Deal three cards
Every player starts with three cards and five nickels. Turn one card face-up to begin the discard pile.
Corky's Nickel Knock™Learn it in one hand
How to play
Nickel Knock™.
Build the strongest same-suit hand, know when to knock, and hold onto your five nickels.
A♥K♥Q♥31
Build your best suit
Only cards in the same suit add together. Aces are 11, face cards are 10, and number cards keep their face value.
Draw one, discard one
Take the top card from the deck or discard pile, then discard one card so your hand returns to three.
Get 31 or knock
Three cards of one suit totaling 31 end the hand immediately. Otherwise, knock when you believe your hand can beat the table.
One final turn
After a knock, every other active player gets one last turn to improve their hand.
Protect your nickels
The lowest hand loses a nickel. If several players tie for the lowest score, each of them loses a nickel. The last player with nickels remaining wins the game.
Round and game details
What happens next?
31 ends the round
A 31 wins that hand immediately. The full game continues unless that result leaves the player with 31 as the only player who still has nickels.
Final-nickel replay
If every remaining player has one nickel and all of them tie for the lowest score, nobody loses a nickel. The table shows “Final nickel tie. Play another hand.”
Eliminated players
A player who loses the last nickel sits out the rest of that game. After the game ends, eliminated players can join a new game at the same table.
When the deck runs out
The top discard stays face-up. The older cards in the discard pile are shuffled to make a new draw deck, and the hand continues.
Rules understood