Palace Rules

Objective

Push out every card you hold by beating the pile with equal or higher ranks. The whole tension comes from managing three layers of cards at once: a hand you control, face up cards you plan around, and the mysterious face down cards waiting to surprise you at the very end.

Material

Standard 52 card deck:

2♠ 3♠ 4♠ 5♠ 6♠ 7♠ 8♠ 9♠ 10♠ J♠ Q♠ K♠ A♠

Card Ranking

3 (low) → 4 → 5 → 6 → 7 → 8 → 9 → J → Q → K → A → 2 (high)

Special cards:

• 2: Resets the pile, allowing any card to follow
• 10: Burns the pile entirely, removing it from play

Setup

Players: 2 to 5 (best with 3 or 4)

Each player starts with three distinct layers of cards:

1. 3 face down cards you can’t look at until it’s their turn to be played
2. 3 face up cards laid openly on top of those
3. A 3 card hand you use first

The remaining deck becomes the draw pile, feeding your hand back up to three cards until it’s empty.

Starting layout example:

[?] [?] [?] ← Face down [5] [K] [9] ← Face up Hand: [7] [A] [4]

How to Play

Phase 1: Playing from Your Hand

As long as the draw pile still has cards:

On your turn, play a card or a set of cards that match or beat the top card on the discard pile:

• Singles, pairs, triples, or all four of a kind

After you play, draw back up to 3 cards.

If you can’t play: You must pick up the entire discard pile and add it to your hand.

Phase 2: Hand and Face Up Cards

Once the draw pile runs out:

Keep playing from your hand. When your hand finally empties, start playing from your face up cards.

You can still be forced to pick up the pile if you can’t or won’t play.

Phase 3: Face Down Cards

When your hand and face up cards are gone:

Flip and play your face down cards one at a time. These cards are blind, which creates some wild moments.

If playable: Great, keep going If not playable: Pick up the pile and the flipped card, returning to hand play

Special Cards

The 2 – Reset

Playing a 2:

• Resets the pile’s rank requirement
• Next player can play anything they want

Example: Pile shows a King. You play a 2. The next player can drop a 3 or anything higher.

The 10 – Burn

Playing a 10:

• Burns the entire pile
• Cards are removed from the round
• You get to lead the next play

Fantastic for removing giant piles that you don’t want to deal with.

Four of a Kind

Playing all four cards of the same rank:

• Burns the pile, just like a 10
• You lead the next card

Multiples

Pairs, triples, and quads all follow special pressure rules.

If the top card is a 6, you can play:

• 6 6
• 7 7
• 9 9 9

After someone plays multiples:

• Next player must also play the same number of cards (or more) at an equal or higher rank
• After a triple, only a triple or a quad can follow

Strategy

Early Game (Draw Pile Available)

Hand management:

• Save your 2s and 10s for clutch moments
• Keep a range of ranks if possible
• Avoid burning big cards without reason

Face up awareness:

• Know what waits in your face up row
• Use your hand to soften the transition
• Protect weak face up cards by clearing space early

Mid Game (No Draw Pile)

Face up decisions:

• Start clearing face ups when it feels safe
• Use your hand to shield against bad face ups
• Avoid picking up the pile unless you have no choice

A pile of 12 cards is a nightmare to pick up late.

Late Game (Face Down Cards)

At this point, luck takes center stage.

Blind flips:

• You flip whatever comes
• High cards feel like gifts
• Low cards can ruin everything

If you pick up the pile:

• You’re back in hand mode
• Slower, but sometimes gives you a second chance

Advanced Tactics

Choosing Face Up Cards

If the rules allow any swapping before the game begins, set your face ups nicely:

• Put high cards (A, 2, K) face up
• Hide weaker cards (3, 4, 5) face down

Special Card Timing

2s – Resets:

• Great for escaping a tough situation
• Use them to slide into weak face ups safely

10s – Burns:

• Best used on huge piles
• Don’t waste them on tiny stacks

Reading the Pile

Track special cards:

• Count how many 2s and 10s remain
• Notice if three Aces have appeared
• Try to guess who has the last strong cards

Multi Card Pressure

Lead pairs or triples to force opponents into uncomfortable plays. Many players will be forced to pick up the pile simply because they can’t match the required quantity.

Variants

Three Handed Palace

Standard format that feels very balanced with three players.

Team Palace

With 4 to 6 players, team up. A team wins as soon as both members finish their cards.

Continuous Palace

Play multiple rounds and score by position:

• 1st = 0 points
• 2nd = 1 point
• Last = 3 points

First player to reach 10 points loses.

Karma

Same rules, different regional name.

Winning

You win by being the first player to clear all your cards, face down stack included.

The final player still holding cards loses the round, sometimes called becoming the “Palace.”

Tips

For Beginners

Main goals:

• Avoid scooping up big piles
• Save your 2s and 10s
• Play your high cards when safe

Don’t stress about:

• Advanced multi card plays
• The face down phase, which is partly luck anyway

For Advanced

Master multiple plays:

• Pairs and triples force hard choices
• Stack pressure on opponents

Card counting:

• Track special cards as best you can
• Watch which ranks appear

Face up planning:

• Optimize your layout
• Use your hand to defend your weaker face ups

Common Mistakes

Mistake 1: Wasting 10s on tiny piles Great burn cards deserve big impact moments.

Mistake 2: Sitting on 2s for too long Use them to unlock your tough face ups.

Mistake 3: Playing face ups too early Keep your hand flexible before committing.

Mistake 4: Forgetting to draw During Phase 1, you always refill to 3 cards. Easy to forget in the heat of play.