How to play UnderTen

UnderTen is a quick card game for 2 to 6 players. Get the cards in your hand to add up to less than 10, declare, and hope nobody goes lower. A round takes a few minutes.

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What you need

One standard 52-card deck with no jokers, and 2 to 6 players. Or play online at undertengame.com with friends, with random players, or against bots.

Card values

Card	Points
Ace	1
2 to 10	Face value
Jack, Queen, King	10

Setup

Shuffle and deal 7 cards to each player. Put the rest face down as the deck, and turn the top card face up to start the discard pile.

Your turn

1. Declare, if you can. At the start of your turn, before drawing, you may declare if your hand adds up to 9 or less.
2. Draw. Otherwise take one card: the top of the face-down deck or the top of the discard pile.
3. Throw. Discard one card. You may throw several cards at once only if they are the same rank, like two 3s or three Kings. You can't throw straight back the single card you just took from the discard pile.

Throwing pairs and sets is how your hand shrinks, so hang on to matching cards until you can throw them together.

Declaring and winning

When someone declares, everyone shows their hand. The declarer wins if nobody else has the same total or lower. If anyone matches or beats the declarer, the declarer loses the tie and the lowest hand wins instead. Players who tie for lowest share the win.

If you throw your last card, you declare at 0 when your next turn starts. If nobody declares after 12 turns each, the round ends and the lowest hand wins.

An example round

Four players: Ana, Ben, Cy and Di. Ana is dealt K, Q, 8, 8, 5, 3 and an Ace, which adds up to 45.

1. Turn 1. Ana draws a 2 from the deck and throws the King. Her hand is now 37.
2. Turn 2. Ben has just thrown an 8. Ana takes it from the discard pile, so she holds three 8s, and throws the Queen. Hand: 35.
3. Turn 3. Ana draws a 4 and throws all three 8s at once. Hand: 5, 4, 3, 2, Ace, which is 15.
4. Turn 4. She draws a 2. Now she has a pair of 2s, but she throws the 5 first. Hand: 12.
5. Turn 5. She draws a 9 from the deck and throws it straight back. Still 12.
6. Turn 6. She draws an Ace and throws the 4. Hand: 3, 2, 2, Ace, Ace, which is 9.
7. Turn 7. Her hand is 9 at the start of her turn, so she may declare. She does. Ben shows 14, Cy shows 11 and Di shows 9.

Di has matched Ana's 9, so Ana loses and Di wins the round. If Ana had waited one more turn and thrown her pair of 2s, she would have been holding just 3, Ace, Ace and the card she drew, a much safer hand to declare with.

When the deck runs out

If the face-down deck is empty, the discard pile is shuffled to make a new deck, leaving only its top card in place. Play carries on as normal.

Playing a match to 50

Online games are a match to 50 points. After each round every player adds their hand total to their score, and a declarer who gets beaten adds 20 more. Anyone over 50 is out, and the last player left wins. In a private room the host can pick a single round instead. The scoring page walks through a whole match.

Playing online

• Quick match puts you at a table of four.
• Create a room gives you a 5-letter code and a link to send friends, for 2 to 6 players.
• Vs bots is a solo game of single rounds against computer players.

There are no accounts. Type a name and play. Online, each move has a 20-second timer. If time runs out, the game draws or throws your highest card for you, and after two turns like that it keeps playing for you until you tap I'm back. It never declares for you.

Tips

• Throw your high cards and face cards early.
• Watch the discard pile. Taking a card that matches one in your hand sets up a pair to throw next turn.
• Declaring at 9 is brave. Declaring at 3 or less is usually safe.
• Count what others pick up from the discard pile. It tells you what they are collecting.

The strategy guide goes deeper.

Questions

Is UnderTen like Yaniv?

Yes. If you have played Yaniv or Dhumbal, UnderTen will feel familiar. It keeps the draw, throw and declare idea, with a simple target of under 10 and no runs, so new players learn it in a minute.

Is it free?

Yes. The web game is free and supported by ads between games. Apps for iPhone and Android are coming soon.

Can I play on my phone?

Yes. UnderTen runs in any modern browser on phones, tablets and computers. Nothing to install.