What is Kingly™?
Kingly™ is a head-to-head strategy card game played with standard decks of cards. Each player works to build exactly four sets of five cards. Sets can be made as five-of-a-kind, descending straights, descending straight flushes, or a special Kingly set of five Kings. The first player to complete all four sets ends the round and triggers scoring.
Game overview
At the start of a round, each player is dealt four starting cards – one to begin each potential set. On your turn, you draw from the deck or take the top card from the discard pile, then add that card to one of your sets if it forms a legal run or set. You can also move entire partial sets onto other rows to build stronger combinations, but you can never break a set apart and move single cards in the middle.
Kings have a special power: if you draw a King, you may use it to wipe one of your incomplete rows completely clean. You can either leave the King as the new root card for that set, or discard the King as well and start fresh on a later turn.
Scoring at the end of the round
When a round ends, completed sets score positive points based on their root card and type. Straight and straight flush sets are scored using the value of the root card, with straight flushes earning double the straight value. Sets of five matching cards (except Kings) are worth twice the card value, and a full Kingly set of five Kings is always worth 50 points.
Incomplete rows only penalize the losing players. Blank rows incur a small fixed penalty, partial runs and mixed sets are penalized based on the root card, and incomplete sets of matching cards incur a steeper penalty. A partially completed Kingly set has its own heavier negative score to reflect the risk of chasing all five Kings.
Strategy tips
- Be selective about which rows you commit to. Once you add a card to a row, you can’t discard it individually – you’ll need a King to wipe the set clean.
- Pay attention to what ranks are already visible in your opponent’s rows. If all copies of a rank are in play, you may never finish a set that depends on that rank.
- Use row moves to merge partial sets into stronger five-card hands. Combining two incomplete rows into one complete set is often better than chasing two risky rows.
- Remember that you can play single rounds or up to four rounds and track cumulative scores. A risky, high-scoring play in one round can be worth it if you’re trying to close a gap across the match.
For a full written rules reference, including exact scoring tables and stalemate handling, open the official Rules PDF or read the How to Play guide.