Overview
At a glance
Is this game right for my group?
ABG editorial scores on a 1–5 scale.
Harder to teach
High replayability
Highly interactive
Scales well
Deep strategy
How it plays
How does it play?
Thirty-One is a card game that can be played with a standard deck of playing cards. In 31, players try to be the last one standing over a series of rounds.
Core mechanisms
Key systems that shape the decisions players make.
Betting and Bluffing
Risk resources on uncertain outcomes while disguising intentions or information.
Hand Management
Time and sequence a limited hand of cards to preserve future options.
Trick-taking
Play one card each and award the trick according to suit and rank rules.
Memory
Remember previously revealed information, positions, or sequences.
Player Elimination
Players can be removed from contention before the game ends.
Read the full game description
Thirty-One is a card game that can be played with a standard deck of playing cards. In 31, players try to be the last one standing over a series of rounds. To begin a round, 3 cards are dealt to each player with a final card flipped over to form the draw pile. On a player's turn, they can swap a card in their hand with the top card from the draw pile or discard pile, with the intention of getting a score in their hand bigger than at least 1 player's hand. When you think you have a hand bigger than someone else's hand, you can choose to knock and end your turn, signalling the end of the round. Each player will get 1 final turn to improve their hand, and then everyone will flip their cards over. Hands are scored as following: Aces are worth 11, Court cards are worth 10, and all other cards are worth their numerical value. All players are trying to collect a hand value of 31 (or the nearest to it) in the same suit. The only exception is a set of 3 of the same card in 3 different suits, which is worth 30.5, therefor beating a hand worth 30, but not 31. The largest hand you can have is a 31, which would be comprised of an ace, and two cards worth 10, all of the same suit. Whoever has the lowest hand value in a round loses 1 of their 5 lives. However, if the player who has the worst hand was the player who knocked, they lose 2 lives. If a player receives 31 before a player has knocked, the round instantly ends and all other players lose a life. If a player receives 31 on their final turn after another player has knocked, the player reveals it, all other players lose a life, and the round continues. This means potentially a player could lose all their lives in a single round, by knocking, and having everyone else receive a 31. Alternatively in a 4 player game, if they knock and 3 players have 31, they would lose 3 for each 31, and their last 2 for having the lowest score of the bunch. Rounds will continue till only one player still has lives. That player is the winner. Thirty-One is often played as a betting game, where their lives are tracked by folding the 4 corners of a $5 or $10 bill for the first 4 lives, then throwing the bill in the centre after their final live is lost. The overall winner gets all the money in the centre. —user summary