How to play Kings Corner
Kings Corner - also called Kings in the Corner - is a relaxed family card game for two to four players. Everyone tries to get rid of their hand by building it onto a shared, solitaire-style layout in the middle of the table. Here you play against the computer (Emma heads-up, or a full table of four with the 2p/3p/4p buttons), or invite friends with the Friends button.
- The deal - seven cards each. Four cards are turned face up next to the stock to start the north, east, south and west piles. The four corner spaces start empty.
- Draw - at the start of your turn you draw one card from the stock (it happens automatically; the new card wears a yellow dot).
- Build down, alternate colours - play cards onto any pile one rank lower and the opposite colour: a red 10 on a black jack, a black 9 on that red 10, and so on down to the ace. Nothing goes on an ace.
- Kings in the corners - only a king can start one of the four corner piles. Corners then build down like the others.
- Move whole piles - a side pile may move onto another pile when its bottom card fits that pile's top card (red 4 + black 3 onto black 7, red 6, black 5). A side pile with a king at the bottom may move into an empty corner.
- Empty side spaces - when a side pile has moved away, ANY card from your hand may fill the space.
- End your turn when you have played what you want - press End turn (or E). Empty your hand and you win the hand.
To play a card, click it and then click one of the glowing piles - or just drag it there. A card with only one possible spot plays straight away. To move a pile, click or drag the pile itself.
Scoring
When a player goes out, everybody else scores penalty points for the cards left in their hand: 10 for a king and 1 for any other card. Scores add up from hand to hand, and once someone reaches 25 points the game is over - the lowest total wins (a tie for lowest plays one more hand). If the stock runs out and a whole round passes with nobody able to play, the hand ends as an impasse and everyone counts their cards. This is the main scoring method described on pagat.com; other tables play to 50 or count cards at face value.
Tips to win at Kings Corner
- Get your kings out early. A king left in your hand costs 10 points - as much as ten ordinary cards. Put it in a corner the moment one is free.
- Look for pile moves before you play. Moving a pile onto another frees a side space, and an empty space takes ANY card - often your most awkward one.
- Play in chains. Before you drop a card, check whether you hold the next card down in the other colour. A red 8 followed by your black 7 sheds two cards and leaves an opponent less to build on.
- Fill empty spaces with high cards. A queen or jack in an empty space is hard to get rid of any other way, while low cards fit almost anywhere later.
- Watch the card counts. When an opponent is down to one or two cards, avoid leaving them an empty side space at the end of your turn - that space takes any card they hold.
Play Kings Corner with friends
Press Friends to open a private room and share the invite link - up to four people can play together, and the computer fills any empty seat. Every move is checked by the server, so nobody can peek at your hand.
Frequently asked questions
What are the rules of Kings Corner?
Each player gets seven cards and four cards are turned face up as the north, east, south and west piles. On your turn you draw one card, then make as many moves as you like: play cards onto the piles going down in alternating colours (a red 10 on a black jack), start one of the four corner piles with a king, move a whole pile onto another pile when it fits, and put any card into an empty side space. The first player to get rid of every card wins the hand.
How do you score Kings Corner?
We use the scoring from pagat.com: when somebody goes out, everyone else takes penalty points for the cards still in their hand - 10 for a king and 1 for any other card. Scores carry over from hand to hand. As soon as a player reaches 25 points the game ends and the player with the LOWEST total wins. If two players are tied for the lowest total, another hand is played.
Can you move a king to a corner in Kings Corner?
Yes. A king from your hand can start any empty corner, and if a king is turned up as one of the four starting piles (or ends up at the bottom of a side pile) you can move that whole pile into an empty corner. That frees the side space for any card from your hand. Only kings can open a corner.
What happens when the stock runs out?
Play simply continues without drawing. If the stock is gone and every player in turn ends their turn without being able (or willing) to play anything, the hand is an impasse: nobody wins it and everyone scores the cards left in their hand.
Do you draw at the start or the end of your turn?
Here you draw at the START of your turn, which is how most North American families and card game apps play it - the draw happens automatically, then you play and press End turn. The pagat.com description draws at the end of the turn instead and lists drawing first as a common variation; it changes the feel very little.
Is Kings Corner the same as Kings in the Corners solitaire?
No. They share a name but are different games. Kings Corner (this page) is a multiplayer shedding game played from a hand onto a cross-shaped layout. Kings in the Corners is a single-player puzzle on a 4x4 grid where kings, queens and jacks need their own slots - you can play that one here too.
Can I play Kings Corner online with friends?
Yes. Press the Friends button above the board, type a name and share the invite link - the game opens in their browser with no account and no download. The table has four seats: invite up to three friends, and any seat nobody takes is played by the computer, so you can start as soon as one friend has joined. The first friend to join sits across from you - your partner in the partnership games. The host deals when everyone is in. If a player drops out or stops responding, the computer takes over their seat so the game can always finish.
More free card games
Looking for the solitaire puzzle with a similar name? Play Kings in the Corners, where kings, queens and jacks each need their own slot on a 4x4 grid. Like shedding your hand onto a pile? Try Crazy Eights. And if building down in alternating colours is your thing, classic Solitaire is built on the very same rule.