Play Nine rules in short: each player gets eight face-down cards in two rows of four and flips any two. On your turn, draw one card, then either swap it for one of your cards or discard it and flip a face-down card. When one player has all eight cards face up, everyone else gets one last turn. Lowest total after nine holes wins.
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This guide follows the publisher’s official Play Nine instruction sheet. The publisher’s how to play page has the same rules with a video.
What’s in the Deck
Play Nine has 108 cards:
- 104 number cards: eight each of 0 through 12. The 0 is called a Mulligan, and the 12 is called Out of Bounds.
- 4 Hole-in-One cards, worth −5 strokes each.
Card values are strokes, and strokes are bad. You want the lowest score. The game is for 2 to 6 players, ages 8 and up.
Setup
- Each player picks a card. The lowest card deals.
- Shuffle all 108 cards and deal eight to each player, face down.
- Without looking, arrange your eight cards in two rows of four.
- Put the rest of the deck face down in the middle, and turn the top card face up next to it to start the discard pile.
- Everyone “tees off” by turning any two of their cards face up.
The tee-off is the only time you turn over two cards at once. The player to the dealer’s left goes first.
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What You Do on Your Turn
Every turn starts with a draw. You take the top card of the deck or the top card of the discard pile.
| If you draw from | You can |
|---|---|
| The deck | Swap it for any of your cards, face up or face down, and discard the card you replaced. Or discard it and turn one face-down card face up. |
| The discard pile | Swap it for any of your cards, face up or face down, and discard the card you replaced. |
You have to replace a card or turn one over on every turn. A card taken from the discard pile must be used.
Worth knowing: you can replace the same face-up card again and again. The only limit is that this works while you still have a face-down card left.
The Last Face-Down Card
When you have exactly one face-down card left, you get a choice no one else has. You can skip your turn.
To skip, draw a card and discard it without replacing or flipping anything. You can do this turn after turn, for as long as that last card stays face down.
The common assumption: once you’re down to one face-down card, you have to flip it on your next turn.
What the rules say: you may keep drawing and discarding until the card you want turns up. The hole doesn’t end until you choose to end it, or someone else does.
How a Hole Ends
A hole ends after one player has all eight cards face up. That player is done. Everyone else takes one last turn and draws one last card.
After that, all remaining face-down cards are turned over, and everyone counts their score.
Scoring a Hole
Add up the face value of your eight cards. Then check your columns, because matching cards cancel out.
| What you have | What it scores |
|---|---|
| A matching pair in one column (same number top and bottom) | 0 strokes for those two cards |
| Two matching columns of the same number (four cards) | 0 strokes, plus a −10 bonus |
| Three matching columns of the same number (six cards) | 0 strokes, plus a −15 bonus |
| Four matching columns of the same number (all eight cards) | 0 strokes, plus a −20 bonus |
| A Hole-in-One card | −5 strokes |
| Two Hole-in-One cards in one column | −10 strokes. They don’t cancel out. |
| Four Hole-in-One cards in two columns | −30 strokes: −5 each, plus a −10 bonus |
Your top row is 7, 7, 3, 12. Your bottom row is 7, 7, 3, 0. The two columns of 7s cancel and earn the −10 bonus. The column of 3s cancels to zero. The last column is a 12 over a 0, which don’t match, so it scores 12. Your hole is 12 − 10 = 2 strokes.
A match only counts when the cards are in the same column, one directly above the other. Two 7s side by side in a row score 14.
How You Win
You play nine holes. After each hole, the player to the left of the last dealer shuffles and deals the next one.
After the ninth hole, add up all nine scores. The lowest total wins. The rules say ties may be settled with a sudden-death playoff.
Can You Play Play Nine With Regular Cards?
“How do you play Play Nine with a regular deck of cards?” You can get close. Play Nine is a boxed version of the traditional card game Golf.
The card-game reference site Pagat describes an eight-card Golf played with two standard decks and four jokers. That’s 108 cards, dealt in the same two rows of four.
The scoring won’t be identical. Play Nine has its own card values, the −5 Hole-in-One and the −10, −15 and −20 bonuses. If you want those rules exactly, a Play Nine deck is the simple way to get them.
Once you know the rules, our Play Nine strategy guide covers which cards to keep and when to end a hole. Our Play Nine review has the verdict, and Play Nine vs Skyjo compares it with its closest rival.
Frequently Asked Questions
How many cards do you get in Play Nine?
Each player is dealt eight cards, face down, arranged in two rows of four. Everyone then turns any two of them face up to start the hole.
How do you score Play Nine?
Add up the face values of your eight cards. A matching pair in the same column scores zero. Two, three or four matching columns of the same number earn bonuses of −10, −15 and −20. Each Hole-in-One card is worth −5.
What is 4 of a kind worth in Play Nine?
Four of the same number in two matching columns cancel out to zero and earn a −10 stroke bonus. Six of a kind earns −15, and eight of a kind earns −20.
Do Hole-in-One cards cancel out when they match?
No. Two Hole-in-One cards in a column score −5 each, for −10. Four of them in two columns score −30, which is −5 each plus a −10 bonus.
Can you play Play Nine with 2 players?
Yes. Play Nine is for 2 to 6 players, and the rules are the same at every count.
How many rounds are in Play Nine?
Nine. Each round is called a hole. After nine holes, the player with the lowest total score wins.
Do matching cards have to be on top of each other?
Yes. Cards only cancel when the same number sits in the top row and directly below it in the bottom row. Matching cards side by side in a row don’t cancel.