Last Updated on September 1, 2025 by The Official Game Rules Team

Kings in the Corner is a fast-paced multiplayer card game that combines elements of Solitaire. Players strategically discard cards by building sequences in four corner piles and a central area. This page provides a clear breakdown of the rules, guiding you through the card placement, sequence building, and tactical card movement that define this engaging game.

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How to Play Kings in the Corner

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Introduction

Kings in the Corner enjoys widespread popularity in North America despite not being frequently featured in many American card game collections. The main goal is to discard all your cards by strategically placing them onto eight tableau piles arranged in a solitaire-like fashion. These piles are built by alternating card colors in descending order. Four piles start in the center, and up to four more “corner” piles can be created by placing kings, which is how the game gets its name.

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Setup: Dealing the Cards

Step 1: Deal 7 Cards to Each Player

Start by shuffling a standard 52-card deck. Remove any jokers or extra cards before dealing. Give 7 cards to each player, dealing clockwise beginning with the player to your left. Place the remaining deck face-down in the middle of the table to form the draw pile.

Step 2: Set Up the Foundation Piles

Turn over the top 4 cards from the deck and place them face-up around the center pile in a cross formation—one card on each side (top, bottom, left, and right). These form the foundation piles.

• If any of the 4 cards is a king, immediately move it to one of the corner spaces (between the foundations).
• Replace any king moved with a new card from the draw pile.

Step 3: Organize Your Hand

Players hold their cards secretly. For strategic play, it’s helpful to group your hand by suit or arrange cards in descending order to track potential moves easily.

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Kings in the Corner Gameplay

Step 1: Draw a Card to Begin Your Turn

The player to the left of the dealer goes first. At the start of each turn, draw one card from the top of the central deck and add it to your hand.

Step 2: Make as Many Moves as Possible

On your turn, you can play as many cards as you want using the following actions:

• Play a King to a Corner: If you have a king, place it in an empty corner space to start a new pile. These are known as “King’s Corners.”
• Build Descending Sequences: You can place a card onto any foundation pile if it is one rank lower and the opposite color (red on black or black on red).
  • Example: A red 9 can be placed on a black 10.
  • The card sequence goes: K, Q, J, 10, 9, …, 2, A. Aces are the lowest and cannot start new sequences.

Important: You are not required to play a king right away if you have one.

Step 3: Merge Existing Piles

If the bottom card of one pile can legally be placed on the top card of another (opposite color and one rank lower), you may merge them.

• You must move the entire pile when merging, not just individual cards.
• After a merge, you may fill the empty space with any card or valid sequence from your hand.

Optional Rule: If a full sequence from king to ace is formed, you can remove that pile from the table to free up space.

Step 4: End Your Turn

Once you can’t make any more moves—or choose not to—your turn ends. Play passes to the next player clockwise.

• Always draw one card at the start of each new turn.
• If no moves are possible, the player simply draws a card and ends their turn.

When the draw pile runs out, continue playing without drawing.

Step 5: Win the Round

The round ends immediately when a player plays their last card. That player wins the round!

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Scoring and Game Variations

Variation 1: Optional Draw Rules

In some versions of Kings in the Corner, players only draw a card when they cannot make a play during their turn. Other variations allow players to draw a second card at the end of their turn.

Variation 2: Scoring Over Multiple Rounds

For extended play, use a point system:

• At the end of each round, players tally 1 point per card left in hand.
• Kings are worth 10 points each.
• The game continues until one player reaches a predetermined total (e.g., 25, 50, or 100 points).
• The player with the lowest score at that point is declared the winner.

Variation 3: Poker Chip Scoring

Use 80 poker chips divided evenly among players.

• At the start of each round, each player puts 1 chip into the pot.
• The winner of the round (the first to go out) takes the pot.
• Optionally, players can pay chips based on their leftover hand (1 chip per card, 10 per king).
• First to reach 100 chips wins the overall game.

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Kings in the Corner

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Final Thoughts on Kings in the Corner Rules

Whether you’re playing a casual game or using one of the scoring variations, Kings in the Corner is a great card game for families and friends. The simple setup and easy-to-learn mechanics make it perfect for all ages. Remember the key strategies: manage your kings, merge smartly, and plan your sequences.

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