Kings Corner Rules
Build down in red and black, put your Kings in the corners and be first to empty your hand: how to play Kings in the Corner.
Kings Corner (also called Kings in the Corner) is a card game for two to four players that plays like a shared game of solitaire. Everyone builds on the same layout of eight piles, going down in alternating colours, and the first player to get rid of all their cards wins. The four corner piles can only be started with a King, which gives the game its name. It is a family favourite in North America, easy enough for children and quick to play. This guide covers the Kings Corner rules step by step: the deal, the moves you can make, when you draw, scoring, popular variations, strategy and the odds.
Kings Corner Rules at a Glance
| Kings Corner | |
|---|---|
| Players | Two to four is usual; some families play with more. |
| Cards | A standard 52-card pack, no Jokers. Kings are high and Aces low. |
| Deal | Seven cards each. The rest form a face-down stock in the middle. |
| Layout | Four cards from the stock turned face up in a cross: north, east, south and west. |
| Building | Down in rank and alternating colour: a red 9 on a black 10, a black 8 on the red 9. |
| Corners | The four diagonal corners can only be started with a King. |
| Drawing | One card from the stock at the end of your turn (some play at the start). |
| Winning | The first player to play every card in their hand. |
How to Play Kings Corner
- Deal seven cards each, one at a time. Put the rest of the pack face down in the middle as the stock.
- Lay out the cross. Turn up the top four cards of the stock and place one on each side of it: north, east, south and west. The four corners stay empty for now.
- Start the play. The player to the dealer’s left goes first (with two players, the non-dealer).
- Make your moves. On your turn you can make as many moves as you like, in any order (see the table below).
- Draw one card from the stock to end your turn. If you can’t play anything, or don’t want to, you just draw.
- Keep going around the table. If the stock runs out, carry on playing without drawing.
- Go out to win. The first player to play the last card from their hand wins the hand.
The Moves You Can Make
| Move | How it works |
|---|---|
| Build on a pile | Play a card one rank lower and of the opposite colour on the top card of any pile, e.g. the 6 of hearts on the 7 of clubs. |
| Start a corner | Put a King from your hand in any empty corner. It is then built down like the other piles: a red Queen on a black King, and so on. |
| Move a whole pile | Move a pile onto another pile if its bottom card is one lower and of the opposite colour to the other pile’s top card. |
| Fill an empty space | Once a north, east, south or west space is empty, play any card from your hand there. |
| Move a King from the layout | If a King is turned up in the starting cross, it can be moved to a corner, leaving its space free. |
Nothing can be played on an Ace, because Aces are the lowest card. A pile that ends in an Ace is finished. Once a card is on the table it stays there; you can’t take it back into your hand.
When Do You Draw in Kings Corner?
In most published rules, you draw one card at the end of your turn, after you have made all your moves. Some rule sheets, and many families, draw at the start of the turn instead; then each player says “pass” or knocks at the end so the next player knows when to go. Either way, agree before you start. If you play the last card from your hand you have gone out, so you don’t draw.
Kings Corner Scoring
A single hand is often the whole game: the first to go out wins. To play a longer game, everyone else scores penalty points for the cards left in their hand, and the game ends when someone reaches an agreed total, often 25 or 50. The lowest score then wins.
| Card left in your hand | Penalty points (one common version) |
|---|---|
| King | 10 |
| Queen or Jack | 2 (some count them as 1) |
| Any other card | 1 |
Some families count cards by their value instead (picture cards 10, number cards their face value) and play to a higher total such as 100 or 250.
Popular Variations
| Variation | What changes |
|---|---|
| Kings must be played | A King in your hand must go in a corner as soon as there is room, or you take a penalty. |
| Draw two | Players draw two cards a turn instead of one, which makes the game longer and the hands bigger. |
| Draw until you can play | A player who can’t move keeps drawing until they find a card they can play. |
| Build in suit | Corner piles (or all piles) are built down in the same suit instead of alternating colours. |
| Corners score | Whoever completes a corner pile, all the way down to the Ace, keeps it. The player with the most corners wins. |
| Pot | Everyone puts a chip in the pot. Anyone who plays nothing on a turn adds another, and the winner takes the pot. |
Kings Corner Strategy
- Look for pile moves first. Moving one pile onto another is the only way to open a space in the cross, and an open space takes any card from your hand.
- Get your Kings out early. A King left in your hand at the end costs the most, and every King in a corner gives everyone a new pile to build on.
- Fill spaces with high cards. A Queen or a Jack in an empty space starts a long pile; a 2 starts a pile that ends with the next card.
- Think about what you leave behind. Before you play a card, check whether it gives the next player an easy move.
- Keep count of the colours. If both red 8s are already buried under other cards, a black 7 in your hand can only go in an empty space.
Pile moves make a bigger difference than most players expect. In 20,000 simulated games per line between simple computer players, a player who never moved piles won only 4.5% of two-player games and 4.0% of four-player games, against fair shares of 50% and 25%. The same player making pile moves, and going first, won 52% and 28%.
Kings Corner Odds
- A King in the starting cross turns up 28% of the time, giving the first player a free move to a corner.
- At least one King in your seven cards: 45%. Two or more: 8.3%.
- Going first helps a little. With four players, the first player won 28% of simulated games instead of an even 25%. With two players, 52%.
More Card Games
If you like Kings Corner, try Crazy Eights, Go Fish, Spit, Sevens and Hearts.
More building in order: Skip-Bo, where everyone shares four piles from 1 up to 12.
For two players with two packs: Spite and Malice, where Kings are wild.
A board game played with cards: Sequence game rules, including the one-eyed and two-eyed Jacks.
Kings Corner: frequently asked questions
How do you play Kings Corner?
When do you draw in Kings Corner?
Can you put any card in an empty space in Kings Corner?
Can you move a pile in Kings Corner?
What happens if a King is turned up in the layout?
What happens when the stock runs out?
How many players can play Kings Corner?
How do you score Kings Corner?
Fadi Hayek
Author & Casino Expert
After going through several successful experiences with several industry pioneers, Fadi Hayek has managed to excel in the world of content for online gaming by providing unique content for several projects that allowed him to obtain the necessary experience to launch his career. Last but not least, Fadi also holds several certificates, including but not limited to content marketing and iGaming.
