Quick answers
Kings Table FAQ
Use this when someone asks a rules question mid-game. These answers match the standard Kings help flow on this site.
Setup and Turns
| How many people can play? | Kings works best with 2 to 6 players. |
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| How many cards does everyone get? | Deal 7 cards to each player. The dealer gets 8 and takes the first turn. |
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| Does the dealer draw first? | No. The dealer already has 8 cards, so the dealer plays if possible and discards 1 card to start the discard pile. |
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| What do I do on my turn? | Draw 1 card, play cards if you can, then discard 1 card unless your play used your last card. |
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Sets, Runs, and Opening
| What is a set? | A set is 3 or 4 cards with the same rank. Suits do not matter. With one deck, a set cannot have more than 4 cards total. |
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| What is a run? | A run is 3 or more cards in order, all in the same suit. Aces are low, so A-2-3 works. Q-K-A does not. |
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| Can I add to someone else's cards right away? | No. First lay down your own set or run. This is called opening. You may open and add to another meld on the same turn. |
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| Can I add more than one card? | Yes, as long as every card you add creates a legal set or run and you have already opened. |
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Wild Cards
| What is wild? | Jokers are always wild. The wild rank changes each hand: hand 1 Aces, hand 2 Twos, and so on through hand 13 Kings. |
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| How do wilds look in a set? | Real cards stand upright. The wild card is placed sideways across the bottom so everyone can see it is acting as another rank. |
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| How do wilds look in a run? | The wild stays upright in the spot where the missing card belongs. |
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| Can wilds touch in a run? | No. Substitute wilds cannot sit next to each other in a run. |
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| Can I replace a wild? | Yes, if you have the real card a wild represents in a run. You may take the wild into your hand, or cover it and leave the wild underneath. |
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Going Out and Scoring
| Do I need a final discard to go out? | No. If your play uses your last card, the hand ends right away. |
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| What if I can go out? | If you can go out, you must go out. The player who goes out scores 0 for that hand. |
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| How do cards score? | Aces count 1, cards 2-10 count their number, and Jacks, Queens, and Kings count 10. Jokers and the current wild rank count 20 if left in your hand. |
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| What if the draw pile runs out? | Use your table rule. A common approach is to shuffle the discard pile into a new draw pile while keeping the top discard visible. |
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