Home / Card / Ninety-Nine Card Game
Ninety-Nine, also called 99, is the counting card game where everyone adds to one running total. Each player holds three cards and three tokens. On your turn you play a card, add its value to the total and draw a replacement — but the total may never pass 99. Special cards are your lifelines: a 9 jumps the total straight to 99, a King holds it, a 4 reverses the direction of play, a 3 skips the next player, a 10 counts plus or minus ten and an Ace counts 1 or 11. When someone has no card that keeps the total at 99 or under, they lose a token and a new hand is dealt; the last player with tokens wins. Play free online against two or three computer players across six levels, from easy-going tables to experts who count the cards already played. No download, no sign-up, and it plays on a phone.
How to play Ninety-Nine Card Game
- You and two or three computer players start with three tokens each. Every hand, each player is dealt three cards and the running total starts at 0. You lead the first hand; after that the deal moves one seat to the left.
- On your turn, play one card from your hand: its value is added to the total, then you draw a replacement from the stock. The new total may never be more than 99 — a card that would take it past 99 cannot be played.
- Card values: 2, 5, 6, 7 and 8 count their face value; Jack and Queen count 10; an Ace counts 1 or 11; a 10 counts plus 10 or minus 10 (the total cannot go below 0). When a card can count two ways, you pick which.
- Special cards: a 9 sets the total to exactly 99, a King adds nothing, a 4 adds nothing and reverses the direction of play, and a 3 adds 3 and skips the next player. With only two players left, a 4 or a 3 gives the same player another turn.
- When it is your turn and none of your cards keeps the total at 99 or under, you lose a token and the hand ends. Everyone is dealt three fresh cards, the total goes back to 0, and play continues.
- A player who loses all three tokens is out. Be the last player still holding a token to win the match and unlock the next level.
Tips
- Hold on to your 9s, Kings, 4s and 10s. They can be played at any total, so as long as you keep one in your hand you cannot be the player who loses the token.
- Spend your big ordinary cards — Jacks, Queens, 8s, 7s — while the total is low. Once it climbs into the 90s those are the cards that no longer fit.
- A 9 is strongest when the next player is likely to be out of safe cards. Count how many 4s, 9s, 10s and Kings have already been played before you push the total to 99.
- An Ace is a quiet lifeline near the top: at 98 it still fits as 1. Count it as 11 early only if you have no better card to spend.
- A 10 played as minus ten buys you room, but it also buys room for the player after you. Save it for when nothing else in your hand fits.
FAQ
Is the Ninety-Nine card game free to play?
Yes. Ninety-Nine is completely free to play online with no download, no account and no in-game purchases. It runs in the browser on a phone, tablet or computer.
How do you play the 99 card game?
Everyone adds one card at a time to a shared running total, drawing a new card after each play so you always hold three. The total may never go over 99. Special cards change the count — a 9 jumps to 99, a King holds, a 4 reverses play, a 3 skips the next player, a 10 is plus or minus ten and an Ace is 1 or 11. The first player who cannot play without passing 99 loses one of their three tokens. The last player with tokens wins.
What do the special cards do in 99?
In the rules played here: 9 sets the total to 99; King counts 0, so the total stays the same; 4 counts 0 and reverses the direction of play; 3 adds 3 and the next player loses their turn; 10 adds 10 or takes 10 away; Ace adds 1 or 11. Jack and Queen add 10, and every other card adds its face value.
Which rules does this version use?
The common standard rules for Ninety-Nine, with three cards and three tokens per player. Many families play their own variants — Kings worth 99, 9 as a pass, or extra skip and reverse cards — so if you learned it differently, that is why. House choices here: the total can never drop below 0, so minus ten needs a total of at least 10; when the stock runs out, the played cards except the top one are shuffled into a new stock; and a player with no card that fits loses the token straight away.
Is this the same game as the trick-taking Ninety-Nine?
No. Two different card games share the name. This is the adding game, often just called 99, where players count up a running total. The other Ninety-Nine is a trick-taking game for three players in which you bid by discarding cards. They have nothing in common but the number.
How long does a match last?
Every hand ends with exactly one player losing one token. At a table of three, the match is over once two players are out, which takes between six and eight hands; at a table of four it takes between nine and eleven. In our test games at a table of four, a hand took about 15 to 21 cards on average, and nine hands in ten were over within 28 cards.
How good are the computer players?
Easy players choose at random from the cards that fit. Sharp players spend their biggest ordinary cards first and keep the 4s, 9s, 10s and Kings for when nothing else fits — at a table with three easy players, a sharp player won about seven of our test matches in ten, where a fair share is one in four. Experts consider every card they could play, deal the cards they have not seen at random hundreds of times over, and pick the play that loses least often; against three sharp players an expert won about one match in three. Experts never look at your hand.
How hard are the six levels?
We measured each level by seating a careful player — one that plays like the sharp computer players — in your chair. It won about seven matches in ten on level 1, Kitchen Table, about one in four on level 5, Sharp Table, and about one in eight on level 6, Counting Room, against three experts. Each level in between was harder than the one before. Winning a match unlocks the next level.
Does Ninety-Nine work on mobile?
Yes. The table fits an upright phone, cards are large enough to tap, and when an Ace or a 10 can count two ways you pick the value with a big button. On a computer, the keys 1, 2 and 3 play your cards and N deals the next hand.