Goal
Finish round 11 with the lowest cumulative score. Cards you laid down score zero. Cards left in hand score face value.
Rules of the Game
3 to 13, also called Three-to-Thirteen, is an eleven-round rummy-style card game. Each round adds one more card to every hand, the wildcard rank rises from 3s through Kings, and the goal is to finish with the lowest cumulative score.
Use this page when you need a quick reference for 3 to 13 card game rules before starting a table online, teaching new players, or deciding whether a book, run, or final-turn layoff is valid.
Turn flow
Draw one card, arrange your hand, then discard exactly one card. If every remaining card is part of a valid lay down, 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.
Ready to play?
Once you know the basics, head to Play to create a table, join a friend's game, or practice against AI.
Quick start
- Create or join a table with the shared game code.
- Draw one card from the deck or discard pile on your turn.
- Arrange your hand into books or runs if you are building toward going out.
- Discard exactly one card to end a normal turn.
- Go out only when every remaining card after your discard is fully covered by valid lay downs.
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 ways to lay down cards
Books
A book is three or more cards of the same rank. Wildcards may stand in for matching ranks, but the lay down 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 lay downs
Every lay down needs at least one natural card. A pile of only wildcards does not count as a valid lay down.
No card reuse
A physical card can only be used in one lay down 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 lay downs. 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 lay down may also lay off extra cards onto already-open table lay downs. 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 lay down 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.
Playing against AI
Easy
Easy plays like a beginner. It makes reasonable moves, goes out as soon as it can, and is meant to be approachable.
Medium
Medium is more selective about draws and discards. It avoids obvious mistakes and gives casual players a stronger challenge.
Hard
Hard uses deeper hand evaluation and better discard risk analysis, but it still does not know hidden cards or the deck order.
Want to practice? Head to Play and choose Play vs AI to start a solo 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.