Rules
Fast card game with a bite!
2–8 players • 5 minutes per player • knutten.com
Short summary
Knutten (midges) is a fast card playing game for 2 to 8 players and lasts about 5 minutes per player. There are 32 knut number cards, 10 special knut cards and a sticker sheet with red Knut bites. By playing cards, players will increase the size of the swarm. When the swarm reaches 31 or more Knutten the round will end and the player who made that happen will get bit and receives a red Knut bite. After a player gets bitten for the third time all players with the least amount of bites will win the game!
Set up
- Shuffle all 42 cards.
- Put all the cards in a drawpile, we will call this the swamp.
- Every player will draw 3 cards from the swamp, you may look at your own cards, but do not show them to the other players. 3 is also the maximum hand size limit.
- The player who was last bitten by a Knut (or any other insect) will be the first player.
Gameplay
The first player will choose one of his cards and plays it open on the table, this will be the beginning of the Knutten swarm. All cards have two numbers on them. You get to choose which number will be in the swarm. The player will announce the number on the card and the total Knuts in the swarm. After playing your turn, draw another card from the swamp.
The next player (in clockwise order) will add another card to the swarm, covering the unused side of the previous card in the swarm (see Swarm), now add that number to the swarm and announce the new size of the swarm. Then that player will also draw a new card from the swamp.
Play continues until one player will add a card to the swarm that will increase the size to 31 or more Knutten. The round ends and that player will get bitten. Take a red sticker from the sheet and put it on your hand, arm or face.
A new round will begin, the player who got bit takes all the cards, shuffles them and creates a new swamp, then they will give every player 3 cards and chooses who will begin the next round. Play continues until one player receives a third bite!
3 of a kind
Whenever a player has three of the same cards in his hand, they will immediately shout: "WIND!" Show your cards to the other players. The round will end and the wind will blow all the knutten away. Every player will get bitten, except for the one who shouted "WIND!", they will prepare the new round.
Don't play below zero (0) knutten
Players can't add cards to the swarm if the size of the swarm will be below zero.
Empty swamp
When the swamp is empty, play will continue when all players have no more cards to play or can't play any cards. If the round has not ended yet, create a new swamp from the swarm cards and continue with the current swarm size.
If you can't play a card
When you can't play a card, show your cards to the other players, then put those cards at the bottom of the swamp and draw back up to your hand size.
Three Knutten bites
When a player receives their third bite, the game immediately ends. The player with the least amount of bites will win knutten! There can be more than one winner!
Special knut cards
These cards have special rules; you can recognize them by the symbols on them. All effects are listed on the Cards page.
Expansion: John Knut (5=0)
Add this card to the swamp. The player who draws this card can decide not to play it.
If the card gets played, it does not get added to the swarm, instead put it in front of the player with the fewest bites, if there are more players with the fewest bites, choose which player will receive John. That player will immediately get bitten, but not if this will cause them to receive their third bite.
When John is on the table, every Knutten card worth of 5 knutten, will become 0 knutten. The player who has John can skip a turn to remove John from the game, the effect will end as well.
If all players can't receive John because it will cause them to receive their third bite, ignore that effect and still play him for the 5=0 special rule.
Variant: Heavy knutting weather!
For every knut in the swarm above 30, add a red sticker to the losing person's face! (For example, when the round ends with 34 knutten in the swarm, add 4 bites to your face). When you have 11 bites on your face, the game ends and the player(s) with the least amount of bites wins!
Swarm
Example of how to play the swarm and add up the knutten total. The second number on the last card in the swarm will not be counted.
| Card played | Number used | Running total |
|---|---|---|
| 9 | 9 | 9 |
| 3 | +3 | 12 |
| 2 | +2 | 14 |
| -10 | -10 | 4 |
| ? (copies the next card) | +11 | 15 |
| 11 | +11 | 26 |
| 7 | +7 | 33 |
9 + 3 + 2 - 10 + 11 + 11 + 7 = 33
CAUTION!
Play at your own risk. Knutten bites heal 1-2 hours after being bitten.
