At a minimum, your group will need two decks of cards and a piece of paper and pencil for scoring.
GAME SUPPLIES
Make sure to get a card tray that rotates and holds two decks of cards. The ones that hold more than two decks can be too deep for Modern American.
Canasta Cards: Bicycle
You do not need canasta cards to play, but some players like them because they tell you the point values on the card. When playing Modern American Canasta, ignore the point values on the 3's. This is from an older variation.
Card holders are also optional but some people like to have a card holder to hold cards. When you pick the pack, in particular, you will end up with a lot of cards in your hand
Game Mats
Totally optional, but game mats or a tablecloth can help prevent cards from sliding on glass or wood tables. Try to match you game mat to your table size, but it’s ok if it’s not perfect. We like the 35 in. mats because they give you a little more room to lay out your cards.
Game Table
We think 35 inches by 35 inches is an ideal size for a canasta game table. We find that canasta usually needs a little more table room than mahjong. A round, square or rectangular table can all work as long as you have enough room to lay out cards, and it’s not too deep.
ONLINE PLAY:
*Both websites play by Modern American Canasta Rules. Like everything in Canasta, there is no official governing body so there are lots of table rules. Both platforms are more or less the same game with some table rule differences.
We like Real Canasta for it's more realistic and easy to use platform.
Created by the Canasta League of America, this platform with the original and it is free to play against the computer (called solitaire).
Mah Jongg Supplies
ONLINE PLAY:
SUPPLIES:
Required to play American Mah Jongg with National Mah Jongg League rules. We recommend the large print version. Buy it directly from NMJL website. Do not buy on amazon-there are many fake cards for sale.
MAH JONGG SET:
Canasta and Mahjong Supplies