Rules of Swedish Knock

Setup

  • Players: 2 to 5 players.
  • First Deal: Cut the deck. Highest card deals first.
  • Next Deal: The player with the lowest score in the previous round deals the next. In case of a tie, the player who knocked deals, or the player who collected the lower value cards (if the person who knocked is not part of the tie).
  • The Deal: Deal 5 cards to each player.
  • The Stock: Place remaining deck face down in the center. Turn the top card over to start the Discard pile.

Objective

The goal is to have the lowest score. Score zero to win the round instantly!

Card Values

  • Ace: 1 point
  • 2: WILD. Can be used as any card value to help form groups of same-numbered cards to reduce their value to zero.
  • 3-10: Face value
  • J, Q, K: Notional rank (e.g. Kings are 13, not 10)

Scoring Zero

If you have 3 or more of a kind (e.g. three 7s), those cards are worth zero points.

Example: A hand of four 7s and a 2 (wild used as a 7) is worth zero total.

Gameplay Turn

  1. Turn Order: The person to the left of the dealer goes first.
  2. Draw: Start your turn by drawing the top card from the Stock or the Discard pile.
  3. Discard: End your turn by discarding one card face up.
  4. Knocking: If you think you have the lowest score, you can knock instead of drawing a card.

Ending the Round

  • After a Knock: Every other player gets one final turn. Then all hands are revealed.
  • Stock Runs Out: If the Stock pile runs out of cards, the round ends immediately.
  • GIN (Zero): If anyone's hand reaches 0 at any time, they reveal it immediately. The round ends instantly. No one else gets another turn.
  • Score Recording: Record the score of each person's hand, adding it to their running total.

Invalid Knock & Penalties

If you knock but do not have the strictly lowest score (ties are okay):

  • 1st Invalid Knock: You receive a Star (★). No point penalty.
  • 2nd Invalid Knock: You receive a 2nd Star. +10 point penalty added to your score.
  • 3rd+ Invalid Knock: You receive another Star. +20 point (increases by 10 per additional star) penalty.

Winning the Game

  • Elimination: If a player goes over 100 points, they are eliminated.
  • Victory: Play continues until one player remains under 100 points. The winner must have a score of 100 or below. If everyone goes over 100, no one wins.
  • Skunking: The winner's final score is circled. If another player went above 100 while the winner's score was below 50, an extra circle is added for each player they "skunked".