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Rarely, people play that any straight-flush (three cards of the same suit in sequence) is worth 30 (except for A-K-Q, which is 31). Some play that there is a minimum score with which you are allowed to knock - for example 17, 19 or 21. Some play that a knock is only allowed by a player who has three cards of the same suit. Thirty-one or Trente et un is a gambling card game played by two to seven people, where players attempt to assemble a hand which totals 31. Such a goal has formed the whole or part of various games like Commerce, Cribbage, Trentuno, and Wit and Reason since the 15th century. The card game 31 (also known as Scat, or On the Bus) is similar to Casino, and can be played by two to nine people with a standard deck. This page has instructions for basic game play. The goal is to end the round with a hand totaling 31. Or, finally, a player may elect to pass his turn, exchanging no card from his with the widow. If there are a number of consecutive passes as players in the game, the dealer then discards the three card widow (out of play) and deals a new three card widow to the middle of the table. Play continues using the new widow.
Video showing a sample hand of how to play the new exciting Blind 31 Card Game.
Here’s a new card game to learn that is perfect for your next family game night! This has been a favorite in our family for years. I played it with my grandparents and at family gatherings. My great uncle used to tease my great aunt that this game kept her mind sharp! Some of the best memories happen around a good family game.
You can play this game with anywhere from 2 to 6 players. You’ll need one deck of cards for every two players.
There are 11 rounds to the game. In each round, the number of cards dealt changes, and the requirements for laying down your hand changes. The wild card also changes! Ha! See what I mean about keeping your mind sharp?
We’ll talk about the rounds in a minute, but first let’s talk about turns. The dealer deals out the correct number of cards. He’ll then place the rest of the deck on the table and turn the top card over. When it is your turn, you’ll make a choice to either take the top card from the discard pile or draw a card from the deck. You’ll end your turn by choosing a card to discard. You can lay down your cards when your hand meets the requirements of the round.
To lay down (or go out, whatever you want to call it) a player must use all their cards. The rounds are as follows.
Rounds:
Jokers are wild on all rounds.
Round 1 – Deal 3 cards. 3’s are wild. Must have a set of 3 or run of 3 to go out.
Round 2 – Deal 4 cards. 4’s are wild. Must have a set of 4 or run of 4 to go out.
Round 3 – Deal 5 cards. 5’s are wild. Must have a set of 5 or run of 5 to go out.
Round 4: Deal 6 cards. 6’s are wild. Must have a set of 6, run of 6, or two runs of 3, two sets of 3, or a set of 3 and run of 3. Lots of options here!
From here on out, all sets or runs must have at least 3 cards. There are several combinations that will allow you to lay down your cards.
Round 5: Deal 7 cards. 7’s are wild. Must play all 7 cards to go out.
Round 6: Deal 8 cards. 8’s are wild. Must play all 8 cards to go out.
Round 7: Deal 9 cards. 9’s are wild. Must play all 9 cards to go out.
Round 8: Deal 10 cards. 10’s are wild. Must play all 10 cards to go out.
Round 9: Deal 11 cards. Jacks are wild. Must play all 11 cards to go out.
Round 10: Deal 12 cards. Queens are wild. Must play all 12 cards to go out.
Round 11: Deal 13 cards. Kings are wild. Must play all 13 cards to go out.
Scoring:
How To Play 31 The Card Game
Once a player has gone out, everyone else gets one more turn.
For the players who could not go out, any sets or runs that have 3 or more cards do not count against them. The rest of the cards do.
Ace is low.
Modifications for younger kids:
We don’t always play the whole game in one sitting! If you have younger kids, or if you don’t have long to play, just play the first few rounds and then determine a winner. Or, save the rest of the rounds for later.
Need more game night ideas?
Here are some Minute-to-Win-It family games.
And some LEGO games! We love LEGO.
Here’s a collection of Nerf Target Games to make.
9 Comments
Post a Comment- thank you for sharing this card game! our family is always looking for new games to play together. this game looks like something we will all enjoy!!
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- The instructions say 'the rest of the cards do' (count against them). In what way do the rest of the cards count against them? Thanks!
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- We count the remaining cards as number states with Ace-1; 2-10 as per number; Jack=11; Queen=12; King-13
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- King, Queen and Jack are 10 each. Jokers and wild cards are 20 each when you get stuck with them.
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- We have played this game for years as Progressive Rum.
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- I've never heard of five crowns so I don't know! Could be the same game with multiple names.
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- Five Crowns has five suits, instead of 4, and for runs the cards have to be all the same suit. In this game suits don't seem to matter at all. That's the only difference.
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- Five Crowns has a specific deck with 5 suits but no 2's or aces. It is played the same way as 3-13.
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- Maybe a silly question, but if you are playing with small children, are the “runs” in the same suit or just a run of numbers?
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- Runs need to be in the same suit. Although I think it would work to adjust the rules for young kids!
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- We call it Dummy Rummy and the person who mistakenly discards the wild card gets to wear the dummy hat. (mine is a jesters hat)
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- So you do not lay cards down as you go? You hold everything in your hand until you can go out?
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- That is correct. When you get to the rounds where you have a lot of cards, it's fine to lay some of them face down on the table.
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- We play this game but call it Bush Rummy. We have 15 rounds as we play 'Ace' and 'Two' rounds (14 and 15) after 'Kings'. Jokers are worth 50 if you get stuck with one when you're forced to lay down.
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- Is it a rule that you cannot go 'out' on first turn?
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- Funny you should ask... :-) It wasn't a rule, but at our house, we actually just made this a rule. I think that poor card shuffling from the younger kids has been causing this to happen too often. My husband decided that they could no longer go out on the first turn!
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Hearts is a game of skill — to a certain extent. You rely on luck to get good cards dealt to you, but strategic playing and a good memory make an enormous difference in this game. Keeping track of the cards played in each suit helps you to master this game, and practice and experience have no substitute.
Hearts is a cutthroat game, meaning that you normally don’t play in partnerships, no matter the number of players involved. The game here focuses on the four-player game, where all the cards are distributed evenly, 13 to a player.
The game revolves around tricks. In a trick, everyone takes turns playing one card. Whoever plays the highest card in the suit led (the suit of the first card played) picks up all the cards played. The person who wins the trick leads a card to the next trick. He can lead anything he likes — with one exception, he can’t play a heart until someone else discards a heart on a trick. The process repeats itself until all the cards have hit the table.
Unlike most competitive games, the object of Hearts is to avoid scoring points. More specifically, the aim is not to win tricks that contain certain cards that score you points.
The name of the game holds the clue: The problem suit in this game is hearts. For each heart you have at the end of each hand, you get one point. However, the Queen of Spades has a big — and nasty! — role in the game, too. Whoever wins that card in a trick picks up a 13-point penalty. That makes the Queen of Spades as bad as all the hearts put together.
How To Play 31 Card Game Video
You play Hearts to a set score, and the winner of the game is the player who has the lowest score when another player goes over the top. Alternatively, you can play a set number of hands and stop the game at that point, with the lowest score winning.
At the start of the game, you cut for seating rather than just for the deal, because the seating positions matter in Hearts. Arrange the seating from the highest card to the lowest, with the player who cut the lowest card dealing the first hand. You stay in the same seats for the whole game. The dealer shuffles and passes the cards to the opponent on his right to cut.
Deal all the cards out in the traditional fashion — one card at a time, face-down, and clockwise. At the end of every hand, the deal passes to the left to the next player.
Misdeals can arise in a number of ways. If a card appears face-up in the deck, the dealer gives out the wrong number of cards, or the dealer turns over anyone else’s cards, the hand is immediately redealt with no penalties. If the dealer manages to turn over one of her own cards, the deal stands, with the only consequence being that the other players have a little extra information about her hand.
If no player spots that some players have the wrong number of cards before play begins, the deal stands, but the penalties are very severe. Play continues until the last possible valid trick, when the players with the wrong number of cards pick up the penalties for the unplayed heart cards as if they had won the tricks with those cards in them.