Game: Kings in the Corner
Publisher: Jax
Designer: uncredited
Year: 1996
Price Paid: $2
Playing Time: 30-45 minutes
Recommended Ages: 7+
Synopsis: Kings in the Corner is a card game in which players attempt to get rid of all the cards in their hand by laying down cards using rules from Solitaire. Chips are used to add points to a pot that the winner of each hand earns. First player to reach 100 points wins the game.
Components: 1 standard 52-card deck of playing cards (+ 4 joker cards), 80 plastic chips, 1 octagonal board, 1 rule book.
Thrifting Notes: This game can use any standard deck of playing cards and any type of plastic chip to replace missing pieces.
Gameplay: Each player is dealt seven cards and the 80 chip are divided as evenly as possible amongst them (removing any remainders from play). One card is placed in each tabbed stall on the board. Everyone antes one chip into the pot, then take turns playing as many cards as they can from their hand.
Cards are played onto the cards in the stalls. A player may play only a card lower in sequence AND opposite in color onto a card (for example, a red ten on a black jack). Any king card in a player’s hand must be immediately placed in an empty corner of the board (spaces between the tabbed stalls) at the start of their turn, or as soon as the king is drawn. Failure to do so is a three chip penalty paid into the pot. Players may move cards from one stall to add to another stall, if the first card of the first stall can be played on the last card of the second stall. Any empty stalls may be filled in with any card from the player’s hand.
On their turn, a player may continue to play and move cards as long as they can make a legal move. If a player is unable to make a play, they must put one chip in the pot for each card remaining in their hand. At the end of each turn, if the player has any cards remaining in their hand, they must draw a card from the draw pile. Failure to do so results in a one chip penalty to the pot.
A hand is over when one player uses all of the cards in their hand. That player wins the chips in the pot and earns points equal to the number of chips that player has (the chips from the pot plus any chips the player still possessed). The chips are then evenly redistributed for the next hand. The first player to accumulate 100 points wins the game.
Review: This game is essentially multi-player solitaire. There is no interaction, no strategy, just the skill of recognizing the required pattern to be able to play cards to the table. If you have a bad hand, there is nothing you can do to do improve it. If you have a good hand, you will do well. The game itself isn’t bad as much as it is boring. There are almost no choices to make, and the choices there are (where do I play this card?) are obvious. Fans of solitaire may find the game enjoyable, but that is about it.
Rating: 3/10
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