the rules of a variant called donkey are described in the 1957 Culbertson's Hoyle. They are the same as in the early version of pig above, except that "a number of chips, matches, or other tokens" are used; always one fewer than the number of active players. These objects are placed in the middle. A player who collects four of a kind, calls "donkey" and takes a chip, etc. The others now also pick up a chip if they can and the player left without a chip is the donkey and loses the game.
- Five Cards: Players are dealt five cards each, but still only need a four-of-a-kind to pick up a spoon.
- Series: As its name implies, it is a series of games with one player eliminated each time, and the last player standing is the overall winner.
Tactics
Tactics may include:
- Bluffing: Bluffing is allowed. Spoons may be reached at any time as long as they are not touched. This may distract the others or even cause players to grab a spoon prematurely which may result in their elimination.
- Eyes on the spoons: Players keep an eye on the number of spoons in case one has been taken without anyone noticing.
- Continuing to play. After sticking out a tongue or collecting a spoon, a player may continue to pass and pick up to confuse other players, but must keep the quartet intact. This is not possible with pig as one hand is needed to touch the nose.