The winner of the game is the 1st player who has played all of his or her cards. The game commences with a seven being tabled. Cards are then played on cards currently played according to suit (i.e. clubs are played on clubs, hearts on hearts, etc.) They are Built up or down. A "build up or down" is a simple concept. If there is a 7 on the table, and a player either (or both) the 6 and 8 of that suit, the player can either play the 6 on the lower vertical half of the 7 or the 8 on the upper vertical half of the 7. If a player plays the 6, the next player can play a 5 or an 8 or play off a different pile. RULES Kings are high Aces are low. If you can play a card then you must play. BASIC STRATEGY

If you are holding very low or very high cards like aces and twos or kings and queens as well as the seven of the same suit it is best to play the seven early in the game so that there is time to build towards the highs and lows.

You normally would avoid playing the pivot or controlling cards like eights, sevens and sixes for as long as possible to prevent your opponents from playing higher cards.

If you have a run of cards in the same suit like a five to a jack you can prevent anyone else from playing as you lay each card down in sequence.

When you can, play a king or an ace since no one else can play on them and this will also get rid of a card in your hand.

There are a number of variations like Double Deck Fan Tan for 7 or more players, Crazy Tan for small games of 2 to 3 players, Trump Fan Tan and Double Deck Trump Fan Tan.