Five Crowns

The object of the game is to make sets (three or more cards of the same denomination) or runs (three or more consecutive cards of the same suite), and to lay down your sets and runs before your opponents. Any cards not played count against you.

In the first hand three cards are dealt to each player, and threes are wild. In the second hand four cards are dealt to each player, and fours are wild, etc. This can get confusing, and often a player will accidentally discard a "wild card", which adds to the fun. The deck also contains some jokers as additional wild cards.

A player can be behind for nearly the entire game, and catch up in the last few hands by playing all the cards in her/his hand, and forcing others to get stuck with their cards.

The rules are easy and quick to learn, and the scoring is simple.


Fun, easy-to-learn, addictive card game   December 3, 2003
 48 out of 50 found this review helpful

This game is made by the same folks who make Quiddler, which is why I picked it up. Basically, the game is a mix of Quiddler and rummy. You start out with three cards, where the three is the wild card. You go all the way up to thirteen cards in subsequent hands, where the king is the wild card. Your goal is to go out by having three of the same card (i.e., three kings, three tens, etc.) or having a run of cards in the same suit (i.e., 4, 5, and 6 of diamonds). The twist is that there are five suits: diamonds, hearts, clubs, spades, and stars. The winner of the game is the person with the least points (each card is assigned a point value and if you're left with cards in your hand, you have that many points).

As with Quiddler, this is a simple, addicting game. You can play many games in a row, many nights in a row and not get tired of it. It's easy to take on a trip, as you only need room for the deck and a discard pile. Also, the design of the cards is very aesthetically pleasing, as the jacks, queens, kings, and jokers look like characters out of a storybook and all of the cards are colorful.

If you're looking for a new game for your collection and don't want to spend $30, this is the game for you!


A "whole family" Card Game   September 12, 2000
 34 out of 34 found this review helpful

I have to give myself 5 stars for ordering this game. My whole family (which includes my husband, a teenager and a fourth grader) loves Five Crowns. I was looking for a card game we never played before to take along on our vacation. I had to make sure that any new game would be simple enough for my 9 year old to play yet be complicated enough to keep my 14 year old interested. Well, I hit the jackpot with Five Crowns. The instructions are clear and short. We learned to play Five Crowns in just one hand; we played every night on our vacation. And now that we're back... homework first, then Five Crowns.