Walkthroughs

Cheats and tips - How to win at King's Shuffle Cats

Rummy makes the world go round

Cheats and tips - How to win at King's Shuffle Cats
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| Shuffle Cats

Want to win at King's new card game, Shuffle Cats? Then you're in luck as we've got loads of tips for the game, right here.

This is a very simple version of Rummy so it's much easier to pick up than the proper card game. But there's still plenty of strategy to unearth.

We'll start with the basics and then move onto some tips and tricks. Grab your deck and let's go.

How to play Shuffle Cats Rummy

At the start of your turn you must take one card, either from the discard pile (face up) or the stock pile (face down).

Now, look to see if you can make a set or a run.

Set

A set is three or four cards of the same value (three sevens, or four kings).

Run

A run is three or more cards of the same suit (heart, club, spade, or diamond), and in numerical order. 3 of clubs, 4 of clubs, and 5 of clubs is a valid run.

If you can make one, tap on the cards and then drag them onto the board to play them. This is called "melding".

You can also add cards to a set or run that's already on the board. If there are three queens, you can add one more queen to get a point.

Whether you've melded cards or not, you must end your turn by sending one card to the discard pile. If you melded cards, you'll receive the same number of cards back, from the stock pile.

You'll get one point for each card you meld in your turn. The first player to rack up 10 points wins.

Tips

Melds

You can do multiple melds in one turn. You can lay down a set, and then add one card to an existing run. Don't end your turn until you're absolutely sure you've done all you want to do.

Don't lay cards just because you can. You might be able to get one point by adding a card to an existing set - but that same card could be used in a run of your own.

Remember that there's only one deck, so only one of each card. If you see a useful card disappear into the discard pile it will be gone until the stock pile is diminished and the discard pile is turned over.

Charms

Keep an eye on what your opponent's lucky charms. If they have the King and Queen charm, which gives bonus points for king and queen cards, do not dump those cards into the discard pile!

Do a run in multiple goes. It can be tempting to wait until you have enough cards to do a big five or even six card run. But you don't need to wait: just drop three of the cards and then add onto it with two or three more later when you get the necessary cards.

Have a couple ideas in mind. Don't bank everything on one run or set: you want a couple two-card sets/runs in your hand, so you've got double the chance of getting a viable set/run.

Similarly, don't wait for the perfect card. If you're thinking "as soon as I get the six of spades I'll win!", you've got a pretty low chance of actually seeing that card any time soon. Diversify your strategy and have different ways to win.

Hearts

There's literally no strategy in Hearts or Spades. You have a 50/50 chance to be right. So just play the cards randomly until you've got one life left and then cash out. I know it's hard to leave when you could get more money but luck isn't really on your side...

Mark Brown
Mark Brown
Mark Brown is editor at large of Pocket Gamer