Hookah RoyaleHow to play › 31
How to Play 31
Fast, three cards, one suit. Also called Scat or Blitz. These are the rules exactly as Hookah Royale deals them.
The goal
Every player holds 3 cards and races to build the highest total in a single suit. The best possible hand is 31 — an Ace plus two ten-value cards of the same suit, like A-K-Q of hearts.
Card values
| Cards | Value |
|---|---|
| Ace | 11 |
| King, Queen, Jack | 10 |
| Number cards | Face value |
Only cards of the same suit add together. If you hold ♠K ♠9 ♥A, your hand is worth 19 (the two spades) — the off-suit ace doesn't join in.
Three of a kind — the special 30½
Three cards of the same rank (like 7-7-7) count as a special 30½. It beats any hand worth 30, and loses only to a real 31.
Coins are lives
Everyone starts with 3 coins. At the end of each round the lowest hand loses one coin. Lose all three and you're out — though you get one rebuy to jump back in. The last player standing wins (and takes the pot if the table was played for a buy-in).
Your turn
On your turn you either:
- Draw — take the top card of the deck or the top of the discard pile, then throw one card away (you briefly hold 4, then you're back to 3), or
- Knock — see below.
When the deck runs out it's reshuffled from the discard pile, so play keeps going.
Knocking
If you think your hand is strong enough, knock instead of drawing. That ends the round: every other player gets one last turn, then all hands are revealed and the lowest total loses a coin. Knock at your own risk — if you turn out to be lowest, you lose the coin.
The blitz — hitting exactly 31
Land an exact 31 and you don't need to knock. The hand reveals immediately and every other player loses a coin at once. It's the biggest swing in the game.