Rules for 99 Rules
10-29-2010, 08:01 PM
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Each player begins the game with 5 pennies (or chips). Deal out 3 cards to each player from a standard 52 card deck (if more than 4 people are playing use 2 decks and give each player just 3 pennies). The undealt cards are placed on the table to form a face-down stock.
The player to the left of the dealer starts and the turn initially passes clockwise. On each turn you play one of your three cards face-up to the centre of the table, call out the total value of the face-up pile (as per the table below), then draw the top card from the stock. When the face-up pile is empty the count is zero. For each card played add the pip value of the card played to the total value of the pile. Jacks and queens count as 10. The following cards cause special effects:
Ace - increases the value of the pile by one or eleven, at the player's choice.
Four - the value of the pile remains the same but the direction of play reverses.
Nine - counts as zero - the value of the pile remains the same and play passes to next player in turn.
Ten - increases or reduces the value of the pile by ten, at the player's choice.
King - the value of the pile is set to 99.
If you cannot play without taking the value of the pile over 99, you lay down your hand. The play ends, and you toss one penny into the center; players who have no pennies left drop out of the game. After each hand, the deal passes to next player to the left of the previous dealer who is still in. Hands continue till only one player has any pennies left, and that player is the winner.
When someone plays a nine or a four they repeat the value of the pile, calling out "pass to you #" or "back on you #" respectively. For example here is part of a four-player game; play is currently running clockwise. Player 1 plays a King and says "99". Player 2 plays a nine and says (looking at player 3) "pass to you 99". Player 3 plays a four and says (looking at player 2, since play order will now run counterclockwise until another four is played) "back on you 99". Player 2 plays a ten and says "89". Player 1 plays a eight and says "97". Player 4 plays a four, looks at player 1 and says "back on you 97" (now we're back to clockwise), and so on.
When there are only two players, there is no longer any difference between clockwise and counterclockwise play. the player to your left is also the player to your right. Therefore, playing a four has no effect on the turn order when there are two players - the pile value remains the same and it is the other player's turn, just as though you had played a nine.
This game should be played very rapidly. It is easy to forget to draw a replacement after you play a card. If that happens it cannot be corrected afterwards - you must get by with just two cards for the rest of the hand.
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