also known as Slap,[1] is a modern American card game in the matching family, popular among children.

The player to the dealer's left begins by placing a card face-up from the top of their deck, starting the central discard pile.

Play proceeds around the circle, with each player laying down a card onto the central pile, one at a time.

If they succeed, the next player must respond; if not, the challenger who played the original face card wins the pile.

Other common combinations include: Additionally, slaps can be added for other types of conditions, such as suit/colour (the same three/four times in a row, respectively), or for being the same as the initial card (e.g. a 3 at any time when if first card played was a three; to make this less common, a suit/colour can also be specified, e.g. a red three if the first three played was red).

It is considered unfair to hover one's hand too close to the pile and slap frequently.

Optional rules that negate this include slapping with the hand not delivering the card to the pile, Redneck Rules (wherein players, or convicted players, must bring their hands to their foreheads before slapping), or sleuthing or burning cards (putting the top card of the offending player's own deck on the bottom of the pile) as punishment for illegitimate slaps.

This rule introduces an element of bluffing into the game while maintaining a quick pace by discouraging both incorrect slaps and frequent contesting of legal plays.

Any slap involving a dead card, even if placed intentionally out of turn, results in a penalty.

Players may therefore refrain from slapping certain combinations if no face cards are in the pile, prioritising strategy over immediate gain.

A counter-strategy involves quickly moving a card towards the pile without dropping it, provoking a risk slap from an opponent.