Card Game 101 #14: 31

31 is a great and easy-to-learn card game for two or more players. Try not to be the player farthest away from 31 at the end of a round! Read on to learn the basics of the card game 31.

✔ A standard 52-card deck

✔ 2 or more players

First of all, choose the dealer. The dealer can be selected by the players themselves, or using the following method:

- Each player draws one card from the deck. The player who draws the highest number gets to deal (for this purpose, count aces as 1, jacks as 11, queens as 12, and kings as 13). If two or more players tie for the highest number drawn, have the tying players re-draw from the deck.

Next, each player will be dealt three cards. The remaining deck is placed into the middle and the top card is flipped up to start the discard pile.

The objective of 31 is to try not to be the player with a point value that's farthest away from 31. If you fail to do this, you will lose a life. Each player starts with three lives.

✔ If all three cards are of different suits, the point value of the hand equals to the value of the highest card in the hand, with the following exception: a 3-of-a-kind is always worth 30 points regardless of the rank of the cards it comprises.

✔ If two of the three cards are in the same suit, only the values of the two cards in the same suit are added together as the value of the hand.

✔ If all three cards are of the same suit, their values are added together as the value of the hand.

The cards bear the following point values:

✔ Ace: 11

✔ Face card: 10

✔ 2-10: face value

Now let's go over some example calculations of card points, as knowing how to do this is essential in 31.

1. K♠ + 3♥ + 6♦ = 10 pts

Explanation: All cards in this hand are of different suits, so only the one with the highest value (K♠) counts towards the total points.

2. 5♣ + 9♣ + J♥ = 5 + 9 = 14 pts

Explanation: Two of the three cards in this hand (5♣ and 9♣) are in the same suit, so only their values count towards the total.

3. A♦ + 8♦ + Q♦ = 11 + 8 + 10 = 29 pts

Explanation: All three cards in this hand are in the same suit, so their values are added together as the point value of the hand.

4. 7♥ + 7♦ + 7♠ = 30 pts

Explanation: This is a 3-of-a-kind, so it's worth 30 points.

The player to the left of the dealer starts by either drawing from the deck or from the discard pile. When a card is drawn, the player will discard a card from their hand and play moves to the next player. The player may discard the drawn card if wanted, unless the card comes from the discard pile.

Play continues this way until a player is comfortable with the value of their hand, at which point they will "knock". When a player knocks, they will not draw a card and each other player will get one more turn. Then, everyone's hand values will be calculated and compared. The player whose hand value lies farthest from 31 loses a life.

When a player has no lives left, they are still in the game, but if the player loses another life, they will be out of the game.

The last player still with a life wins the game.

✔ If the player who knocked ends up with a score that is farthest away from 31, they will lose two lives.

✔ If a player gets a hand that is worth 31 (such as A♣ K♣ Q♣), the cards are immediately revealed and all other players lose a life.

✔ If the knocking player and another player tie for the score farthest from 31, only the player who did not knock will lose a life, as they had another turn to try to improve their hand.

✔ If two or more players (who did not knock) tie for the score farthest from 31, they will all lose a life.

I haven't covered a solitaire game for quite some time now, so the next blog in this series will be about the card game FreeCell. Expect it to come within a week.

Thanks for reading!