How to Play Knockout Whist
Knockout Whist is the family trick game: simple whist with a twist, since every hand shrinks and anyone who fails to win a trick is out.
The rules
- Four players, each for themselves. In the first hand everyone gets seven cards; the next card is turned face up and its suit is trumps. The player left of the dealer (you, in the first hand) leads.
- Follow suit if you can; otherwise play anything. The highest trump wins the trick; if no trump was played, the highest card of the suit led. The winner leads next.
- When the cards run out, anyone who took no trick is knocked out.
- The player with most tricks chooses trumps for the next hand, which has one card fewer, and leads it.
- The last player left wins. If the hand of one card is reached, its single trick decides.
Playing on kawu
Click a card to play it; cards you can't play are dimmed. When you've won the most tricks, pick trumps with the suit buttons. Hint suggests a card or a suit. Being knocked out ends your game.
Next, read the Knockout Whist strategy.
Frequently asked questions
What about the dog's life?
In some families a player knocked out in the first hand gets a single card next hand (a "dog's life") and can play it on any trick. kawu plays the plain version: no trick, you're out.
Who chooses trumps if two players tie for most tricks?
The one nearest, clockwise, to the player who led the hand just finished.
What happens if several players reach the one-card hand?
The single trick decides: whoever wins it wins the game.
Last updated 2026-10-20