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Official Five Crowns Rules
Five Crowns is a fun shedding game where you try to get rid of all your cards before your opponents. Here's how to play:
Objective
To obtain the lowest number of points after playing all eleven hands of the game.
Setup
1. Shuffle the decks together (or one deck if playing with less than 4) and deal cards face down to each player.
2. The number of cards dealt depends on the round. Start with 3 cards in the first round and increase by 1 card for each subsequent round (up to 13 cards in the final round).
3. Place the remaining deck face down in the center of the table. This is the draw pile.
4. Flip the top card of the draw pile face up to start the discard pile.
Gameplay
The player to the dealer's left starts the game and turns proceed clockwise.
On your turn, you can do one of two things:
Draw a Card: Draw the top card from the draw pile.
Play a Card: Discard a card from your hand to the discard pile. There are two ways a card can be played:
Matching Rank or Suit: You can play a card that matches the rank (number) or suit of the top card on the discard pile.
Wild Card: Play a Joker or a card with the same number as the number of cards dealt in the current round (e.g., if 5 cards are dealt, all 5s are wild).
Building Books and Runs: The goal is to form books (sets of three or four cards of the same rank) and runs (consecutive cards of the same suit) in your hand. You cannot play these formed sets or runs onto the discard pile, they must be held in your hand.
Discarding and Drawing: After playing a card (or choosing to draw), discard one card from your hand face up onto the discard pile. Then, draw a new card from the draw pile to replenish your hand back to the starting number for that round.
Going Out: When you are able to arrange all the cards in your hand into books and/or runs with only one card remaining, you can "go out." Note: Discard your remaining card and lay down all your formed books and runs on the table.
End of Round: When a player is able to go out, the remaining players each have one last turn. Each remaining player, in turn, will either draw from the deck or pick up the top discard. The player will then lay down all his/her books and/or runs, discard one card, and count the cards remaining in his/her hand as points against him/her. One cannot play on another player’s books or runs. The value of the cards on the table does not matter, only cards remaining unused in the hand are counted. The scorekeeper records the points and keeps a running tally
New Round: Shuffle the discard pile (excluding the top card) to form a new draw pile. Deal out a new set of cards based on the round number (increasing by 1 card each round). Flip the top card of the new draw pile to start the discard pile for the next round.
Winning the Game
The first player to discard all their cards in their hand during their turn and go out wins the game!
Notes/Variations
The value of cards in your hand at the end of the round are counted as penalty points (face value for numbered cards, 11 for Jacks, 12 for Queens, 13 for Kings, and 50 for Jokers). The player with the lowest score after a predetermined number of rounds wins the game.
Kings become wild in the final round (when 13 cards are dealt).
Five Crowns is a fun and strategic game that can be enjoyed by players of all ages.
