Goal
Finish round 11 with the lowest cumulative score. Melded cards score zero. Unmelded cards score face value.
Rules of the Game
3 to 13 is an eleven-round rummy-style card game. Each round adds one more card to every hand, and the wildcard rank rises with it from 3s up through Kings.
Turn flow
Draw one card, arrange your hand, then discard exactly one card. If every remaining card is melded, you can go out.
Wildcards
The wildcard rank matches the round’s hand size. Round 1 uses 3s, round 2 uses 4s, and so on.
Round guide
| Round | Cards dealt | Wildcards |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | 3 | 3s |
| 2 | 4 | 4s |
| 3 | 5 | 5s |
| 4 | 6 | 6s |
| 5 | 7 | 7s |
| 6 | 8 | 8s |
| 7 | 9 | 9s |
| 8 | 10 | 10s |
| 9 | 11 | Jacks |
| 10 | 12 | Queens |
| 11 | 13 | Kings |
Valid melds
Books
A book is three or more cards of the same rank. Wildcards may stand in for matching ranks, but the meld still needs at least one natural card.
Runs
A run is three or more consecutive cards in the same suit. Wildcards can fill gaps, and wildcard suits do not matter, but the natural cards must still anchor one suit.
No all-wild melds
Every meld needs at least one natural card. A pile of only wildcards does not count as a valid meld.
No card reuse
A physical card can only be used in one meld during a go-out declaration.
Going out and final turns
A player may go out only after drawing and only if every remaining card after the discard is fully covered by valid melds. Once the first player goes out, every other active player gets exactly one final turn in seat order.
During final-turn mode, players who can declare at least one valid meld may also lay off extra cards onto already-open table melds. The round ends after each remaining player has taken that single final turn.
Scoring
At the end of a round, every card in a valid meld scores zero. Every card left over scores its face value: Ace is 1, number cards score their number, Jack is 11, Queen is 12, and King is 13.
The player with the lowest cumulative score after round 11 wins the full game.
Deck and dealing
The game uses one standard 52-card deck per player, without jokers. The combined decks are shuffled together, hands are dealt according to the round, and the next card starts the discard pile.