Nine

Résumé express

A nervy discard game: everyone lightens their 5-card hand by shedding pairs, sets or runs, and as soon as you think you hold 9 points or less, you call “NINE!” to stop the round. Bet won: 0 points. Bet lost — someone does as well or better —: 25 penalty points. Points add up round after round; whoever reaches 99 points ends the game… having lost it. Lowest total wins.

Mise en place

• 54 cards numbered 0 to 13 — four of each value, but only two 0s.
• 5 cards each, face down. The rest forms the draw pile; flip the top card to start the discard pile.
• Play clockwise, starting left of the dealer.

Tour de jeu

On your turn, you draw first, then discard:

1. Draw a card: either the top of the draw pile (face down) or the visible top card of the discard pile.
2. Discard to end your turn: place one card on the discard pile — or several at once if they form a combination.

Shedding several cards at once, when you discard:

• 2, 3 or 4 identical cards (same value) together;
• a run of 5 cards in ascending order — the 0 can never start a run.

Taking the visible discard lets you complete a combination; the aim is to melt your hand down to 9 points or less.

Fin de partie

• Calling “NINE”: only on your turn, before playing, and never on the first go-around. The round stops, everyone reveals their hand.
  • The caller holds 9 or less AND strictly the lowest total → they score 0, everyone else scores their hand.
  • Someone does as well or better → the caller takes 25 points, everyone else scores 0.
• Running total: the game ends as soon as a player reaches 99 points — they lose, and the lowest total wins.
• ⚠️ A player landing exactly on 90 points drops back to 45 and the game goes on — in the app, enter −45 on the next round to apply it.

FAQ

I have no cards left — do I win? Not yet: you must wait for your next turn to call “NINE” — though with a hand worth 0, you’ll be hard to beat.

Tie with the caller — who takes the 25? The caller: you must be strictly lowest to win your call.

Do I draw before or after discarding? You draw first (face-down pile or the visible discard), then discard one card — or a whole combination.

Is the 0 the best card in the game? In hand, yes (0 points), but it can never start a run — and there are only two.

Variantes

• Team mode: 2 teams of 2 (with 4 players) or 3 teams of 2 (with 6). When a player calls “NINE”, it’s the combined hands of their team that must be lowest. App entry: keep individual scores and compare team totals out loud.

No box? Use 52 cards + 2 jokers

A standard deck reproduces the official distribution exactly (54 cards, four of each value, two zeros):

“Identical cards” = same rank, regardless of suit (two queens make a pair). Runs follow the order Ace, 2… 10, Jack, Queen, King — and a joker never starts one.

No box? Use a Tarot deck

Set aside the 4 kings and trumps 2 through 21: exactly 54 cards remain.

Same rules: pairs and sets by rank, runs in order 1 → Queen, never a 0 at the start of a run. Everything else (the NINE call, 99 points, exactly 90 → 45) stays the same.