KURKO

Hey there! Let’s dive into the exciting world of Kurko, a fun card game you can play with 2 to 9 people. It’s a lot like the game Kurkku.

SETUP

First things first, we need to set up the game. One person becomes the dealer for the round. They shuffle the deck and hand out 6 cards to each player, face-down. The remaining cards go in a pile nearby. Now, let’s talk about card rankings. The highest-ranked card is the Ace, followed by King, Queen, Jack, and so on, all the way down to the lowly 2. The suit of the cards doesn’t matter in this game, so don’t worry about that.

Oh, and here’s a cool thing: Jokers are just as mighty as Aces! That means they have the same rank and function as Aces. But hold on to your hats, because in Kurko, Aces do something special in the last trick. They go from being the highest-ranked card to becoming the lowest-ranked card. Pretty sneaky, right?

GAMEPLAY

When you play Kurko, you go through a bunch of rounds, and each round has 6 tricks. The first trick is started by the player to the left of the dealer, and then the winner of each trick starts the next one.

In a Kurko trick, the player who starts can play any card they want. Then, the other players have to play a card of the same rank or higher. If they don’t have a card that matches or beats the rank, they have to play their lowest-ranking card. The player with the highest ranking card, or the last player to play a card, wins the trick.

During the game, you can check out the cards that other players have played. This can help you decide what card to play next.

SCORING

When I win the last trick in a round, I get penalized. The penalty score is equal to the rank value of the card I won the trick with. Aces and Jokers are worth 1 point each, the king is worth 13 points, the queen is worth 12 points, the jack is worth 11 points, and the remaining cards are worth their face value.

The game continues until all players, except one, have reached or exceeded 30 points. There is no elimination; even if a player reaches 30 points, they can keep playing.

THE GAME ENDS

The game ends when only one player has not reached or exceeded 30 points. The player with the lowest penalty score wins the game.

Hi, I’m Amber (They/Them) – an Austin writer and gaming enthusiast. I consider myself a gaming master, and I also love dogs, plants, and D&D.