Kings in the Corner Rules: How to Play Kings Corner

These kings in the corner rules explain a gentle, easy-to-learn card game that plays like a multiplayer solitaire. Players share a cross-shaped layout of cards and take turns playing from their hands, building piles down in alternating colors. It is a favorite with grandparents and grandkids because it teaches card order and colors while still leaving room for clever moves. You will also see it called Kings Corner or Kings Corners.

Quick rules

• 2 to 4 players, one standard 52-card deck, 7 cards each.
• Four cards are laid face up around the draw pile in a cross.
• Draw one card at the start of every turn.
• Play cards onto piles in descending order and alternating colors (red 7 on black 8).
• Kings can only go in the four corner spaces.
• Move whole piles, and fill empty spaces with any card.
• First player to empty their hand wins.

What you need

• One standard 52-card deck, no jokers.
• A table with room for a 3 by 3 layout of cards.
• Paper and pen if you want to play several rounds with scoring.

Setup

1. Shuffle and deal 7 cards to each player, one at a time, face down.
2. Place the rest of the deck face down in the center as the stock.
3. Turn four cards face up, one on each side of the stock (north, south, east and west), making a cross. These are the foundation piles.
4. The diagonal spaces between them are the four corners, empty at the start.
5. If a king is turned up in a side pile, move it to a corner and fill its side space from the stock.

How to play

Start of your turn

1. The player to the dealer's left goes first, then play passes clockwise.
2. Begin each turn by drawing the top card of the stock into your hand.

Moves you can make

During your turn you can make as many of these moves as you like, in any order:

1. Build down: play a card from your hand onto any pile if it is one rank lower and the opposite color. A red 9 goes on a black 10; a black 3 goes on a red 4. Aces are low, so an ace finishes a pile.
2. Play a king to a corner: kings can only start piles in the empty corner spaces. You can then build down on them like any other pile.
3. Move a pile: if the bottom card of one pile fits on the top card of another (one rank lower, opposite color), move the entire pile on top of it. This opens up a side space.
4. Fill an empty space: any card from your hand can go into an empty side space (north, south, east or west). Only kings may fill corners.

End of your turn

When you cannot or do not want to play any more cards, your turn ends and play passes left. There is no discard. If the stock runs out, players carry on without drawing until someone goes out or no one can move.

Scoring

For a single round, the first player to go out simply wins. For a longer game, losers score penalty points for cards left in hand:

Sources differ here: some families count every card as 1 point, and others use face values. Play to an agreed total (often 25 or 50) and the lowest score wins, or give the winner points instead.

How to win

Be the first player to play every card from your hand. If the stock runs out and nobody can move, the player with the fewest penalty points wins the round.

Variations

• Draw at the end: some players draw a card only if they could not play at all during their turn.
• Must play if able: a stricter rule where you must keep playing while you have a legal move.
• Counter version: each player starts with 10 counters or matchsticks and puts one in the middle each time they cannot play. The winner collects the middle pile, and the player with most counters after several rounds wins.
• Two decks: for 5 or 6 players, shuffle two decks together and deal 7 each.
• Same-suit build: a harder version where you build down in the same suit instead of alternating colors.

Tips and strategy

• Look for pile moves before playing from your hand. Moving a pile opens a side space for any card, which is the best way to dump an awkward high card.
• Hold your kings until a corner is free, and play them early so you are not stuck with 10 penalty points.
• Keep cards that link together (a black 8 and red 7) so you can play them in one turn.
• Try not to open a side space just before your turn ends; the next player gets a free spot.
• Count which colors are already used. If both red 6s are buried, your black 5 needs a different home.

House rules to agree first

• Whether you draw at the start of the turn or only when stuck.
• Whether pile moves are allowed only from side piles or also from corners (corner kings never move).
• Scoring: 10 per king and 1 per other card, or 1 per card.
• What happens when the stock runs out.

Looking for more easy family card games? Try Go Fish, Crazy Eights, solitaire if you enjoy the building, or browse card games for kids and card games for two.