Printable 31 (Scat) rules

31 (Scat) in one page

2–9 players · 1 deck · 3 coins per player

Each player gets three cards and three lives. On your turn you draw from the stock or the discard pile and throw one card away, aiming for the highest total in a single suit, with 31 as the best hand. When someone knocks, everyone else gets one more turn, the lowest hand loses a life, and the last player with lives left wins.

In brief

• Deal 3 each; 1 card up starts the discard pile
• Everyone starts with 3 lives (coins)
• Ace 11, K/Q/J 10, others face value
• Only one suit counts; different suits = highest card
• Turn: draw stock or top discard, then discard 1
• Took the discard? You must keep it
• Knock at the start of your turn instead of drawing
• After a knock, everyone else gets 1 more turn
• Lowest hand loses 1 life; lowest knocker loses 2
• Knocker ties for low: knocker is safe
• 31 in one suit: show now, everyone else loses 1
• No coins left = on the county; next loss is out

Setup

1. Use a standard 52-card deck. Give each player three coins or tokens; these are their lives. Many groups use pennies and put lost ones in a center kitty.
2. The dealer deals three cards to each player, one at a time, face down.
3. Turn the next card face up to start the discard pile. Put the rest of the deck face down as the stock.
4. If a player is dealt 31 (an ace and two 10-point cards of one suit), they show it at once. There is no play that hand, and every other player loses a life.
5. The player to the dealer's left takes the first turn, and play goes clockwise. The deal passes to the left each hand.

On your turn

1. At the start of your turn, decide whether to knock. If you think your hand will not be the lowest, you can knock instead of drawing. You keep your hand as it is and your turn ends.
2. If you do not knock, draw one card: the top card of the stock or the top card of the discard pile.
3. Discard one card face up, so you always have three cards. If you took the top discard, you must keep it and throw away a different card.
4. If your hand now totals exactly 31 in one suit, show it immediately. The hand ends and every other player loses a life.
5. After someone knocks, each other player gets exactly one more turn to draw and discard, and nobody else may knock. Then everyone shows their cards.

Scoring

Winning

Each player starts with three lives. A player who has lost all three is still in the game, which pagat.com calls being on the county. The next life that player loses knocks them out. Keep dealing until one player is left, and that player wins the game and the kitty.