Ninety Nine

• Designer: Reinhard Staupe
• Publisher: Kendi
• Players: 2-4
• Age: 8+
• Time: 30 minutes
• Amazon affiliate link: 
• Played with review copy provided by publisher

Ninety Nine is a race to 99 points, with players scoring for both smart card playing and smart card discarding.

The deck consists of cards numbered 0-10 in ten colors, with each player starting with a hand of six cards and fifteen cards in a reserve pile. Start two discard piles with a face-up card.  There are three reference cards which are also placed in the center of the table. 

On a turn, play one card from your hand into your personal row. Cards in your row must increase in value and be different colors; if you can’t play, you must score and discard your row, then start a new one. A row scores the square of the number of cards in it, e.g., a row of four cards is worth 16 points when scored. (You can choose to score your row, if desired.)

Next, you may discard as many cards as you wish onto the discard piles, but each discard must either:

• Be the same color as the card covered.
• Be exactly one number higher than the card covered.
• Add to 10 if summed with the card covered.

(The three reference cards will remind you of these three rules)

For example, you can play a green 10 on a yellow 9, then a red 0 on the 10, then a red 8 on the 0. 

Finally, end your turn by refilling your hand from your reserve pile. If you empty that pile, immediately score 15 points, then create a new reserve pile.  (If the deck is empty, shuffle all the cards from the discard piles except the top card of each to form a new deck). 

As soon as a player scores 99 or more points, they win.

Once you’re skilled at Ninety Nine, you can add the bonus rule: If you manage to discard all five cards in hand onto the discard piles, you refill your hand to six cards, then take another turn immediately. If you discard the next five, take another bonus turn!

My thoughts on the game

We’ve played a few times, and the game itself is quite simple – though I will say that everyone needs to be vigilant during the discard phase of each turn.  At least around here, players fall into the trap of thinking that all UNO plays are legal – and they are NOT!  You can play the same color onto a discard, but you may NOT play the same number (it has to be one higher).  In our first games, we were constantly making this error – yes even with the reference card!  After a few games, and constant instructions to monitor the discards, we fixed that.

A lot of the fun in the game is trying to set yourself up for plays where you can get a bonus turn and thus churn through your personal deck at rapid speed.  Again, better when you play with the correct rules :)

There will come turns where you have to make an interesting decision as far as playing a card which is better for the growth of your personal row versus a play which then gives you a bonus turn.  I still don’t know if I will even be able figure out the math about which is better – so I just pick one and go with it. 

The scoring is a bit cumbersome.  We initially scored on a dry erase board, but then later moved to using mini-poker chips so that one person wasn’t constantly having to keep track.   The chips make the game move along smoothly and each person is in charge of their own score.  We just try to color up when possible so that each player’s score is easily visible.

Ninety Nine is a cute filler, and there are actually a few interesting strategic decisions to be made along the way.  I’d happily play this an opener/closer/filler at a game day.  (As an aside, as a budding game designer, I’m also definitely not sad to have a deck of cards that is 0-10 in ten suits)

Thoughts from other Opinionated Gamers

Mark Jackson (3 plays): This saw a lot of play at the post-Essen weekend I was a part of… it’s nothing earth-shattering, but it falls squarely in my “better than UNO” category of games that would work well with non-gamers.

Ratings from the Opinionated Gamers

• I love it!
• I like it. Mark Jackson
• Neutral. Dale Y, John P
• Not for me…