- Score sheets
- Card games
- Kings Corner
How to score Kings Corner
Kings Corner scoring is penalty points. When someone plays their last card, everyone else takes 10 for each king still in hand and 1 for every other card. Play to 25 or 50: when someone gets there, the fewest points wins.
- 2 to 4 players
- One standard deck
- Ends at 25 or 50
- Fewest points wins
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This is the real Scorepad, live. Deal 6 is the one worked out below. Tap any deal to change it.
Kings Corner
A family card game where players shed cards onto a cross of foundation piles, with kings opening the corners; the first to empty their hand wins the deal and everyone else takes penalty points for what they still hold.
Kings Corner on BoardGameGeek.
How to play Kings Corner, in brief
The aim in Kings Corner is to be first to play every card in your hand onto the piles around the deck.
- Deal 7 and make a crossDeal 7 each. Turn 4 cards face up, one on each side of the stock.
- Play down, switching colorsPlay a card one rank lower and the other color onto a pile: a red 9 on a black 10. Only a king can start a corner pile.
- Draw one a turnDraw one from the stock, then play as many cards as you like. Whole piles can move too.
- Go out, then deal againThe deal ends when someone plays their last card, or nobody can play once the stock is gone. Cards left in hand are penalty points; play to 25 or 50, and the fewest wins.
Get rid of your cards. Kings cost the most.
Only the cards still in your hand when the deal ends are scored, and they count against you. The player who went out scores 0.
What a card left in your hand costs
| Card | Points |
|---|---|
| Each king | 10 |
| Every other cardAce up to queen, whatever the suit | 1 |
| Going outThe player who plays their last card | 0 |
- Stop when someone goes outThe deal ends the moment a player plays the last card from their hand. They score 0.
- Count what you are holding10 for each king still in your hand, 1 for every other card.
- Score a stalled deal tooIf the stock runs out and nobody can play, the deal is over: everyone counts the cards they hold.
- Stop at the targetAgree on 25 or 50 before the first deal. When anyone reaches it, the game ends and the fewest points wins.
Deal 6: Priya goes out, and You pass 25.
Four players, playing to 25. Going into deal 6: You 15, Mara 14, Dev 19, Priya 15. Priya plays her last card, and everyone else is caught holding something. This is deal 6 on the Scorepad above.
| Player | Cards left in hand | Deal |
|---|---|---|
| You | K♣ 7♦ 3♠A king and two others: 10 + 1 + 1 | 12 |
| Mara | 8♥ 6♣ 4♦ 2♠Four cards: 1 + 1 + 1 + 1 | 4 |
| Dev | 9♥ 5♣ 2♦Three cards: 1 + 1 + 1 | 3 |
| Priya | Played her last cardWent out | 0 |
Every deal, kept straight.
Tabletales is a scorepad and scrapbook for game night. In Kings Corner, type each player’s leftover points after every deal: Tabletales adds them up and flags whoever reaches your target, so one quick game can run all evening.
- Pick Lowest winsEvery new game starts on Highest wins. Switch it and the trophy sits on the fewest points. Just playing one deal? Pick Who won? and tap the winner.
- 25 or 50, your callSet Play to a score and type 25 or 50. Whoever reaches it is flagged, so the table knows that deal was the last.
- Kings on the keypadType each hand’s points, or type it the way you count it (10 + 1 + 1 for a king and two others) and Tabletales adds it up. Type 0 for whoever went out.
- And the night is keptSave it with who played and a photo from the table. Each game gets a history: how often you play it, who with, and who holds the best score.
- Everyone who was there
- Photos from the table
- Kings Corner, with its scores
Common Kings Corner scoring mistakes
- Charging a king like any other cardA king stuck in your hand costs 10. Every other card costs 1.
- Crowning the first to the targetReaching 25 or 50 ends the game. The fewest points wins it.
- Throwing in a stalled dealA deal where the stock is gone and nobody can play still scores: everyone adds up what is in their hand.
Kings Corner scoring, answered
- How do you score Kings Corner?
- When a player goes out, everyone else takes penalty points for the cards left in their hand: 10 for each king and 1 for every other card. The fewest points wins.
- How many points do you play to in Kings Corner?
- Usually 25 or 50, agreed before the first deal. The game ends when someone reaches it, and the player with the fewest points wins.
- Do you have to keep score in Kings Corner?
- No. Bicycle’s rules play a single deal, and whoever empties their hand first wins. Points are for a longer game.
Kings Corner score sheet
Print one for the table: four players and twenty deals, with a running total beside every deal and the card costs at the bottom.
Score another game
Counts vary: Wikipedia’s common count makes queens and jacks 2 each. In its knockout version a player who reaches the target drops out and the last one left wins; the Scorepad can’t knock anyone out, so keep that on paper. Rules checked on 19 October 2026 against Bicycle Cards, Pagat and Wikipedia.
Keep score tonight. Keep the night for good.
Tabletales adds up every hand, then saves the whole night: the games, the scores, the photos and who was there.
