Kings in the Corner rules: how to play

Setup and the deal

You need a standard 52-card deck with the jokers removed, and 2 to 4 players. The deal takes under a minute.

1. 1

   Deal 7 cards to each player

   Choose a dealer (draw for it; lowest card deals). Deal seven cards to each player, one at a time, face down. Players pick up and look at their own cards.

2. 2

   Build the stock

   Place the rest of the deck face down in the middle of the table. This is the stock (draw pile).

3. 3

   Flip four cards into a cross

   Turn the top four cards of the stock face up and place them north, west, east and south of the stock — like the points of a compass. These start the four foundation piles.

4. 4

   A flipped king goes straight to a corner

   If one of the four turned-up cards is a king, place it in a corner space immediately and flip a replacement card for the cross. (This is the boxed-edition rule; some casual tables leave the king in the cross instead — decide before you start.)

5. 5

   The player left of the dealer goes first

   Play proceeds clockwise. Each round, the deal passes one seat to the left, so nobody keeps the first-turn advantage.

Your turn, step by step

A turn is: draw one card from the stock, then make as many legal plays as you want — or none — and end your turn. You are never forced to play a card you would rather keep.

1. 1

   Draw one card

   Take the top card of the stock into your hand. Once the stock is empty, skip this step and keep playing from what you hold.

2. 2

   Play cards onto the piles

   Play any card from your hand that is exactly one rank lower and the opposite colour of a pile’s exposed card — a red 9 on a black 10, a black queen on a red king. Aces are the lowest card, so nothing can ever be played on an ace.

3. 3

   Play kings into empty corners

   Only a king may start a corner pile. Once a king is in a corner, it takes normal descending, alternating-colour plays like any other pile.

4. 4

   Move whole piles to open a space

   If the bottom card of one cross pile fits the exposed card of another pile, you may move the entire pile across in one go. The space this opens takes ANY card or pile — spaces are the most valuable squares on the board.

5. 5

   End your turn

   When you cannot play or choose to stop, play passes clockwise. There is no limit to how many cards you may play in one turn.

What plays where

Every legal play in the game reduces to four cases: an occupied pile, an empty corner, an empty cross space, and a whole-pile move.

• Card ranking is K-Q-J-10-9-8-7-6-5-4-3-2-A. Aces are LOW — nothing plays on an ace, and an ace has nowhere to go except onto a red or black 2, or into a space.
• Sequences alternate red and black all the way down, exactly like a solitaire tableau.
• Corner piles never move — a king is the highest card, so a corner pile can never legally sit on anything else.

Winning a round, and scoring the losers

The round ends the instant a player plays their last card. Everyone else counts the cards left in their hand: 10 penalty points per king, 1 point per other card. The match ends when someone reaches 25 points, and the LOWEST total wins.

• Going out mid-turn counts — you do not need to end your turn to win.
• For a single casual game, first player out simply wins (this is the version in Bicycle’s official rules).
• For match play, keep a running penalty score across rounds; 25 points is the standard end, 50 for a longer evening. Full details on the scoring page.
• If the stock is empty and a complete cycle of turns passes with nobody playing anything, the round is blocked: every player scores the hand they hold.

Glossary of terms

Corner

One of the four diagonal spaces of the layout, reserved for kings. Only a king may start a corner pile, which is what gives the game its name.

Cross

The four foundation piles north, west, east and south of the stock, each started with one face-up card at the deal.

Foundation pile

Any of the piles cards are played onto, built downward in alternating colours — a red 9 on a black 10, a black 8 on the red 9.

Stock

The face-down draw pile in the centre of the layout. Each player draws its top card at the start of their turn until it runs out.

Space

An empty cross position created by moving an entire pile onto another pile. A space may be filled with any card or pile, which makes it the most valuable square on the board.

Going out

Playing the last card from your hand, which ends the round immediately and scores every other player’s remaining cards against them.

Blocked round

A round in which the stock is empty and a full cycle of turns passes with no one able or willing to play; every player scores the hand they still hold.

Frequently asked questions

How many cards do you deal in Kings in the Corner?

Seven cards to each player, regardless of whether two, three or four are playing. The rest of the deck becomes the central draw pile, with four cards turned face-up around it.

Do you draw a card at the beginning or end of your turn?

At the beginning. The official sequence is: draw one card from the stock, then make as many plays as you wish, then pass. Some house rules draw at the end of the turn instead — agree before you start, because it changes when a drawn card can first be played.

Can you put any card in the corner in Kings in the Corner?

No. An empty corner takes only a king. Once a king is there, the corner pile builds down in alternating colours like any other pile — a black queen on a red king, and so on.

What happens when the draw pile runs out?

Play continues without drawing — each turn is simply plays from the hand. If a full cycle of turns passes and nobody plays anything, the round is blocked and every player scores the cards they still hold.

Are aces high or low in Kings in the Corner?

Aces are low — the sequence runs king down to ace. An ace can only be played onto a 2 of the opposite colour or into an empty space, and nothing can ever be played on top of an ace.

How many points is a king worth in Kings in the Corner?

A king left in your hand when someone goes out costs you 10 penalty points; every other card costs 1. That 10-to-1 ratio is why getting kings into corners early is the single most important habit in the game.

Can you move a whole pile in Kings in the Corner?

Yes. If the bottom card of one cross pile fits the exposed card of another pile (one rank lower, opposite colour), you may move the entire pile across in one go. The space it leaves behind can then be filled with any card.

Is Kings in the Corner the same as Kings Corner?

Yes — Kings Corner, Kings Corners and King’s Corner are all names for the same game. The boxed edition sold since 1996 uses "Kings in the Corner"; casual players shorten it.

Sources

The rules above follow the two published sources that agree on every core point: Bicycle’s official Kings Corner rules (bicyclecards.com/how-to-play/kings-corner) for the deal, turn order and legal moves, and the boxed-edition rules for the 10-points-per-king penalty scoring and the flipped-king replacement at setup. Where casual tables differ — draw timing, scoring targets — the variants page names each difference rather than pretending there is one true version.