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a player cannot beat the card shown with the cards in her hand, and she has no wild cards or 10's, then she must pick up the card, and the pile of cards that may be under it, and add it to her hand. After a pile is picked up, the next player may put down any card from his hand, to start a new pile.

Once a player's places a card down, and she has less than three cards in her hand, she must pick up cards from the deck until she has three cards. If the player has more than three cards in his hand, he is not allowed to pick from the deck.

*Note: Once a player uses a wild card or a ten, and she has only two cards in her hand, she may pick up another card in the middle of her turn. For example, if I have three cards in my hand, and I put down an ace, I may pick up another card from the deck before I put down my second card.

Rule of Multiples: If it is a player's turn and he has two or three of the same card for example, two Kings he may put both down together as long as it beats the card showing. If a player has four of a kind in her hand, and she choose to put all four down, it will act as a "clear card" and clear the pile, and she must put another card down to start a new pile. If a player has four of a kind, the value of the card does not matter (so, four 3's may be put down over a 5).

The End of the Game: Once all the cards in the deck(s) are gone, leaving no more cards to get picked up, players must get rid of all the cards in their hands. When a player has played all the cards in their hand, they can use the three face-up cards in front of them. This is why it is helpful to pick out your three best cards beforehand. Once the three face-up cards are gone, a player must use the face-down cards, and cannot look at them before playing them. You must play these cards blindly. If a player picks up a face-down card that doesn't beat the card shown, he must pick up the pile, and get rid of the cards now in his hand before playing the rest of the face-down cards.

The first person to get rid of all their cards wins.

The rules may sound complicated, but once you get the hang of it, it is actually a very simple and fun game. It can be especially interesting when you develop a strategy.

Tips for Developing Strategy:
Tip #1: When it's your turn, you are allowed to pick up the card pile even if you can beat the card shown. You may want to do this early in the game, when the pile is still small, if the pile contains high cards and/or wild cards you may need later on.

Tip #2: Having multiple cards doesn't mean you have to play them all. For example, if you have three Kings, you may want to use each on a separate occasion instead of all in one turn, since it is the highest card.

Tip #3: Make the pile grow. If you have several wild cards (Aces, 2's) and a 10, you may want to save that 10 for last. Making the pile grow large while you have a "clear card" in your back pocket may mean that someone will have to pick up all those cards, and it won't be you.

That's the game of Palace. This is truly a great game that is much more exciting than Go Fish or Crazy Eights, and will definitely be the cause of laughter and frustration among you and your family and friends. Enjoy!

Learn more about this author, Veronica Sosa.
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