SYN city: Card club deals hand of friendship, support

The card game is called Screw Your Neighbor. But when it’s played by the SYN Card Club in Maricopa and other Pinal County locations, the theme is quite the opposite.

In an era filled with video games, virtual reality and other challenges to form personal connections, a simple tabletop game brings people together. Dwight Jackson, who moved to Maricopa last year, serves as the SYN Master — or organizer of the fun.

“It’s designed to be a social mixer,” he attests. “At the end of the day, it’s about people — meeting people and helping others. Probably the best compliment I’ve had is the friendships people have started to develop.”

All about the fun

Another of Jackson’s refrains: “We put the fun in fundraising!”

Charities that have benefitted include those assisting with local food needs, the Valley Humane Society in Casa Grande and Masai’s Playhouse Gives Back in Maricopa. Kimber Webster, who runs Masai’s Playhouse childcare with her husband Ian, says the nonprofit serving local families and children has been in operation for about eight years.

“We try to help with meeting needs when families are struggling,” she explains, listing food, housing and hygiene products among the many methods of assistance. “I’m all for being active in the community and looking for ways to connect.”

While the nonprofit might receive $150 or more in donations from a night of SYN play, it’s the people that bring her back on a regular basis.

“We’re always looking for volunteers for our programs — people to sew bags, build kits or deliver things. This is a great group of people with new people each week.”

As for playing the game, Webster declares, “I’m no good at any card game whatsoever. But this is so easy to pick up. It’s simple — and so much fun!”

Growing the game

Jackson says he first learned the game — called Chase the Ace and Ranter-Go-Round in some circles — about 20 years ago in Colorado. He started a group in Mesa early last year before moving to Maricopa. He launched the game at his new Province home with feedback that included “let’s do it again” and “you need to take this outside of here.”

Some of the early growing pains included choosing a name. While the “S” in SYN carries negative connotations for some, Jackson emphasizes the group actually practices LYN (love your neighbor). He started a Facebook page titled SYN Club, only to begin receiving many requests to join from Tulsa, Okla., home of a swingers group “hosting lifestyle events for open-minded adults.”

The name was tweaked to SYN Card Club for clarity and a website was developed. Potential concerns about violating gambling laws were alleviated by making sure all donations are voluntary. Growth has been organic, he notes, with word-of-mouth and social media expanding the number of participants beyond anything he imagined.

The club meets Mondays at Native Grill & Wings occasional additional events at Raceway Bar and Grill and The Roost.

“I consider it all a win-win-win,” Jackson claims. “You’re a better person when you give back, you’re creating friendships and getting people, especially the young ones, off their phones and a businessperson has the opportunity to get new business.”

Ground rules

To play Screw Your Neighbor, you need three or more players (the more the merrier) and one deck of cards. Each player starts with three tokens or chips.

Each player receives one card face down. The object is to not end up with the lowest card (aces are low) at the end of each round.

Players look at their card and the person to the left of the dealer decides if they want to keep their card or trade their card with the person to their left (hence, the name of the game). The dealer, as the last person in the round, has the option to trade their card for the top one remaining in the deck.

A couple of caveats: Ties negate each other. If two “fours” are the lowest cards, they cancel each other out and the next lowest card is the loser for that round. In addition, kings are stoppers and cannot be part of any trade.

The person with the lowest card in each round forfeits a token. Play continues until only one person has a token remaining.

During SYN Card Club games, multiple tables are contested at once with the winners advancing to a final round. In the “love your neighbor” version, a player can sacrifice one of their tokens to allow another player to remain in the game. Winners at the end of the night receive restaurant gift cards or other prizes.

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