How to play Kings in the Corners
A practical guide to the objective, legal flow, and decisions that matter in this playable version.
Objective
Fill a four-by-four board from the visible stock card, place all twelve face cards in their designated slots, and remove every number card. Win when the stock is empty and only Kings, Queens, and Jacks remain on the board.
How a turn works
Place each visible stock card in an empty legal slot: Kings in the four corners, Queens in the two middle slots of the top or bottom row, and Jacks in the two middle slots of either side. Aces and number cards can occupy any empty slot. When all sixteen slots are filled, remove a Ten alone or two number cards totaling ten, with Ace counting as one. Continue removing until no pair or Ten remains, then refill the empty slots from the stock.
Strategy that changes the outcome
Keep restricted face-card slots available when possible. Number cards can temporarily occupy them, but a later face card has no alternative if all its matching slots are blocked. Use the four centre slots for number cards first and track pairs that total ten before the removal phase begins.
First decision: Save restricted slots for face cards: Kings need corners, Queens the top or bottom middle slots, and Jacks the side middle slots. Number cards fit anywhere; remove tens or pairs totaling ten only after the board fills.
A common mistake to avoid
A corner label restricts where a King may go; it does not forbid number cards there. However, number cards cannot be removed early to rescue a blocked King. Removal begins only after the board is full.
Three useful table habits
- Preserve empty slots for Kings, Queens, and Jacks whenever possible.
- Remember the pairs Ace–9, 2–8, 3–7, 4–6, and 5–5.
- Remove a Ten by itself; suits do not affect placement or pairing.
A question players ask
Why can I not remove a pair totaling ten yet?
Placement and removal are separate phases. Fill all sixteen slots first. Then remove every available pair totaling ten or lone Ten before placement resumes. If the next stock card has no legal empty slot, or a full board has no removal, the deal is stuck.
About this guide
We compare the rules shown in the game with the implemented legal moves, complete representative deals, and review desktop and mobile presentation. If a house rule changes play, the in-game How to play panel takes precedence. Read How games are researched and tested.