Nertz (Pounce) Rules

Nertz, also known as Pounce, Racing Demon, Peanuts, Squeal, or Scrooge, is a fast-paced, competitive solitaire card game designed for two or more players. It requires a standard 52-card deck for each player (or team), with each deck having a unique back design to differentiate between players during scoring. The game's objective is to be the first player to empty their Nertz pile, also known as the Pounce pile, by building cards on common foundations.

Objective

The main objective of Nertz is to get rid of all the cards from your Nertz pile by playing them onto the common foundations or onto your own work piles — never onto another player's tableau, which you may not touch at all. A player who empties their Nertz pile can call "Nerts!" (or "Pounce!") to end the game, but they don't have to do so immediately: it is often worth playing on for a few seconds to squeeze out extra points. Calling Nerts does not guarantee the highest score, though more often than not it results in a good one.

Setup

1. Each player deals a Nertz pile of thirteen cards in one pile, with twelve cards face down and the thirteenth face up on top.
2. Next to the Nertz pile, each player deals four cards face-up, side by side and not overlapping, to form four work piles.
3. The remaining cards are held face-down as a stock; these will be turned three at a time onto a face-up stack to form the waste pile, which starts empty.
4. Players should arrange their tableaus in a triangle, box, circle, or any other shape around a common area where the foundations will be placed and built on.

How to Play

Players move cards simultaneously, not taking turns, building on their own tableau and on the shared foundations. The key objective is to eliminate cards from the Nertz pile by playing them onto work piles or foundations. Cards can only be moved within the player's own tableau and into the common area — you cannot touch another player's tableau, and you cannot take cards back out of the common area. Players may use only one hand at a time to move cards, though they may hold the stock in the other hand, and only one card may be moved at a time, except when moving a block of cards from one work pile to another.

If two or more players try to play to the same foundation at the same time, the first played card — generally the one that ends up lowest in the heap — stays, and all other players must return the equivalent cards they had just tried to play on that foundation pile to their previous positions. If a tie cannot be resolved, both cards stay. And remember: you are never forced to play a card if it isn't in your best interest. You can always wait.

Work Piles

Work piles begin with one card each, built in descending order, alternating color. For example, a red six can be placed on a black seven, a black ten on a red jack, and so on. Cards can be moved from one work pile to another if they fit, and any cards on top of the card being moved go with it. Empty work piles can be filled with a card from the Nertz pile, waste pile, or another work pile.

Nertz Pile

Cards from the top of the Nertz pile can be played onto empty spaces in the work piles, onto one of the existing work piles if they fit, or directly onto a foundation. When a player plays the top card of their Nertz pile, they can turn the next card of the pile face up. When the Nertz pile becomes empty, the player can call "Nerts!" but doesn't have to do so immediately.

Foundations

Foundations are built in the common area, always begun with an ace, and can be built up by playing the next higher card of the same suit until the king is reached. Players can start new foundation piles by placing any available ace in the common area. Other available cards can be played onto an existing foundation where they fit, provided that another player doesn't get there before you.

Stock and Waste Pile

Cards can be turned over from the stock three at a time and put face-up onto the waste pile, keeping them in the same order. The top card of the waste pile may be played to one of the work piles or to a foundation pile if it fits. If there are only one or two cards left in the stock, they are placed on the waste pile, and then the waste pile is turned over to start a new stock — you do not pick up the waste pile and slide it underneath so as to deal three.

If every player is stuck, or nobody wants to play any more cards, everyone picks up their waste pile to re-form their stock and then moves the top card of the stock to the bottom. This happens often in a two-player game and rarely with more. If you are stuck but the others can still play, you must wait until everyone is stuck before you may move that top stock card.

Scoring and End of Game

When someone calls "Nerts!" play ends — cards already in the air may complete their move, but nothing further. Each player (team) scores one point for each of their own cards that they managed to play into the common area, which is why the decks must have different backs: the foundation piles have to be sorted out by owner first. Players then subtract two points for every card left in their Nertz pile when play ended, except for the player who called "Nerts," who doesn't subtract any points. If instead everyone gets so stuck that no card will play, scoring happens the same way but every player takes the two-point penalty.

Further deals are played until one or more players' scores reach or pass an agreed target score (usually 100). At that point the player with the highest score wins from each other player in proportion to the difference between their scores.

Common Variants

There is a variation in which two jokers are added to each deck. Nertz can also be played by more than five people as partners. Partners sit next to each other and share a pack, playing just like individual players but with an extra set of eyes and hands to help each other out — one partner can work through the stock three at a time while the other keeps an eye on the Nertz pile. The game also exists in dedicated commercial versions with their own cards, such as Dutch Blitz, Ligretto and Solitaire Frenzy.

A Fun Fact or Record

The most telling detail in the rules is the one about card backs. Because every player builds onto the same shared foundations, all the packs end up jumbled together in the middle of the table — so scoring begins with an archaeological dig through the finished piles to work out who actually played what. No different backs, no score.

Where to Get the Game

Start your Nertz adventure with a standard 52-card deck designed for the game. You can find these decks on Amazon: 52-card decks nertz on Amazon

Beginner Mistakes to Avoid

1. Forgetting to call "Nerts!" when your Nertz pile is empty.
2. Trying to play cards on foundations when another player has already played a higher card of the same suit.
3. Failing to pay attention to the arrangement of work piles and the need to alternate colors when adding cards.
4. Not keeping track of the score and not realizing when a target score has been reached.

FAQ

1. Can I play Nertz with a deck that doesn't have unique backs?

   • While it's possible, it can make scoring more difficult due to the inability to distinguish between players' cards.

2. How many people can play?

   • Two or more. It is a very good two-player game and a fun one for three or four; with five players as individuals it starts to get out of hand, and from six upwards (in even numbers) you switch to the partnership version.

3. Is there a specific strategy to winning at Nertz?

   • While there is no one definitive strategy, players can focus on building foundations, managing their Nertz pile, and paying attention to the arrangement of work piles to increase their chances of winning.

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