Noddy
You against the computer. Three cards, a count to 31, first to 31 points.
Score each hand with the shared starter before playing.
Shared starter
A of hearts
Count on the table
0Computer holds 3 cards
Your hand
Scoring this hand
- A new three-card hand. Count hands before playing.
A historical reconstruction
This table follows Justin du Coeur’s 1996 reconstruction from Willughby. It is one documented version of Noddy; surviving accounts differ.
Count your three cards with the starter before play. Fifteens and twenty-fives score two. Matching ranks, runs and flushes also score. A jack matching the starter’s suit is Knave Noddy; a turned-up jack gives the dealer two immediately.
Then alternate cards without taking the total above 31. Points come from the count and trailing combinations. Exactly 31 scores two; otherwise the player whose opponent cannot answer scores one and the count ends there. Only one count is played per deal. First to 31 points wins immediately.
How to play
Three cards each and one starter turned up. Count both hands with the starter first: fifteens and twenty-fives score two, pairs, runs and flushes score, a jack matching the starter suit is Knave Noddy, and a turned-up jack gives the dealer two straight away.
Then play cards in turn without taking the count above 31. Pairs, runs and fifteens score as you go; exactly 31 scores two, otherwise the player whose opponent cannot answer scores one and the count ends there. There is one count per deal and no crib. The first to 31 points wins on the spot. This table follows one documented reconstruction of the game, named under it, and does not mix it with the others.
The same game with a friend instead of the computer is at a table of its own, two seats and one link to send.