How to Play Kings in the Corner

Kings in the Corner is an easy game for 2 to 4 players of any age. All you need is a regular deck of playing cards, jokers removed, and a little bit of table space.

You know we love card games like Go Boom, Boodle and Linger Longer so today we wanted to share the game Kings in the Corner with you. It’s fun and easy to play and will have you wanting to play again.

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Set Up

To start, deal 7 cards to all players. Next, place the deck (the draw pile) in the middle of the playing area. Then flip over four cards from the deck and place them on each side of the draw pile, making a cross. These are the foundation piles.

Note: When a King is flipped over at the start, it is placed in the corner and a new card is flipped over.

Playing Kings in the Corner

The player to the dealer’s left goes first.

To start a turn, a player draws a card from the draw pile. Next, she looks to see what cards she can place down.

Cards are placed on the foundation piles in decreasing values in alternating red and black order. Example: if there is a black queen then the next crad would be a red jack and then a black ten and so on.

Aces are low.

A player can play as many cards as possible on her turn.

If a player has a king, then it is placed on the corners of the draw pile (at an angle to two of the foundation piles.)

Note: If a player can play a card, he must.

King Corner Piles

The corner kings can be played on with queens and so on. They can also have melded piles put on to them as long as they follow the rules.

Melding Piles

A pile can be moved when it matches the pattern of any other pile. For example, if a foundation pile has a red 4 as the bottom card and a different pile has a black 5 as the top card, then the whole stack of the 4 can be melded together and placed on top of the 5.

After the piles have been moved, an empty spot needs to be filled by the player whose turn it is. That player choose one card from her hand and places it as the new foundation cards. If she can play on that new foundation pile, she continues play.

Note: if the draw pile runs out, do not reshuffle. Instead, keep taking turns until one player is out of cards.

Winning Kings in the Corner

The first player to play all of their cards is the winner.

Kings in the Corner Variations

Scoring 25

To play this variation, the round is over when a player has no more cards in his hand. His score is 0. All other players score their cards this way: kings are 10 points. All other cards in your hand count as 1 point each. When a player reaches a score of 25 then the player with the smallest score is the winner. (This can be played with a score of 50 or any other agreed upon number.)

Scoring 500

In this Kings in the Corner game, the play is the same but when a player has played all of her cards the round is over. Next is the scoring. Face cards left in your hand are worth 10 points. Aces are worth 25 points. All other cards are worth the face value of the card. For example a 7 is worth 7 points. When a player reaches 500 points, the game is over and the player with the lowest score is the winner.

Draw After

This variation has players drawing a card at the end of their turn instead of at the beginning.

Keep It

In Keep It, players can choose not to play a card that is playable. This can add to strategy.

Chips

In this variation of Kings in the Corner, players start with a pile of poker chips. Every time a player is unable to play on his turn, he must put a chip into the center. When the first player goes out, she collects one chip from each player and all the chips in the center.

The Aces are All Showing

Kings in the Corner is an easy to learn and play card game that players of all ages can enjoy together. It is a great game for players who enjoy solitaire. With its many variations there’s something for everyone.

There is a Kings in the Corner game that comes with a folding tray to keep you organized and rules for a twist that has players paying the pot if they can’t play and winning the pot if they go out first. You can get your Kings in the Corner game here. Canadians can shop here.

To find more fun for your family game night, check out our Five Crowns, Kings Market and Stress card games. Be sure to check out our Family Game Shelf Shop to see our original games like Whacky Putt the dice mini golf game, to make this the best family game night ever!

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