How to Play Kings

Kings is a 13-hand card game for 2 to 6 players. Build sets and runs, use the changing wild card, get rid of your cards, and try to finish with the lowest score.

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Printable table guide

Download the one-page guide for setup, turn order, sets, runs, wild cards, scoring, and table reminders. It is meant to sit beside the cards while Kings keeps score.

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Preview of the printable Kings one-page rules sheet

Step 1

Set Up the Table

Play with 2 to 6 people. Use one deck of cards plus two jokers. Sit so you can see your cards, but other players cannot.

  • Pick the first dealer.
  • Open Kings if you want the app to track players, wilds, and scores.
  • Keep the phone on the table like a score sheet, not as the center of the game.
2-6 players, cards face the player holding them.

Step 2

Try for the Lowest Score

Each hand ends when one player gets rid of all their cards. That player scores 0. Everyone else counts the cards still left in their hand.

  • After 13 hands, the lowest total wins.
  • A bad hand is not the end. Scores can swing fast.
First out 0 points
Cards left count what is left

Step 3

Deal the Cards

Deal 7 cards to each player. The dealer gets 8 cards and takes the first turn.

  • There is no discard pile at the start.
  • The dealer does not draw first because the dealer already has 8 cards.
  • The dealer starts the discard pile at the end of that first turn.

Each player: 7

Dealer: 8

7 of diamonds starts the discard pile

Dealer discards to start the pile

Step 4

Check What Is Wild

Each hand has a new wild rank. Hand 1 has Aces wild, hand 2 has 2s wild, and the wild rank keeps moving up until hand 13, when Kings are wild.

  • Jokers are always wild.
  • In the examples below, 8s are wild.
  • A wild card can stand in for a card you need.
A2345678910JQK
8 of hearts wild card 8 of diamonds wild card Red joker wild card

This hand: 8s and jokers are wild.

Step 5

Take Your Turn

Most turns have the same three moves: draw 1 card, play cards if you can, then discard 1 card.

  • Draw from the deck or take the top discard.
  • You may play more than one set or run, or add more than one card if the play is legal.
  • Discarding ends your turn unless your play used your last card.
Draw 1
→
4 of hearts 5 of hearts 6 of hearts
Play if you can
→
7 of diamonds discard Discard 1 unless out

Step 6

Make Sets

A set is 3 or more cards with the same rank. Suits can be different. You only need 3 cards to lay a set down, but a set can grow to 4 real cards.

  • Wild cards can help make a set.
  • Real cards are cards that are not wild.
  • A set cannot have more than 4 cards total because there are only 4 suits.
  • The set must have more real cards than wild cards.
  • When a wild is used in a set, lay it sideways across the bottom.
3 of clubs 3 of diamonds 8 of hearts wild laid sideways wild
2 real 3s + 1 wild
3 of clubs 3 of diamonds 3 of spades 8 of hearts wild laid sideways wild
3 real 3s + 1 wild
3 of clubs 3 of diamonds 3 of spades
3 real cards
3 of clubs 3 of diamonds 3 of hearts 3 of spades
4 real cards

Step 7

Make Runs

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.

  • A wild in a run stays upright in the spot where the missing card belongs.
  • A run must have at least as many real cards as wild cards.
  • Wild cards cannot sit next to each other in a run.
4 of hearts 5 of hearts 6 of hearts
Real run: 4-5-6 of hearts
4 of hearts 8 of diamonds wild standing for 5 of hearts wild = 5♥ 6 of hearts
Wild run: 8 stands for the missing 5♥
4 of spades 8 of diamonds wild standing for 5 of spades wild = 5♠ 6 of spades
Spades run: the wild stands for 5♠

Step 8

Play Your Own Meld Before Adding

Before you can add cards to another player's meld, lay down your own set or run first. A meld means any set or run. This is called opening.

  • You may open and add to another meld on the same turn.
  • You still need to follow the normal turn order: draw, play, discard.
1. Your meld first
3 of clubs 3 of diamonds 8 of hearts wild laid sideways
→
2. Then add
4 of hearts 5 of hearts 6 of hearts 7 of hearts added to the run

Step 9

Replace or Cover a Wild

If you have the real card that a wild is standing for in a run, you may play the real card. Then choose one of two legal options.

  • Replace it: take the wild into your hand to use later.
  • Cover it: leave the wild under the real card if you do not want another wild in your hand.
Before
4 of spades 8 of diamonds wild standing for 5 of spades wild = 5♠ 6 of spades
5 of spades in hand 5♠ in hand
Option 1: replace
4 of spades 5 of spades 6 of spades
8 of diamonds wild now in hand wild to use
Option 2: cover
4 of spades 8 of diamonds wild covered by the 5 of spades 5 of spades covering the wild 6 of spades
wild stays under 5♠

Step 10

Go Out, Then Score

You go out when you have no cards left. You do not need a final discard. If you can go out, you must go out and the hand ends right away.

  • Aces count 1 unless Aces are wild.
  • 2 through 10 count their number.
  • Jacks, Queens, and Kings count 10.
  • Jokers and the wild rank count 20.
Ace of hearts worth 1 point 7 of diamonds worth 7 points Jack of spades worth 10 points Red joker worth 20 points

1 + 7 + 10 + 20 = 38

Step 11

Use Kings as the Scorekeeper

The app does not play the cards for you. It keeps the table organized while you play with real cards.

  • Start a game and choose the players.
  • Check the wild card before scoring.
  • Enter each player's score when the hand ends.
  • See who won, review past games, and share the final score.
Kings app wild card screen. Kings app scoreboard screen.