White River Junction
But take a lesson from Denise and Paul Dellamano, of Lebanon, and it doesn’t seem that hard after all.
“We’ve played for years and we thought other people would enjoy it,” Paul Dellamano said.
The Lebanon couple have been teaching the Canasta-style game at the Bugbee Senior Center in White River Junction for the last couple of months. They come prepared: a colorful poster board with the rules sits on an easel and single-page guide is passed out to each player. The couple also created an easy-to-follow score sheet to track points.
On a Thursday afternoon last month, 14 gathered for a game. About half of the attendees each week know how to play already, a quarter played years ago and need a refresher, and another quarter are brand new to the game, Denise Dellamano said.
Rosalie Salerno, of North Hartland, was one of those beginners. She was partnered with Loretta Parker, of White River Junction, while Nancy Tobin, of West Lebanon, was on the opposing pair with Paul Dellamano. Denise Dellamano sat beside her, ready to instruct. “It sounds confusing at first, but it really isn’t,” Denise Dellamano said encouragingly.
There are many variations of the game — an online search for “Hand and Foot card game” returns 12.5 million results — and no universally accepted rules.
Put simply, each player is dealt two sets of cards from multiple decks, including the jokers — the “hand,” which is played first, and the “foot,” played when there are no more cards in the hand.
The objective is to generate the highest number of points by creating stacks of equally ranked cards, called a “meld.” The first partners who accomplish this win the round.
The cards are then added up using a point system. Any cards that haven’t been played are added up and the total subtracted from the score, which often results in a negative score.
But just because a pair might loses one round doesn’t mean they’re doomed.
“You could be playing and be way behind and all of a sudden, it changes,” Paul Dellamano said. “It’s half luck, half skill.”
That was something that Salerno experienced as the game went on. After falling behind in the first round, she and Parker won the second.
“See how the tide can turn?” Paul Dellamano pointed out.
“We’re on a roll this time, Rosalie,” Parker said.
“Boy, did you clean house, lady,” Denise Dellamano said to Salerno as she distributed a majority of the cards in her hand to the stacks she and Parker were putting together.
“This is fun,” Salerno said.
Each game, composed of four rounds, takes between 2 and 2½ hours to play. Participants are asked to contribute $2 to a pot before the game. Half the money is raffled off, while half goes to the senior center. (On this Thursday, this reporter was asked to pick a winner from the raffle pile and Paul Dellamano’s name came up. Instead of keeping his half of the winnings, he returned $1 to each participant.)
Throughout the room, laughter can be heard from the different groups. From time to time, Denise Dellamano would leave Salerno’s side to check in with the two other groups and help with scoring.
By the end of the game, Salerno was able to play without much guidance.
She and Parker lost, but the outcome didn’t really matter.
“Sometimes you win, sometimes you lose,” Parker said. “But it’s just fun.
“I like the challenge. Every game is different. You never know how it’s going to turn out.”
Salerno agreed, and said she would be back again.
Editor’s note: Copies of the rules are available at the senior center, and Denise and Paul Dellamano are available to give private lessons. The regular group meets most Thursdays at 1 p.m. at the Bugbee Senior Center, 262 N. Main St., White River Junction. Call 802-295-9068 to confirm. Liz Sauchelli can be reached at esauchelli@vnews.com or 603-727-3221.
