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I am always on the lookout for a new game and card games are so easy since everyone has a deck of cards at home. (I honestly keep a deck in my car and sent both my girls off to college with one. You never know when you have the opportunity to play a game.)
So while I was working on my Date Night Series, I was looking for a two person card game that you could play with pennies to fit one of the themes. I stumbled across the game 31 (aka Scat) and although I tweaked it to make it more interesting for two players, I wanted to share the multiple player version.
This game is really easy learn, fun to play and has so many variations of play. But let’s not get ahead of ourselves. Here is the main version.
You will need a deck of cards, minus the jokers, three items per person representing a life (coin, dollar bill, candy or poker chip) and 4 or more people.
Each player is dealt three cards. The remainder of the deck is placed in the middle of the table and the first card is turned over to start the discard pile.
The object of the game is to try to get to 31 points – all of the same suit. Here is how the scoring goes:
Aces – 11 points
King, Queen, Jack – 10 points
Number cards – Face value
You can also win with Three of a Kid which is worth 30 1/2 points
The first player to the left of the dealer goes first and play goes in a clockwise order. The player looks at their cards to determine how to get a better hand. They can either choose the card on the top of the discard pile or choose one off the top of the deck. The player must then discard a card, never having more than 3 cards in his or her hand.
The next player does the same, choosing the top card on the discard pile or the top one from the deck. Play continues around until a player (on his/her turn) guesses that their hand is worth the most points. At that point, the player knocks on the table.
The hand does need to equal 31. It might be 27, but, if based on watching the others pick up and discard cards, the player feels their hand is the highest at the table, they can knock even if it’s only their first turn.
After a player knocks, all the other players have one more turn to improve their hand before all cards are shown.
The knocker will show their hand first. Anyone who has less points than the knocker will lose a life (coin, chip, etc.) and give it to the person with the highest hand.
If the knocker did not beat anyone’s hand, he/she will lose two lives. In the case of a tie, for the biggest hand, the game is draw and no one loses a life. The only exception, again is the knocker. He/she will lose one life if he/she tied for highest hand, yet everyone else is safe.
So what if the player has exactly 31 in their hand? So here is the fun part for that player. As soon as the player gets 31 points in their hand, they shout “31” and all play ends. They are the winner and all the other players loose a life.
If playing with money or candy, the “lives” go to the winner of each round. If playing with chips, the losers just lose them. As soon as you are out of lives, you are out of the game.
Other options for playing:
No matter how you play, this game is fun for all ages and can be played with your classroom, scout troop, youth group, friends or family. You can even play it with two for date night! Check out how here!
