How to Play Ninety-Nine
Ninety-Nine is a quick counting game for three or more with a sting: the total climbs, the specials get played, and someone has to go over.
The rules
- Three players (you and two computers), three cards each, three tokens each.
- On your turn play one card, add its value to the running total, announce the new total, and draw a card.
- Values: 2 to 8 face value; 9 adds nothing; 10 subtracts ten; jack and queen add ten; king sets the total to 99; ace adds one; 4 adds nothing and reverses the direction of play.
- If your card pushes the total past 99, you lose a token and a new round starts at zero with the loser leading. A player with no tokens is out.
- The last player with a token wins.
Playing on kawu
Each card in your hand shows what it would do to the total; cards that would bust are dimmed. When every card busts, you must play one. Hint shows the hard computer's choice.
Then read the Ninety-Nine strategy.
Frequently asked questions
What happens when the total is exactly 99?
Nothing yet: 99 is safe. The next player must play a 9 (adds nothing), a 4 (adds nothing and reverses), a 10 (brings it down to 89) or a king (keeps it at 99), or they bust.
Does a king at 99 count as going over?
No. A king sets the total to 99 whatever it was, so it is always safe and is the classic card to hold for a crisis.
What if the stock runs out?
The played pile, except its top card, is shuffled to make a new stock.
Last updated 2026-10-21