About the Nickels Card Game

Nickel, also known as Nickels or Nickles, is a fun 4-player rummy-style card game that requires two decks of cards. The game starts with three cards dealt to each player, with 3s chosen as the wild cards in the first round. In the subsequent rounds, an extra card is dealt to each player, and the next sequential card becomes the wild card. This pattern continues until the last round, where the kings are wild.

Nickles Card Game Rules

The goal of the game is to form sets (three or more cards of the same number) or runs (three or more cards in sequence of the same suit). Tens and face cards count for 10 points, with Aces being low. 

All players aim to avoid accumulating points and win by having the lowest score at the end of the game. During the game, a nickel is put in a dish, and players take turns drawing and discarding cards. The first player to call “Nickels” and discard a card wins the nickels in the dish. 

At the end of each round, players arrange their hands into sets and runs, and cards not included in a set or run count as points against them. The game consists of 11 rounds, each increasing in the number of cards dealt and the designated wild card. After the 11th round, the player with the lowest score wins the quarters in the dish. 

Playing the Nickles Card Game

You can play the Nickels card game with a standard deck of playing cards for two players or two decks of playing cards for four players. The game consists of 11 rounds, and the goal is to form all the cards in your hand into combinations of a set (a group of three or more of the same number) or a run (three or more cards in a sequence of the same suit).

Dealing Cards

In the first round, each player gets three cards as wild cards. In the second round, they get four cards, and fours are wild. This pattern continues, increasing the number of cards dealt by one each round and changing the wild card to the next sequential card, until the eleventh round, when Kings are wild.

Starting the Round

To start the game, each player puts a nickel in one dish and a quarter in another. The dealer then deals the specified number of cards to each player and flips the top card of the deck over beside the pile to start the discard pile.

Taking Turns

During each turn, a player can either draw the top card from the deck or the discard pile and then discard a card to the discard pile. In this game, players aim to form sets or runs and to be the first to call “Nickels” and discard a card, which allows them to win the nickels in the dish. If a player goes out, each player gets one more turn, after which the person who called “Nickels” gets all the nickels in the dish. Then, everyone again puts a nickel and a quarter into each dish.

Finishing the Game

At the end of each round, players arrange their hands into as many sets and runs as possible. In Nickles, players can count points against their opponents based on the cards not included in a set. The game consists of eleven rounds, and the player with the lowest score at the end of the game wins the quarters in the dish.

Scoring Points

In this game, the cards from A to 9 score points according to their face value, meaning an Ace is worth 1 point, a 2 is worth 2 points, and so on up to a 9, which is worth 9 points. For the cards from 10 to King, including the 10, Jack, Queen, and King, each of these cards is worth 10 points. So, regardless of the specific card, whether it’s a 10, Jack, Queen, or King, each is worth 10 points in the game.