Cards rules

Turn Basics

A turn is one table action: play a legal move, draw a card, or respond to a pending penalty, jump, kickback, or demand.

Rules

• The previous winner starts the next round. For a new table, the host or dealer starts.
• The starter chooses the first direction of play. In a two-player table the direction label is not meaningful, but Jacks and Kings still create counter windows.
• On your turn you either play a legal move, draw a card, or respond to a pending penalty, jump, kickback, or card demand.
• Drawing ends your turn immediately. You cannot play the card you just drew in the same turn.
• An illegal play under a pending penalty serves the full pending penalty. Outside a penalty, an illegal play draws one card.
• A player with no cards who did not win stays in the game. When their turn returns, they draw.

Examples

• If it is your turn and you cannot match the table, tap Draw. That draw ends your turn.
• If a player emptied their hand with a non-winning card, they are cardless but not the winner. When their turn returns, they draw.

Deck, Deal, and Start Card

Cards uses a standard deck, optional Jokers, and a safe starting card so the first turn begins from a normal state.

Rules

• The game supports 2 to 6 verified players.
• The deck is a standard 52-card deck, plus two Jokers when the table enables them.
• Each player is dealt the starting hand size the table chose, either 3 or 4 cards. Tables default to 4.
• The remaining cards become the draw pile. One valid card is turned to start the discard pile.
• The start card can never be a 2, 3, 8, J, Q, K, A, or Joker. If one of those turns up it goes back, the deck is reshuffled, and another card is turned.
• That leaves 4, 5, 6, 7, 9, and 10 as the only cards a game can open on.

Examples

• A table can start on 5♣, 7♥, 9♠, or 10♦.

Matching and Stacking

The first card of your move has to match the active suit or rank, sit inside the active Joker colour group, or satisfy an active demand. An Ace is the one card that can always go down.

Rules

• A normal first card matches if it shares the active suit or the active rank.
• An Ace is always a legal first card, even when it matches neither the active suit nor the active rank.
• If a Joker colour group is active, any card in that colour group matches it.
• After the first card, plain cards stack by rank only.
• Suit-only chaining is allowed inside a question chain, not for ordinary stacks.
• An A, J, K, penalty card, or Joker ends your move. Nothing can follow it except more cards of that same rank, and only where the rules allow it.
• The card touching the discard pile is the first card in your selected move, so ordering matters.

Examples

• On a top card of 10♣, 10♥ is legal by rank and 7♣ is legal by suit.
• 7♥ then 7♠ is a legal plain stack. 7♥ then 5♥ is not, because plain stacks ignore suit.
• Q♣ then Q♥ then 8♥ can be legal, because questions are allowed to chain by suit or rank.

Grouping Your Hand

Grouping only rearranges how your cards appear. It does not select cards, play a move, or change what is legal.

Rules

• Group is a display tool. Every physical card stays in your hand, and the rules engine still validates anything you select.
• Classic shows your longest legal stack first when one exists. It then keeps cards in a familiar shedding order: awkward finishing cards, winning cards, and useful control cards.
• Playable reads the current table and moves every legal option to the front. Use it when you want to answer the card on the table quickly.
• Strategic looks for the strongest route forward: a complete winning move, a forced response, or a powered-Ace setup. It then keeps a possible closing combination together and control cards for later.
• Combos studies only the cards in your hand. It groups question chains first, then matching ranks, matching suits, control cards, and single cards. It does not care what is currently playable.
• Classic, Playable, and Strategic can mark the leading cards as Play now. Combos deliberately does not, because it is showing hand structure rather than recommending a table move.
• Tapping Group again with the same hand and table state produces the same order. You can still select cards in a different order whenever you want.

Examples

• Choose Playable when the table shows 7♥ and you want every legal 7, Heart, or Ace brought to the front.
• Choose Strategic when you are close to Kady and want a winning chain or powered-Ace setup kept together.
• Choose Combos to spot a hand such as Q♥, 8♥, and 4♥ as one question-and-answer chain, even when it cannot be played yet.
• Choose Classic when you already know the game and simply want a stable, familiar shedding order.

Questions and Answers

Q and 8 ask a question. Whoever played it must answer it, chain another question, or leave it open and draw one.

Rules

• A question card is a Q or an 8.
• You can play a question card whenever it legally matches the table, exactly like any other first card.
• A question can be followed by another question when the two cards connect by suit or by rank. The newest one becomes the question that needs an answer.
• Only the last unresolved question in the move has to be answered.
• An answer has to match the suit of the question it answers. Answer cards never answer by rank.
• The answer cards are 4, 5, 6, 7, 9, and 10.
• A penalty card can answer a same-suit question, and it still sends its penalty afterwards.
• A Joker can answer a question whose suit falls inside its colour group, and it still sends its draw-5.
• An Ace answers any question whatever the suit. It is the one card that ignores the suit rule.
• Answering costs an Ace nothing. It keeps every power it would have on a normal turn: a normal Ace still calls a suit, and a special or stacked Ace still calls an exact card.
• Same-suit J and K cards can answer only when the table enables action-card answers. They still trigger their jump or kickback.
• If you end your move on an unanswered question, you draw one card and your turn ends.
• The next player never inherits your question. They simply play against that question card's suit or rank, like any other top card.

Examples

• Q♥ then 9♥ answers the question.
• Q♥ then 9♠ does not, because an answer has to match the question's suit.
• Q♣ then Q♥ then 8♥ then 4♥ is a valid chain. The 4♥ only has to answer the 8♥.
• 8♥ then 3♥ is valid: the 3 answers the question, then sends a draw-3.
• Play Q♠ alone and stop, and you draw one card. The next player just plays a Spade or another Q against it.

Penalty Cards

2, 3, and Joker create draw penalties. The next player can block with an Ace, stack the same rank, or draw.

Rules

• A 2 sends a draw-2. A 3 sends a draw-3. A Joker sends a draw-5.
• Any Ace blocks a pending penalty, whatever its suit.
• A pending 2 or 3 can be stacked by playing the same rank. Only the same rank: a 3 cannot answer a 2.
• A pending Joker can only be answered by another Joker. A Joker can never block or stack onto a pending 2 or 3.
• In a two-player table, playing the same penalty rank sends the penalty straight back at its original size rather than adding to it.
• With three or more players, stacked penalties carry forward and add up around the table.
• Penalty play mode controls whether you may hold same-rank penalty cards back or must drop every one you hold.
• If you attempt an illegal play while a penalty is pending, you draw the full penalty amount.

Examples

• Player A plays a 2. In a two-player table, Player B can play a 2 straight back, and Player A draws 2 unless they block.
• In a four-player table, Player A plays a 2 and Player B plays a 2, so Player C faces a draw-4.
• If a draw-5 Joker is pending and you play an invalid card, you draw 5, not 1.

Jokers

Jokers are optional penalty cards. Their colour group decides which suits stay playable.

Rules

• Jokers can be disabled by table preference. Without them, the only penalty cards are 2 and 3.
• A Red Joker stands for ♥ and ♦. A Black Joker stands for ♠ and ♣.
• You can only play a Joker onto its own colour group or onto another Joker. A Red Joker needs ♥ or ♦ to be active.
• After a Joker, the active condition becomes that Joker's whole colour group, so the next player can come back with either suit in it.
• A Joker is a draw-5 penalty card, and it ends your move.
• Any Joker answers a pending Joker penalty, even one from the other colour group.
• A Joker can answer a question whose suit falls inside its colour group, and it still sends its draw-5.
• A powered Ace can block a Joker penalty and then choose one suit from inside that Joker's colour group.

Examples

• Red Joker makes ♥ and ♦ active.
• Black Joker makes ♠ and ♣ active.
• Red Joker then a powered Ace: the Ace blocks the draw-5 and picks either ♥ or ♦.

Aces

Aces are the most flexible cards in the game. They play on anything, answer any question, block any penalty, and can call the next condition.

Rules

• An Ace can be played even when it matches neither the active suit nor the active rank.
• An Ace played on a normal turn can call the suit the next player has to follow.
• An Ace answers any question regardless of suit, and it still makes its call afterwards. An Ace used as an answer is simply an Ace.
• Any Ace blocks a pending 2, 3, or Joker penalty.
• A blocking Ace only blocks. Play carries on from the penalty card's suit, rank, or colour group, unless a powered Ace is used.
• An Ace ends your move. It cannot bridge into another card, and only another Ace can follow it, and only when stacked Aces are enabled.
• An Ace can never be the final card of a winning move.

Examples

• Top card 7♥: A♣ is still playable.
• Q♥ then A♣ answers the question, and that Ace still calls a suit for the next player.
• A♠ then 9♥ is not a move. The Ace ends your turn on the spot.
• If your last card is the A♠, playing it does not win. Aces never win.

Special Ace and Demands

When enabled, the A♠ and stacked Aces can demand an exact card. A single Ace can strip that demand back down.

Rules

• Special Ace is a table preference. By default the A♠ is the special Ace.
• A special Ace played on a normal turn can demand an exact card, such as 3♥.
• You can only demand a card that is in your own hand, so no opponent can be holding it.
• Two or more Aces played together carry the same power, when stacked Aces are enabled.
• A special Ace used to answer a question still demands an exact card. Answering costs it nothing.
• The one thing that does strip an Ace is blocking a penalty. A blocking Ace calls a suit at most, never an exact card.
• Facing a demand, you play the demanded card, play one Ace to strip it, play two or more Aces to cancel it, or draw.
• Drawing does not clear a demand. Your turn ends and the demand passes to the next player, still active.
• One Ace strips one power. Strip the suit from 3♥ and any 3 will do. Strip the rank and any ♥ will do.
• Two or more Aces cancel a demand outright, and let that player make a new demand of their own.
• When the demand comes back around to the player who made it, they have to honour it. Their move must start with the demanded card.
• If a powered Ace was the demander's last card, they hold nothing to name, so the demand softens to a suit only.
• A demanded card behaves normally once it is finally played. A demanded 3♥ still sends its draw-3.
• Against a Joker penalty, a powered Ace blocks the penalty and then chooses one suit inside the Joker's colour group.

Examples

• The A♠ can demand 3♥, but only if 3♥ is in your own hand.
• Against a demand for 7♥, one Ace strips it to any ♥, or to any 7.
• Demand 7♥ with Kady armed, and if nobody strips it, you have to honour it next turn. That wins the game.
• Red Joker then A♠ blocks the draw-5 and chooses ♥ or ♦.

Jacks and Kings

Jacks jump. Kings kick back. Both open a counter window before the effect resolves.

Rules

• A J is a jump. It skips the next player once it resolves.
• A K is a kickback. It reverses the direction of play once it resolves.
• Stacked Kings resolve one by one. With three or more players, odd stacks reverse toward the previous player; even stacks return play to their owner and restore the original direction.
• Playing a J or a K ends your move. Your Kady period resolves first, then the targeted player's counter window begins. You cannot play a plain card behind it.
• Only the currently targeted player can counter, and only with the same kind of card: a J for a jump, a K for a kickback. Everyone else keeps normal disabled controls while they wait.
• With three or more players, multiple J cards skip one player per Jack, counted from whoever made the latest jump. Each affected player gets a separate counter period in seat order.
• When one affected player accepts a stacked Jump, that response completes first. Their Kady period opens when the table rules allow it, then the next affected player receives the next counter period.
• With three or more players, each stacked K reverses and advances the next-turn position one step. An even stack travels back to its owner; an odd stack lands on the previous player.
• In a two-player table, accepting any number of Jacks or Kings hands the turn back to the player who played them.
• Same-suit J and K cards can answer questions when that preference is enabled, and they still open their counter window.

Examples

• A plays a J and B counters with two. In a four-player table, C responds to the first Jump, then D responds to the second. If both accept, play continues with A.
• At an A-B-C-D table, one King from A points to D, two point back to A, three point to D, and four point back to A.
• J♣ then 7♣ is not a legal move. The Jack ends your move and opens the counter window first.
• Q♥ then K♥ is only legal when action-card answers are enabled, and the King still waits for its counter.

Kady and Winning

Winning takes a valid Kady declaration, unless the table is in Bubu mode, plus one legal move that empties your hand.

Rules

• Winning final cards are 4, 5, 6, 7, 9, and 10. Nothing else can be the last card down.
• Traditional tables open a private Kady period after every card play, draw, or accepted counter. Kady Help tables pause only when the engine confirms a Kady combo or immediate Jack or King return threat.
• Local practice enables Kady Help by default. Online tables default to traditional periods because a Kady-only pause can reveal that someone is close to winning.
• The next player waits until you declare Kady, choose Continue, or let the timer expire. Saying Kady after this period does not count.
• Saying "Niko Kady" arms your next winning chance.
• Playing a legal card does not cancel an existing Kady declaration. This includes playing a J or K before its effect resolves.
• Drawing cancels Kady because your hand changed. Traditional mode opens a fresh period right away; Kady Help opens one when the new hand is a confirmed threat.
• On a traditional table, the Kady button remains available for the full period even when the solver disagrees. Kady Help uses the tested solver to skip unnecessary periods.
• The solver checks only whether your whole hand can form one winning move. It ignores the current top card; Jacks, Kings, Aces, penalties, and Jokers are setup cards rather than part of that final combo.
• The Kady hint also recognizes a Jack or King setup when accepting that action returns play straight to you and leaves a winning combo against the action card. The opponent may still counter.
• Heads-up, any Jack or King stack can return to its owner. With three or more players, enough Jacks to skip everyone else return immediately, and an even King stack also returns to its owner. Odd King stacks hand play to the previous player.
• To win, you have to play your entire remaining hand in one legal move.
• A question chain can win, as long as it ends on a winning answer card.
• You cannot win while another player is cardless. Play a legal card if you have one, otherwise draw.
• Bubu mode drops the declaration and its Kady period entirely. Jack and King counter timers still apply.

Examples

• Kady is armed and 4♥ is your last card. If it is playable, playing it wins.
• Q♥ then 8♥ then 9♥ wins, if that is your whole hand and Kady is armed.
• Q♥ then 3♥ does not win. The 3 is a penalty, so the move leaves a penalty pending.
• A K cannot win, even as your last card. Its kickback has to resolve first.

Understanding Table Preferences

Table preferences are house rules chosen before play. Each choice changes the pace, legal moves, winning conditions, or information players can see.

Rules

• Starting hand: 3 cards creates a shorter, tighter round with fewer opening choices. 4 cards is the standard setting and gives each player more ways to build a combination.
• Opponent hands: Keep hidden shows only your own hand size. Show counts reveals how many cards each opponent holds, but never reveals their cards. Hidden counts make it harder to tell who is close to winning.
• Winning move: Answer or Q + A lets you finish with one answer card or a legal question chain ending in an answer. Single answer requires your entire final move to be exactly one 4, 5, 6, 7, 9, or 10.
• Niko Kady: Say Kady requires a valid declaration before you can win. Bubu removes the declaration and all Kady periods, so players can win without warning. Jack and King response periods still remain in Bubu.
• Kady Help: When on, the table opens a Kady period only when the engine detects a winning combination or an immediate Jack or King return threat. When off, every hand-changing move gets a private Kady period, so the timing does not reveal who may be close to winning.
• Penalty cards: One at a time lets you save extra penalty cards of the same rank for later turns. Play all held requires you to drop every penalty card of that rank when you choose to play it.
• Jokers: Use Jokers creates a 54-card deck with Red and Black Jokers as draw-5 penalties. No Jokers uses the standard 52-card deck, leaving only 2 and 3 as penalty cards.
• Special Ace: A♠ lets that Ace demand an exact card when played normally, including as a question answer. No top Ace makes every Ace a normal suit-calling Ace.
• Stacked Aces: Stacked power allows two or more Aces in one move and gives the stack an exact-card demand. Normal stack disables Ace stacking, so an Ace ends the move by itself.
• Question answers: Answers only accepts an Ace, a same-suit answer or penalty card, or a Joker covering that suit. J/K answer also allows a same-suit Jack or King, which still triggers its jump or kickback.
• Response timer: 3 seconds, 5 seconds, 8 seconds, or 10 seconds controls Kady declaration periods and Jack or King counter periods. It does not limit ordinary turns. If a Kady timer expires, play continues without a declaration. If a counter timer expires, the jump or kickback is accepted and resolves.
• Timer pace: 3 seconds keeps experienced tables moving quickly, 5 seconds is the standard balance, and 8 or 10 seconds gives newer players more time to read and respond.

Examples

• For a first game, try 4 cards, visible counts, Say Kady with Kady Help, one-at-a-time penalties, Jokers, and an 8 or 10 second timer.
• For a private traditional table, use hidden counts, Say Kady without Kady Help, one-at-a-time penalties, Jokers, and the 5 second timer.
• For a fast Bubu table, use 3 cards, hidden counts, play-all-held penalties, no Jokers, and the 3 second timer.
• With Single answer enabled, Q♥ then 9♥ cannot win even though it is a legal move. The final winning move must be the 9♥ alone.
• With J/K answer enabled, Q♣ then K♣ answers the question and opens the King's kickback response period.

Drawing and Reshuffling

The draw pile recycles the discard pile when it runs low, while preserving the active top card.

Rules

• If you cannot play, you draw one card and your turn ends.
• A pending penalty makes you draw its full amount: 2, 3, or 5 cards.
• If the draw pile does not hold enough cards, the discard pile below the top card is shuffled into a new draw pile.
• The top card stays face up. It still defines what can be played next.
• Online games record the reshuffle, so every player at the table sees the same draw order.

Examples

• If a Joker penalty needs 5 cards but the draw pile holds 2, the game reshuffles the discards below the top card, then finishes the draw.
• The top card never disappears during a reshuffle, because players still need to know the active condition.

Online Tables and Lobby State

Online tables use verified players, host approval, persistent games, and private hands.

Rules

• Online play requires sign-in so tables, seats, and game history can be restored.
• The host creates the table, approves or declines join requests, and starts the round.
• Players can return to their online games from the online games page.
• A finished table should show the round outcome rather than a join prompt.
• Private hands stay private. Public state includes seats, turn, discard top, draw count, and move history.
• Move history is stored so future review, coaching, and monetized analysis can be built from the same event stream.

Examples

• If a player refreshes mid-game, their hand and turn state persist.
• If a join request is declined, the requester should see the reason in their online games history.