How to Play Nerts
How to Play Nerts
Nerts is a fast multiplayer solitaire race in which everyone plays at the same time. You need a normal deck of cards for each player, plus a table with room for a shared center area. If you need one, you can find a regular deck of playing cards from Playmore. This guide uses one common version of Nerts; family and regional house rules can vary.
Quick facts
| Players | 2–6 |
|---|---|
| Cards | One standard 52-card deck per player |
| Style | Simultaneous, real-time solitaire |
| Goal | Empty your Nerts pile and score cards in the center |
| Typical target | 100 points |
What you are trying to do
Your main job is to get rid of your 13-card Nerts pile before the other players do. You do this by moving its exposed cards into your own work piles or directly into shared foundation piles in the middle of the table. A foundation is a center pile that begins with an ace and rises by suit: ace, 2, 3, and so on through king.
At the same time, you will build and rearrange cards in your work piles, turning through your stock, and looking for chances to add cards to the foundations. Since everyone plays together rather than taking turns, Nerts feels like a friendly race against the whole table.
What you need
Each player needs a complete 52-card deck. The decks should have different-colored or otherwise different backs, because cards in the shared foundations must later be sorted back to their owners for scoring. Remove jokers unless your group has agreed to use them. You also need a flat playing surface and paper or a notes app for keeping a running score.
For six players, the individual layout can become crowded. If space is tight, six people may play as three partnerships, with each pair sharing one deck and one tableau. For a first game, however, individual play is easiest to understand.
Set it up
Everyone sits around a common center area. Each player makes the same four-part layout:
- Shuffle your deck and deal 13 cards into a single Nerts pile. Deal 12 face down, then place the 13th card face up on top.
- Deal four cards face up in a row beside the Nerts pile. These are your work piles. Leave enough space to place additional cards below them in overlapping rows.
- Keep the rest of your deck face down as your stock. Your waste pile will be made beside it as you turn cards over.
- Leave the middle of the table open. This is where all players will build the shared foundations.
Before starting, agree that nobody will touch another player’s tableau or remove a card from the common area. Decide whether the first player to empty the Nerts pile must call “Nerts!” immediately, or may wait for a better score. The standard version allows a player to wait, but calling ends the deal whenever that player chooses.
How to play
- Start together. There are no turns. When everyone is ready, all players begin moving cards as quickly as they can. You may pause to think, but you are never forced to make a move.
- Build work piles downward. In your own work piles, place cards in descending rank while alternating colors. For example, a red 8 can go on a black 9, and a black queen can go on a red king. You may move a whole overlapping block if the card at its front fits another pile.
- Fill empty spaces. When a work pile becomes empty, fill the space with a card from your Nerts pile, your waste pile, or another work pile. The top card of your Nerts pile must be turned face up as soon as it is exposed.
- Build the shared foundations. Any player may start a center foundation with an available ace. After that, play the next higher card of the same suit. For example, the 5 of hearts can go only on the 4 of hearts. You may play to any foundation, not just one you started.
- Use available cards. You may send the face-up top card of your Nerts pile, the exposed end card of any work pile, or the top card of your waste pile to a foundation when it fits. A work-pile card that is covered is not available yet.
- Turn through your stock. Turn three stock cards face up at a time onto your waste pile, keeping their order. Only the top waste card is playable. When the stock runs out, turn the waste pile over to make a new stock without changing its order.
- Handle a stuck table. If everyone has no useful move, each player may pick up their waste pile to remake the stock and move the top stock card to the bottom. If you are stuck while someone else can still play, wait until the whole table is stuck before doing this.
- Respect speed and space. You may use one hand to move cards, although the other hand may hold your stock. Move one card at a time, except for an orderly block from a work pile. If two players reach for the same foundation, the card that gets there first stays; the other player returns the attempted card.
How you win
When your Nerts pile is empty, call “Nerts!” to stop the deal. Cards already being moved may finish their move, but no new plays begin. If the table becomes completely stuck, stop and score instead.
Separate the center foundations by deck back. Each player earns 1 point for every card of their deck that reached the common area. If the table becomes completely stuck before anyone calls Nerts!, every player subtracts 2 points for each card remaining in their Nerts pile. If a player calls Nerts!, the caller does not take this penalty. Write down the totals, then play more deals until at least one player reaches 100 points. The highest total at that point wins.
Easy first-game tips
Keep your eyes on the exposed cards rather than trying to plan everything at once. Clearing a work pile is valuable because it gives you a fresh place to play. Check the top of your waste pile often; a useful card may appear after only one quick deal of three. Do not rush every card into a foundation if moving it first will uncover a better card or create a strong alternating-color sequence.
Most importantly, say the rank and suit aloud when you are learning. That helps everyone follow the action and makes mistakes easier to catch. The game becomes much faster after a few deals, so begin slowly, agree on the boundaries of the shared area, and focus first on keeping your own tableau organized.
Quick questions
Do players take turns in Nerts?
No. Everyone plays at the same time, so watch your own cards while looking for openings in the shared foundations.
Can I play another player’s card?
No. You may play onto any shared foundation, but you may move cards only within your own tableau.