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Goal

Be the first player to reach 100 points. The winner then scores a game bonus, and both players score a bonus for every hand they won.

Cards

Use a standard 52-card deck without Jokers.

Ranking

In each suit the cards run A, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, J, Q, and K. The Ace is always low.

Starting hand

Deal 10 cards to each player. Turn the next card face up to start the discard pile. The rest of the cards go face down as the stock.

Play

1. The first turn. The player who didn’t deal may take the face-up card or pass. If they pass, the dealer may take it. If both pass, the player who didn’t deal draws the top card of the stock. Whoever took a card discards, and then the players take turns.
2. Draw. Take the top card of the stock or the top card of the discard pile.
3. Discard. Put one card face up on the discard pile. You can’t discard the card you just took from the discard pile.
4. Knock. Your deadwood is the cards that aren’t in a meld. If your deadwood would count 10 or less after your discard, you may knock. Put the discard face down and spread your hand face up in melds and deadwood. Knocking with no deadwood at all is gin. You never have to knock.
5. Lay off. After a knock, your opponent spreads their own melds. Unless you went gin, they can then lay off deadwood cards onto your melds. Nothing can be laid off onto deadwood, and the player who knocked never lays off.
6. The stock runs out. If a player discards without knocking and leaves 2 cards in the stock, the hand is canceled. Nobody scores, and the same dealer deals again.
7. The next hand. The winner of a hand deals the next one.

Scoring

Count each player’s deadwood after laying off: a J, Q, or K is 10, an Ace is 1, and every other card is its number.

The hand	Who scores
The knocker’s count is lower	The knocker scores the difference.
The knocker’s count is equal or higher	The knocker is undercut. The opponent scores the difference plus 10.
The knocker went gin	The knocker scores 20 plus the opponent’s count. Gin is never undercut.

The first player to reach 100 points or more wins the game and scores 100 more, or 200 more if the other player scored nothing all game. Then each player adds 20 points for every hand they won. These bonuses don’t count toward the 100 needed to win.

Meld types

• Run 3 or more cards of one suit in sequence
• Set 3 or 4 cards of the same rank

The Ace is low, so A, 2, 3 is a run and Q, K, A isn’t. A card can be in only one meld at a time. To lay off onto a set, add the fourth card of its rank. To lay off onto a run, add cards of its suit that continue the sequence at either end.

Examples

Three hands, each ended by Player 1 knocking. Each strip is a hand spread in melds, with its deadwood faded.

• Player 1 knocks with 2 Player 1 discards the 9♥ face down and spreads 3 melds. The 2♦ is the deadwood.
• Player 2 counts 24 A set of Kings, then the 6♠ laid off onto the spade run and the Q♣ onto the club run. The rest is deadwood, 8 + 4 + 2 + 1 + 9 = 24.
• A knock: Player 1 scores 22 Player 1’s 2 is lower than Player 2’s 24, so Player 1 scores the difference, 24 − 2 = 22.

• Player 1 knocks with 8 Player 1 discards the K♦ face down. The 8♥ is the deadwood.
• Player 2 counts 1 A set of 9s and a run of hearts, then the 4♠, the 6♠, and the K♠ laid off. Only the A♦ is left.
• An undercut: Player 2 scores 17 Player 1’s 8 isn’t lower than Player 2’s 1, so Player 2 scores the difference plus 10, 8 − 1 + 10 = 17.

• Player 1 goes gin Player 1 discards the 2♦ face down and has no deadwood at all.
• Player 2 counts 23 Nothing can be laid off against gin, so the 8♥ stays deadwood, though it would continue the heart run: 8 + 10 + 4 + 1 = 23.
• Gin: Player 1 scores 43 20 for gin plus Player 2’s count, 20 + 23 = 43.

Playing with your own deck

You need paper and a pencil to keep score. Write down each hand’s points and the running totals, and count the hands each player wins for the bonus at the end.