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How to Play Kings in the Corner Card Game

Kings in the Corner is a game for players age 7 and up.
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Kings in the Corner, or Kings Corners, is a multiplayer solitaire card game for two to six players. The game can be played with poker chips or tokens from another game and a single deck of playing cards. It can also be played with a Kings in the Corner game set, which includes the cards, chips and a plastic card holder with tabbed slots for the visible play cards.

Setting up the Game

Divide the chips equally among the players.

Deal seven cards to each player clockwise from the dealer.

Place the remaining cards in the center of the table. This is the draw pile.

Pull four cards from the draw pile and place them face up around the draw pile, one on each side of the pile.

Playing Kings in the Corner

Place a chip from your stack into the kitty. Situate the kitty anywhere within reach of the players.

Play any card from your hand on any of the face-up cards around the draw pile during your turn. Cards must be played in descending order, alternating between red and black. For example, if there is a 9 of Clubs visible, play an 8 of Hearts or Diamonds on it.

Move one face-up pile on top of another if the bottom card of the stack to be moved is playable on the destination pile. Play any card from your hand in the open space to start a new pile.

Play a King immediately if you drawn one or on your first turn, if dealt. Kings are placed in the corners between the face-up piles.

Continue playing cards until you have no possible plays left. You may opt to stop playing cards at any time during your turn. If you cannot play any cards from your hand or move any piles, you must place another chip in the kitty.

Draw a card from the draw pile at the end of your turn. If that card is a King, you must play it immediately. Do not draw another card.

Continue playing until one player is out of cards in his hand or no legal moves remain and no cards left in the draw pile. This is the end of the hand. The player who plays all of his cards is the winner of the hand. He takes all of the chips in the kitty and one chip from each player for each card left in that player's hand.

Count the number of chips in the winner's pile. This is the winner's point total. Collect all of the chips and redistribute them equally again for the start of the next hand.

Continue to play hands until one player wins the game by reaching 100 points.

Things You'll Need:

  • 80 plastic chips or other game tokens
  • Deck of cards

Tip

Several rules variations exist. Another way to score a hand is to count the points left in each player's hand, with face cards valued at 10 points, numbered cards at 5 points and aces at 25 points. In this variation, the player with the lowest score at the end of a predetermined number of hands wins.

Play without points or chips. The player who gets rid of all of the cards in her hand first is the winner.

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