How to Play 6 Nimmt!: Full Rules in 5 Minutes
6 Nimmt! is four rules long, and you can be playing in the time it takes to deal. The catch is that one of those rules — the order cards resolve in — is the one most tables get wrong on their first night, and getting it wrong makes the game feel random when it isn’t. Here’s everything, straight from the official Amigo rulebook.
Setup: Four Rows, Ten Cards Each
Shuffle the 104 number cards and deal ten to every player. Then take four more cards and lay them face up in a column — each one starts a row that will hold a maximum of five cards.
Grab the notepad and pencil from the box. You’ll score by hand between rounds, which is the one genuinely dated thing about this 1994 design.
That’s the entire setup. It takes about ninety seconds regardless of whether you’re playing with three people or ten. The count still changes the game a lot, though — six players is the sweet spot and two is the weakest.
The Turn: Everyone Plays at Once
Every player picks one card from their hand and places it face down in front of them. When everyone has committed, all cards flip at the same time.
Then — and this is the rule that matters — cards are placed in ascending numerical order, lowest first. The person who played the 14 resolves before the person who played the 71, no matter where anyone is sitting.
The rule: turn order in 6 Nimmt! is decided by card value, not seating. Your card’s number determines when it lands, which is why low cards resolve into the most crowded rows.
Where Your Card Goes (You Don’t Choose)
Two rules decide placement, and together they always produce exactly one legal row:
- Ascending order — your card must go after a card lower than itself.
- Lowest difference — of the rows that qualify, your card goes in the one whose last card is closest below yours.
So if rows end in 12, 34, 51, and 88, and you play a 53, it goes after the 51 — even if you’d rather it went somewhere else. There is never a decision here.
Taking a Row: The Two Ways It Happens
You played the sixth card. A row holds at most five cards. Place the sixth and you take all five into your bull pile (your score pile), and your card becomes the new first card of that now-empty row.
Your card is too low for every row. If your number is lower than the last card in all four rows, it fits nowhere. You take a row of your choice, and your card starts that row fresh.
Rows end in 22, 45, 67, and 90. You play the 8. It’s lower than all four, so nothing qualifies. You choose a row — pick the cheapest one, not the shortest — take those cards as penalty points, and your 8 becomes the new start of that row.
That second case is the one new players fear and experienced players use deliberately, because you choose which row to eat. Our strategy guide covers when to do it on purpose.
Scoring: Counting Bullheads
Every card shows one to seven bullhead symbols, and each bullhead is one negative point. The values follow a pattern:
- Most cards: 1 bullhead
- Ending in 5 (5, 15, 25…): 2
- Multiples of 10 (10, 20, 30…): 3
- Doubles (11, 22, 33…): 5
- The 55 — a double that also ends in five: 7
A round is exactly ten turns, since everyone plays their whole hand. Then count your bullheads, write them down, reshuffle, and deal again.
Worth knowing: the game ends when any player reaches 66 points or more — and the player with the fewest points wins. It’s a game you’re trying to lose at, which trips up more first-timers than any placement rule.
What’s in the 30th Anniversary Box
If you buy the current edition, you get more than the base game: 13 special fan cards (Even/Odd, Mountain Climbing, The Jumping Cow, and ten Flippin’ Digits) that bend the placement rules, plus a Pro Variant for 2–6 players and a full cooperative mode called “Beat the Buffalo” for 1–6 players with its own 16 special cards.
Learn the base game first. All of that is genuinely good and all of it is wrong for your first night.
Frequently Asked Questions
How many cards do you deal in 6 Nimmt!?
Ten cards to each player, then four more face up to start the four rows. The deck has 104 cards numbered 1 to 104, and it supports 2 to 10 players.
What order do cards get placed in 6 Nimmt!?
Ascending numerical order — the lowest card played that turn resolves first, regardless of seating. This is the rule most new tables miss, and it’s why low cards are dangerous rather than safe.
Can you choose which row to play in 6 Nimmt!?
No. Your card goes in the row whose last card is the closest number below yours. The only choice you get is which row to take when your card is too low to fit anywhere.
What happens if your card is lower than all four rows?
You take a row of your choice as penalty points, and your card becomes the new first card of that row. Choose the row with the fewest bullheads, not the fewest cards.
When does 6 Nimmt! end?
When any player reaches 66 or more penalty points at the end of a round. The player with the fewest bullheads at that moment wins — you’re playing to avoid points, not collect them.
How long is a round of 6 Nimmt!?
Exactly ten turns, because every player has ten cards and plays one per turn. Most games run three or four rounds before someone crosses 66, totaling 30–45 minutes.
Is Take 5! the same game as 6 Nimmt!?
Yes — Take 5! is the English-language edition of the same Wolfgang Kramer design, with identical rules. Beat the Heat is another retitling you may encounter.
Now that you know the rules, the interesting question is which card to release and when — that’s the strategy guide. And if you haven’t bought it yet, our full review explains why a $12 deck from 1994 still tops our BBQ card games list.