Play ONze Instructions

History of the Game

Onze was a very popular card game in France in the 1980s. Over the past several years, it has gained popularity in the United States. Onze translates to the number 11 in French. 11 is an angel number … notice the wings on the cards? According to numerology, an angel number is a thumbs up from a guardian angel, telling you that you are seen and heard.

Players And Objective

3 - 7 players
Objective - have the fewest points at the end of the game
2 decks of cards
Black aces are low
Red aces are wild
Jokers are wild

Round Requirements

There are 7 rounds per game with each round having a specific requirement:

Round 1 = 2 sets

Round 2 = 1 set & 1 run

Round 3 = 2 runs

Round 4 = 3 sets

Round 5 = 2 sets & 1 run

Round 6 = 2 runs & 1 set

Round 7 = 3 runs (13 cards are dealt in this round)

Dealing and Game Play

To start, shuffle the 2 decks together, each player draws a card from the deck, and the player with the highest card is the first dealer. The dealer shuffles the deck, and starting with the player on their left deals 11 cards to each player one card at a time, going clockwise. The dealer places the remaining cards facedown in a stack, flips the top card faceup and places it next to the stack to create the discard pile.

The objective for each round is to create the round requirement. The player to the left of the dealer goes first by taking the top facedown card from the stack or the top faceup card from the discard pile. A player will discard an unwanted card from their hand faceup on the discard pile, signifying the end of their turn. Play continues in a clockwise direction, and each turn begins with drawing and ends with discarding. In the moment that the active player has rejected the faceup discard and chosen the facedown card from the draw pile, this leaves the faceup discard up for grabs by other players. If a player wants that card, they can pick up that card along with a penalty card from the stack. If more than one player wants the card, the player whose turn is coming up the soonest has the priority. Once the active player discards, this option expires.

Once a player has all the requirements of the current round, they will start their turn by drawing a card, then they will “go down” - meaning to display the cards of that requirement faceup on the table in front of them. This player then ends their turn by discarding. And play continues. Once a player goes down, their goal in their next turns is to get rid of all the cards in their hand to “go out” (meaning they have played all of their cards) and win that round. A person can play their remaining cards, during their turn, by adding to the displayed requirements of all players laid out on the table. A player may not play on other players in the same turn that they have gone down.

For example, if there is a 3 of a kind displayed such as 5♥, 5♦, 5♣, then a player can add the 5♠ to the set. Or if there is a run of 3♥, 4♥, 5♥, then a player can play the 2♥ in the right place, expanding the run.

A player can replace a displayed joker in a run with the card it’s representing and then the joker must be immediately used by the player who replaced it, it cannot go into their hand. A joker displayed in a set may not be replaced.

If a player is discarding their final card to go out and win the round, the player will discard the card facedown on the discard pile and look at the others smugly.

Scoring

A player wins a round by going down and then playing or discarding all remaining cards in their hand earning a score of zero. The remaining players count the points of the cards they are holding in their hands. The winner of the game is the player with the lowest number of points after all 7 hands.

Jokers & red aces = 30 points

Black aces = 20 points

Face cards = 10 points

All other cards = face value

Laissez les bons temps rouler!