LET’S PLAYVisit KGN ↗LESS EXPLAINING. MORE PLAYING.
Know the rules.
Own the night.
All 16 games, in one place. Pick your game for setup, how to play and how to win.
16 games to explore
01Board game · 2–4 playersLudo
Set up
- Choose a colour and put all four tokens in its base. Take turns clockwise with one die.
Your turn
- Roll a 6 to bring a token onto its starting square, or use the roll to move a token already on the track. Move one token by the full roll; you cannot split it.
- Follow the track into your own home lane. You need an exact roll to finish. If nothing can move, pass.
- A 6 gives another roll. Agree how three consecutive sixes are handled before playing; in the KGN online game, the third 6 ends your turn without a move.
Captures and winning
- Landing exactly on a lone opposing token sends it back to base, unless the square is safe. Safe squares and rules for stacked tokens vary by board.
- First to get all four tokens home wins.
KGN online version
- Marked safe squares protect tokens. Two or more same-colour tokens sharing a square cannot be captured; they do not block movement.
- Capturing a token or reaching home earns another turn. The host chooses the turn timer; when it expires, the game rolls or moves automatically. Physical-board house rules may differ.
02Card game · 2–10 playersUNO
Set up and play
- Deal seven cards each; put the rest face down and turn one up. Start left of the dealer, clockwise. Match the top card by colour, number or symbol, or play a Wild.
- If you cannot play, draw one; you may play that drawn card if it fits. Otherwise your turn ends. You may choose to draw instead of playing.
Action cards
- Skip misses the next player; Reverse changes direction (with two players, it acts as a Skip). Draw Two makes the next player draw two and miss their turn.
- Wild chooses the colour. Wild Draw Four also makes the next player draw four and miss their turn, but is legal only if you have no card of the current colour.
- A Draw Four recipient may challenge: the player shows their hand. If illegal, that player draws four instead; if legal, the challenger draws six. Standard UNO has no draw-card stacking.
Finish
- Call UNO at one card. If caught before the next turn begins, draw two. Empty your hand to win the round; resolve a final draw penalty.
- For scoring, number cards score face value, actions 20 and Wilds 50; the winner collects opponents’ points. First to 500 wins. Use the box rules for extra cards and opening action cards.
03Dexterity · 2+ playersJenga
Set up
- Build 18 layers of three blocks. Turn each layer at right angles to the one below. The person who built the tower starts.
Your turn
- Use only one hand at a time to remove one block from below the highest completed layer. You may test blocks for looseness; restore any displaced block you decide not to take.
- Place your block on top, at right angles to the layer below. Complete a three-block layer before starting another.
- Your turn ends 10 seconds after placing the block, or when the next player touches a block, whichever happens first.
Winning
- The player who makes the tower fall loses. The last player to complete a successful turn wins. Reset the tower for a rematch.
04Strategy · 2 playersConnect 4
Set up
- Stand the empty grid upright and close its bottom release. Each player takes one colour. Decide who starts.
Your turn
- Drop one disc into any column with space. It falls to the lowest empty position; you cannot move or remove it afterwards.
- Alternate one disc each. Watch horizontal, vertical and diagonal threats.
Winning
- The first player with four of their discs in an unbroken horizontal, vertical or diagonal line wins immediately.
- If the grid fills with no winning line, it is a draw. Empty the grid and swap who starts.
05Board game · 2–6 players · check editionMonopoly
Set up and move
- Give each player 1,500 in game money. Pick a banker, shuffle Chance and Community Chest, and place tokens on GO. Highest roll starts.
- Roll two dice, move clockwise and resolve the space. Collect 200 when passing or landing on GO, unless a card says otherwise. Doubles give another turn; three consecutive doubles send you straight to Jail.
Property and building
- Buy unowned property at its printed price or let the banker auction it to all players, including you. Pay rent on owned, unmortgaged property using its title deed.
- Own a complete colour set to build houses evenly; after four houses on every property in the set, upgrade to hotels evenly. Follow the deed’s prices. Building supplies are limited.
- Trade cash, property and Get Out of Jail Free cards. Sell buildings back at half price before trading a property from that colour set or mortgaging it. Mortgage values are printed on deeds; unmortgaging costs the mortgage plus 10%.
Jail, debt and ending
- Leave Jail by paying 50 before rolling, using a Get Out of Jail Free card, or rolling doubles within three turns. On the third failed roll, pay 50 and move that roll. Doubles used to leave Jail do not earn another roll. You can still collect rent and trade in Jail.
- Raise money through sales and mortgages to cover debt. If you still cannot pay, you are bankrupt. Assets go to the creditor; if the bank is owed, it auctions the properties. Follow the box rules for transferred mortgages.
- The last solvent player wins. Free Parking is a rest space: no jackpot in standard rules. For a timed game, agree a house-rule time limit and asset valuation before starting.
06Card game · 2+ playersWhot
Set up and play
- Common Nigerian variant: deal five cards each. Turn up an ordinary card and leave the rest face down as the market. Take turns matching the top card’s shape or number.
- If you cannot play, pick one from the market and end your turn. A Whot 20 can be played on anything: call the shape that must follow.
Common Nigerian action cards
- 1 — Hold On: play again. 2 — Pick Two: the next player draws two and misses their turn.
- 5 — Pick Three: the next player draws three and misses their turn. Some tables do not use this action.
- 8 — Suspension: skip the next player. 14 — General Market: all other players draw one; in this variant, you play again.
- 20 — Whot: name a shape. The next player plays that shape or another Whot, or draws.
Finish and agree variations
- Call “last card” when you have one left; first to empty their hand wins (“check up”). Reshuffle discards under the top card if the market runs out.
- Before starting, agree whether matching 2s or 5s can pass on and add to penalties, whether you can finish on an action card, and any missed-call penalty. These are table variations, not universal rules.
07Tile game · 2–4 playersDominoes
Set up · draw dominoes
- This guide uses a double-six set and draw rules. Shuffle all 28 tiles face down. Deal seven each for two players, or five each for three or four. Remaining tiles form the boneyard.
- The highest double starts. If nobody has a double, start with the highest-total tile. Take turns clockwise.
Your turn
- Add one tile to either open end of the chain, matching the touching numbers. Place doubles sideways; they still create only one open end in this version.
- If you cannot play, draw until you can, or until the boneyard is empty. Play a legal tile if possible; otherwise pass. Keep your unplayed tiles hidden.
Winning and variations
- The first player to use every tile wins. If everyone is blocked, the lowest total of pips in hand wins; equal totals tie.
- For several rounds, agree a target score. One common method awards the winner opponents’ remaining pips, subtracting the winner’s pips on a blocked round.
- Block dominoes uses no drawing. All Fives and partnership dominoes have different scoring: agree the version before dealing.
08Party game · 3+ players · adult editionBad Choices
Set up
- Deal six cards face down to each player and leave the rest in a draw pile. The player to the left of the last person to arrive starts.
Your turn
- Choose one question card and one other player to ask. You want an honest “yes”.
- If they answer yes, discard that card. If they answer no, keep it for a later turn. Either answer ends your turn; play passes left.
- Instead of asking a question, skip your turn to exchange any number of your cards for new ones.
Winning
- The first player to discard their whole hand wins.
Suggested table agreement
- Anyone may decline a personal question without explaining. Set that card aside and replace it, with no point gained. This optional pass rule is a house rule; agree it together first.
09Word game · 2+ playersSplurt
Set up
- For the boxed game, shuffle and take about 20–40 cards, pink sides up. Put the remaining cards aside. Flip the top card beside the deck, showing its black side.
Play together
- Everyone races to give an answer matching the category on the pink card and the letter condition on the black card.
- The first correct answer wins the black card. Flip the next pink card to make a new black clue and repeat.
- For simultaneous answers, or if everyone agrees there is no answer, put the black card pink-side up beneath the deck. Disputed answers go to a majority vote; a tied vote favours the answerer.
Winning
- Stop when only one card remains in the draw pile. Most collected cards wins. Tied players play one final round using shuffled spare cards.
- The print-and-play edition uses two separate clue piles; follow its own setup if that is your copy.
10Party game · 2 teams of 1–2Beer Pong
Suggested games-night rules
- Beer Pong has many house rules. This is a simple version to agree before playing. Put 10 cups in a triangle at each end, with the point facing the opponents. Fill target cups with water; keep personal drinks separate.
- Each team has two throws per turn. In pairs, each teammate throws once. Choose the starting team with a coin toss.
Your turn
- Throw from behind your end of the table, keeping your elbow behind the edge when releasing. A ball landing and staying in a cup removes that cup.
- Remove hit cups before the next throw. A bounce counts as one cup in this simple version. No swatting, extra turns, trick-shot bonuses or re-racks unless agreed beforehand.
- After both shots, the other team takes its turn. Drinking is optional and is not part of scoring.
Winning
- First team to remove every opposing cup wins. This version has no final redemption throws. If your table wants redemption, agree its exact format before the first shot.
11Bluffing game · 3–8 playersChameleon Pictures
Set up
- Use one reveal sleeve per player, including exactly one Chameleon sleeve. Shuffle and deal sleeves secretly. Put a Picture Card in the centre.
- Pass the same Symbol Card around for each player to insert into their sleeve privately. Regular sleeves reveal the symbol identifying the secret picture; the Chameleon sleeve reveals the Chameleon instead.
Clues and voting
- Starting with the dealer, each player gives one word linked to the secret picture. Be specific enough to show you know it, but not enough to reveal it. The Chameleon bluffs.
- Discuss the clues, then vote together by pointing to a suspect. Most votes decides; the dealer breaks a tie. The accused reveals their sleeve.
Outcome and scoring
- Accuse the wrong player: the Chameleon escapes. Catch the Chameleon: they get one guess at the secret picture, and escape if correct. With three players, they get two guesses.
- Optional scoring: undetected Chameleon earns 2; caught but correct guess earns 1; caught with wrong guess gives everyone else 2. First to 5 wins.
- Redeal sleeves and choose a new symbol and picture. With 7–8 players, turn the picture face down after everyone gives their clue.
12Word game · 2–4 playersScrabble
Set up
- Agree the dictionary and challenge rule. Each player draws a tile; closest to A starts (a blank beats A). Return them, shuffle and draw seven tiles each. Keep tiles hidden.
Your turn
- Place one or more tiles in one horizontal or vertical line. The first word covers the centre star. Later plays must connect to existing tiles, and every new word formed must be valid. No diagonal words.
- Alternatively exchange any number of tiles if at least seven remain in the bag, or pass. An exchange uses your turn. After scoring a play, refill your rack to seven.
- A blank represents any letter, chosen when played, and stays that letter for the whole game. It always scores zero.
Scoring
- Add letter values for each new word formed. Apply letter premiums first, then word premiums. Premium squares count only when a tile is first placed there; a new tile can score in more than one word. The centre is double word.
- Using all seven rack tiles in one turn adds 50 points. Existing tiles keep their printed values but do not reuse premiums.
Challenges and ending
- Challenge before the next turn. Check all words from that play using the agreed dictionary; invalid plays are removed and score zero. The penalty for a failed challenge varies by edition, so agree it first.
- Finish when the bag is empty and someone uses their last tile, or nobody can make further progress under your edition’s end rule. Subtract each player’s remaining tile values. A player who went out also adds everyone else’s deductions. Highest score wins.
13Strategy · 2 playersChess
Set up
- Orient the board with a light square at each player’s bottom right. Back row: rook, knight, bishop, queen, king, bishop, knight, rook. The queen starts on her own colour. Pawns fill the row in front. White moves first.
How pieces move
- King: one square in any direction. Queen: any distance along a rank, file or diagonal. Rook: straight along ranks or files. Bishop: diagonally.
- Knight: two squares along a rank or file then one at right angles; it can jump pieces. Other pieces cannot jump.
- Pawn: forward one into an empty square, or two from its starting square if both are clear. It captures one square diagonally forward. Pieces capture by replacing an enemy piece; never capture your own.
Special moves
- Promotion: a pawn reaching the far rank immediately becomes a queen, rook, bishop or knight of its colour.
- Castling: move the king two squares toward a rook, then the rook to the square the king crossed. Neither may have moved; the space between must be empty. The king cannot be in check, cross an attacked square or finish in check.
- En passant: immediately after an enemy pawn advances two squares and lands beside your pawn on its fifth rank, you may capture as if it had moved only one. This chance lasts one move.
Check, mate and draws
- Never make a move that leaves your king attacked. If in check, move the king, capture the attacker or block the attack where possible.
- Checkmate means the king is attacked and there is no legal escape: the game ends. Kings are never captured.
- No legal move without being in check is stalemate, a draw. A dead position is also drawn. Players can agree a draw. Threefold repetition or 50 moves by each side without a pawn move or capture can be claimed; fivefold repetition or 75 such moves produces an automatic draw, unless the last move checkmates.
- For casual play, agree any clock and touch-move rules before beginning.
14Card game · 2–6 playersUNO No Mercy
Set up and play
- Deal seven each; turn cards until a number starts the discard pile. Play clockwise from the dealer’s left. Match colour, number or symbol. If stuck, draw until you can play, then play it.
No Mercy rules
- Stack a draw card with one of equal or higher value than the last draw card; add the penalties. The first unable to stack draws the total and skips their turn.
- 25 or more cards eliminates you. A 7 swaps your hand with anyone; a 0 passes every hand in the current direction.
- Call UNO at one card; being caught before the next turn means drawing two.
Action cards
- Skip misses one player; Reverse changes direction; Skip Everyone gives you another turn. Discard All removes your cards of its colour underneath it.
- Draw 2, Draw 4, Wild Draw 6 and Wild Draw 10 impose that penalty and skip. Wild Reverse Draw 4 reverses first; with two players you receive its penalty unless you stack. Wilds choose colour.
- Wild Colour Roulette: the next player chooses a colour and reveals cards until that colour appears, keeps everything revealed, then skips. Wilds do not count.
15Party game · 3+ players5 Second Rule
Set up
- This guide uses the card-and-points edition. Agree a number of rounds so everyone gets the same number of starting turns. Put the question cards and timer within reach.
The hot seat
- Another player reads a “Name 3…” prompt. Start the timer immediately after the prompt. Give three distinct, valid answers before the balls reach the bottom.
- Success earns the card, worth one point. If you fail, the same question passes right, with a fresh five seconds; that player cannot reuse any answers already given for this card.
- Continue until someone succeeds. If everyone fails and it comes back to the original player, that player earns the point automatically.
- The player to the right of the original starter begins the next new question. The group decides disputed answers.
Winning and other editions
- After the agreed rounds, most points wins. If tied, play an extra round among tied players.
- Board versions use movement and may include Pass On or Switch cards; follow that box’s rules for those features.
16Team game · 4+ playersArticulate
Set up and take a turn
- Form teams of at least two; place tokens at Start. Rotate describers each turn. Use one describer in pairs, or up to two in larger teams.
- Start the timer. Describe entries in your current board category. After each correct guess, take another card in the same category. Move one space per correct answer when time ends.
Clue rules
- Do not say the answer, a derivative, its starting letter or length, or a rhyme/sound-alike clue. No mouthing or foreign-language substitutions. Gestures and mime are allowed.
- You may pass once per turn. Breaking a description rule forfeits the turn.
Special spaces and winning
- Control: describe a Control entry to everyone without a timer; the first team to guess takes the next turn.
- Spin: wide green gives two bonus spaces; narrow green gives three. Move yourself forward or an opponent back. Orange/red gives none. Special spaces triggered only by a spin cause no further action.
- At Finish, describe a Control entry to everyone. Your team must guess it first to win; otherwise try again on your next turn.