How to Play Three-Thirteen

Three-Thirteen is an easy-to-learn rummy game that changes a little every round. You need a normal deck of cards and a way to record scores, such as paper or a notes app. For a ready-to-use option, you can find a regular deck of playing cards from Playmore. This guide uses one common version of the game; house rules can vary.

Quick facts

Fact	Rule
Players	2–6
Rounds	11
Cards per player	3 in Round 1, increasing to 13 in Round 11
Goal	Finish with the fewest penalty points
Wild card	The rank matching that round’s hand size

What you are trying to do

Your aim is to organize your hand into melds, which are groups of cards that fit together. A set has three or more cards of the same rank, such as 7-7-7. A run has three or more cards in numerical order and in the same suit, such as 4-5-6 of hearts. A meld can contain more than three cards, but each card may belong to only one meld.

At the end of each round, unmatched cards are called leftovers. Their values become penalty points. Since scores carry from round to round, the player with the lowest total after Round 11 wins. You do not normally lay your melds on the table during play; keep them in your hand until the round ends or you go out.

What you need

Use one standard 52-card deck for two players. For three or four players, use two standard decks shuffled together. For five or six players, use three decks so there are enough cards for the larger hands and the draw pile. Remove jokers. You also need a score sheet and a dealer marker, although any simple way to remember the dealer will work.

Aces are low, so ace-2-3 is a valid run. A run cannot wrap around: queen-king-ace and king-ace-2 are not valid. Kings are high.

Set it up

Choose the first dealer randomly. The deal moves to the next player clockwise after every round. The dealer gives each player the number of cards for that round. Round 1 uses three cards, Round 2 uses four, and so on, with 13 cards in Round 11.

Put the undealt cards face down in the middle as the stock, or draw pile. Turn its top card face up beside it to begin the discard pile. The player to the dealer’s left takes the first turn.

How to play

1. Draw one card. Take either the top face-down card from the stock or the top face-up card from the discard pile. You may take only the top discard, not a card buried underneath it.
2. Sort your hand. Look for possible sets and runs. Remember which rank is wild in the current round. You may rearrange cards privately, but do not place melds on the table during ordinary play.
3. Discard one card. End your turn by placing one card face up on top of the discard pile. Then play passes clockwise. Because you draw before discarding, your hand returns to its original size unless you go out.
4. Use wild cards carefully. In Round 1, threes are wild; in Round 2, fours are wild; the pattern continues one rank at a time until kings are wild in Round 11. A wild card can stand for another card in a set or run. For example, if fives are wild, a wild five can stand in for a missing card to make a same-suit run such as 4-5-6, or it can extend a same-suit 6-7-8 run into 5-6-7-8 when the wild card represents the five. A meld may contain several wild cards, and a group made entirely of wild cards is allowed.
5. Go out when your hand is complete. After drawing, if you can arrange every card except one into separate valid sets and runs, discard the remaining card and announce that you are out. You do not have to wait for a particular card if your hand can be completed legally.
6. Give everyone one last turn. Once someone goes out, each other player gets one more turn. The round ends when play returns to the player who went out. If the stock runs out, set aside the top discard, shuffle the remaining discards, and make a new face-down stock.
7. Reveal and score. Each player separates as many cards as possible into valid melds. Only unmatched cards score. Players cannot add their leftover cards to another player’s melds.

How you win

Score leftovers after every round. An ace is worth 1 point, cards 2 through 9 are worth their printed number, and tens, jacks, queens, and kings are worth 10 points each. Wild cards still score their printed value when they are left unmatched. The player who goes out usually scores zero for that round, provided the hand is arranged correctly.

Write each round’s penalty beside the player’s name, then add it to that player’s running total. After all eleven rounds, compare totals. The smallest number wins, even if that player did not go out in every round.

Easy first-game tips

Start by grouping cards by suit and by rank. This makes runs and sets easier to spot. Keep pairs that could become a set, but do not forget that a run needs the same suit. Wild cards are flexible, so save one for a difficult gap when you can, but do not hold it so long that several high-value leftovers remain in your hand.

Watch the discard pile. Taking a card tells everyone what you may be collecting, while discarding a card may give the next player exactly what they need. Do not rush to go out if doing so leaves you with a large penalty total in a later round, but remember that every opponent gets one final turn after you finish. Most importantly, check your melds carefully: a card cannot be counted twice, and a run must stay in one suit.

Quick questions

Can I lay cards onto another player’s meld?

No. In this common version, melds stay private until scoring, and you may not add leftover cards to another player’s sets or runs.

What happens if two players tie?

Agree on a house rule before starting. A simple choice is to share the win, or play an extra deciding round with the same draw-and-discard rules.