Thirty-one

Overview

What ABG knows about this game

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