We love family card games, and today we’re going to teach you how to play Blitz!
Blitz, also called Thirty One, works well for players of all ages as long as they are able to add up the value of their cards. Players will need to make decisions about the value of their hand as the game goes along (without getting help from someone else).
The goal of Blitz is to get as close as you can to 31 points (without going over) to win the game.
This post was updated in June 2024.
Here’s how to play Blitz:
Deal three cards to each player. Place the remaining cards in a pile face down on the table.
The goal of Blitz is to collect three cards of the same suit that add up to 31, or as close as possible to 31.
The player to the left of the dealer draws a card from the top of the pile. He can either keep the card and discard one of this other cards, or he can put the card in the discard pile. The discard pile is face up on the table.
The next player may choose to either take the card on the top of the discard pile or draw a card – he cannot do both. His turn ends by discarding a card.
Once a player thinks they have the best possible hand, they knock on the table. They do not have to wait until their next turn to knock, but it does have to be their turn in order for them to knock. The other players then get one more turn to try to improve their score.
The winner of the round is the player who is the closest to 31 points without going over.
Here’s how to count points:
Aces – 11 points
Face Cards – 10 points
All other cards – face value
It is not necessary to have exactly 31 points to win! In the example below, one player has 19 points and the other has 27. The one with 27 points would win.
In case of a tie, the hand is a draw and you play again!
Need more family card games? Here’s a collection of 15+ Family Card Games that you can play with a deck of cards. Great for kids and families to play together!
11 Comments
Jim Nov 28, 2020
In your example of 27 vs 22... the score of 22 only has two cards of the same suit. Shouldn’t that score be 19?
Sarah Nov 28, 2020
You are right! Just fixed it. :-)
Bee Jan 16, 2022
The player who had a Jack and 9 and 3 couldn’t win because they’re not all the same suit right?
Pamela A. Jan 20, 2022
My family has been playing this since the 60's. We always called it "Snap". We start with 3 nickles or coins. Losing hand puts a coin in the pot. If someone Snaps or gets 31, everyone else puts in a coin. After losing your last coin, you play on your "Honor" until you lose for the 4th time. Last one standing gets the pot.
Z Hop Oct 9, 2024
My family has also been playing this for decades. We call it Thirty-One. There are rules for knocking and "burning". Burning is putting a coin in the pot after having the lowest hand. If you knock with 31, and someone else has 31, the person who knocks burns. Why, I don't know. If you knock and you have the lowest hand, you double-burn. If two people have the same amount of points and also are the lowest, they both burn. If you are dealt 31 in the beginning, you automatically flip them, and every single other player burns once. I assume these are rules my family made up throughout the years of playing.
Will Sep 11, 2022
We play if whoever knocks, the knocker must beat at least 1 other hand. Lowest hand pays the pot. If 2 hands are the lowest, then they both pay. If someone blitzes on the last round, all pay but the Blitzer of course. If the knocker beats no one, the knocker pays. If anyone blitzes before a knock, everyone but the Blitzer pays
Ron Miller Jan 28, 2023
If someone knocks and someone gets a 31 when cards are played, does the 31 win?
Sarah Jun 23, 2024
Yes, if another player gets 31 and the one who knocked did not, the player with 31 wins!
Ken Feb 26, 2023
We play as above, but out of a 6 deck shoe. 3 of a kind is worth 27 and a straight flush is 29.
Carole Aug 4, 2023
We played this in the late 50’s Early 60’s in England. We called it BUS STOP. Bus stop is what you call, when you think you have the highest score. When someone calls Bus Stop on their turn, the others get one more turn. If you have 31 in your had you call STOP THE BUS and lay down your cards., everyone else lays their cards down too without picking another up. We used to use pennies to play. Everyone puts a penny in the kitty and the winner gets the money.
Lisa May 26, 2024
That’s exactly how we played but we called it blitz. My family played this long before I came along. My family is all German and my grandma and Oma both learned this game as children before they came to America. I think that is
really cool that it has a different name in another country!
Monty Sep 14, 2023
Thank you! Someone taught me this game when I was a child and I recently taught it to my children. I didn't know what the offical name was, which made it difficult to explain when I wanted to play "that game". Now I have a name for it!
Rebecca Nov 11, 2023
My husband and I had never heard of this game before even though we played lots of card games growing up. We played it with our daughter and It was a blast! Thanks so much!
Noelle Jan 14, 2024
In reading the comments, Knock or Bus Stop do make it more fun. We called it Knocking. When it’s your turn, you knock on the table but dont take a card (you basically skip your turn). Everyone else gets one more turn. Then everyone lays down their cards. With a lot of people playing, Knocking is usually successful if you have anything over 20.
We also do what's called ’The Hammer’. The person to the right of the dealer has The Hammer. They can immediately lay down their cards after the deal. No knocking. No ‘one more turn for everyone’. Just take the Hammer and lay down your cards. (They only have to beat one person with their freshly dealt hand!)
If you want to gamble a bit, everyone puts a dollar in the hat and gets three coins. You play until the last person has one coin left. They get the money. Even without gambling, the coin method works well to give the game a ‘finish’ rather than just playing endlessly.
Jerry Mar 16, 2024
We played Blitz at grandmas house with the brothers and uncles. Played with dimes.
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