How to Play: K? The Card Game
- Shams Nobee

September 29, 2026

K? the Card Game is a social deduction, strategy, and mystery card game where everyone has a hidden role. Some players are Safe Players, while others are secretly Killers.

Your goal depends on your role:

Safe Players: Complete your Tasks, survive, and figure out who the Killer is.
Killers: Eliminate the other players and survive until you can secure the win.

With hidden roles, secret information, attacks, clues, and special powers, every round creates a new story.

🎥 Watch the Video Tutorial

Want to learn the game by watching instead?

🔗 YouTube Link in English: How to play K? The Card Game in English
🔗 YouTube Link in Bangla: How to play K? The Card game in Bangla

Game Overview

K? The Card Game is played across multiple rounds.

Each round follows a simple structure:

Everyone starts the round with 3 cards in hand.
Players take turns.
Each player plays only one card per turn.
A card can be played in one of three ways:
- Play in the Center Pile
- Face Down on top of the next player's Player Deck
Once everyone has played a card, the Center Pile is shuffled and revealed.
The effects of the revealed cards are resolved.
Eliminated players are dealt with before the next round begins.

Three cards are played face down, while certain special cards must be played face up.

Number of Players

K is designed for 4–10 players.

Everyone sits in a circle and receives a player number:

Player 1 → Player 2 → Player 3 → Player 4 → …

Everyone should remember their own player number because several cards target players by number.

Step 1: Prepare the Player Decks

First, shuffle the Main Deck thoroughly. These cards are what the game is played with. First, use the Main Cards to build the Main Deck. Don't deal any of these cards until the Main Deck is complete. You won't use every Main Card in the box to build the Main Deck. The number of cards depends on the player count. Cards with this black back design are the Main Cards.

How to Make the Main Deck

Card	How to Make the Main Deck
Task Card	Take the 4 Task Cards for each assigned player number (Player 1, Player 2, Player 3...) from the main box. Use the set of 4 Task Cards for every player in the game.
Kill Card	Take the 2 Kill Cards for each assigned player number (Player 1, Player 2, Player 3...) from the main box. Use the set of 2 Kill Cards for every player in the game.
Shield Card	Take 1 Shield Card for each player.
Antik Card	If there are 5 or fewer players, use 1. If there are 6–8 players, use 2. For more than 8 players, use 3.
Nobee Card	Take 1 Nobee Card for each player.
Clue Card	Use 3 if there are 4 players, 4 if there are 5 players, 4 if there are 6 players, 5 if there are 7 players, 6 if there are 8 players, 6 if there are 9 players, and 7 if there are 10 players. Choose whichever Clue Cards you want to include.

Deal 9 cards to each player. These cards become that player's Player Deck.

Place your Player Deck face down in front of you.

Important:

You do not look through your Player Deck.
Draw the top 3 cards from your Player Deck.
These 3 cards become your starting hand.
You can only look at the cards in your hand.

Every round begins with 3 cards in hand.

Step 2: Prepare the ID Cards

ID Cards determine whether each player is a Safe Player or a Killer. Cards with this blue back design are the ID Cards.

Take one ID Card for each player and create a separate ID Deck.

There are two types of ID Cards:

Killer
Safe

The number of Killers depends on the number of players:

Players	Killers	Safe Players
4–5	1	Remaining players
6–8	2	Remaining players
9–10	3	Remaining players

Shuffle the ID Deck and deal one face-down ID Card to each player.

Everyone secretly looks at their own ID Card. Do not reveal your role.

Step 3: Set Aside the Gift Card

There is only one Gift Card in each game.

Set the Gift Card aside at the beginning of the game.

The first player to complete all 4 Tasks receives the Gift Card.

The Gift Card is one of the most powerful cards in the game, so getting it can dramatically change the game.

The Main Card Types

The Main Deck contains several different types of cards.

Task Card

Anyone can play another player's Task Card. If a Task Card appears in the Center Pile, the player whose number is on the card is considered to have completed one Task.

Kill Card

The player whose number is on this card is attacked. That player is eliminated unless there is a Shield Card in the Center Pile.

Shield Card

If this card appears, it cancels the attack of one Kill Card. Each Shield Card can cancel only one Kill Card.

Clue Card

Follow the instructions written on the card. The instructions must be followed by all players for that round.

Nobee Card

To collect Information: Either look at all the cards in the Centre Pile after shuffling thoroughly. Or, secretly look at the cards in any one player's hand.

Antik Card

The game is nearing its end. Name the player you think is the Killer. If you are correct, all Safe Players win immediately. If you are wrong, the Killer wins and The game ends.

Step 4: Start a Round

The first round begins with Player 1.

Players take turns moving around the circle. On your turn, you play one card from your hand. You have two basic options:

Option A: Play Face Up

Place the card face up in the Center Pile.

Three cards must be played face up, including:

Clue Card
Nobee Card
Antik Card

When a face-up card is played, its effect happens immediately.

After resolving the effect, your turn ends.

Option B: Play Face Down

Place the card face down on the Center Pile or top of the next player's Player Deck.

The next player will eventually draw from this deck.

What Happens When a Round Ends?

Once every player has played one card, the starting player collects the Center Pile. The Center Pile is then thoroughly shuffled. After that, the cards are revealed one by one. This is where the mystery begins. Nobody knows exactly who played which card. The revealed cards determine what happens during the round.

When a Player Is Eliminated

When a player is eliminated:

They reveal their ID Card.
Their hand and remaining Player Deck are collected.
These cards are shuffled together.
The cards are distributed as evenly as possible among the surviving players.
Each surviving player places their received cards face down on top of their Player Deck.

Multiple players can be eliminated in the same round.

Starting the Next Round

Before the next round:

Set aside the previous round's Center Pile where everyone can see which cards were played.
Eliminated players reveal their ID Cards if they have not already done so.
Their remaining cards are distributed among surviving players.
Each player draws from the top of their Player Deck until they have 3 cards in hand.
Every round begins with 3 cards in hand.

The player immediately to the right of the previous starting player starts the next round.

For example:

Round 1 → Player 1 starts
Round 2 → Player 2 starts
Round 3 → Player 3 starts

Continue rotating the starting player each round.

How to Win

Safe Players Win By:

Correctly identifying the Killer with an Antik Card.
Surviving until all Tasks are completed.
Getting the Gift Card.
Eliminating the Killer with a Kill Card.

Killers Win By:

Eliminating all other players.
Getting the Gift Card.
Causing a player to incorrectly identify the Killer with an Antik Card.
Becoming the last Killer alive with only one Safe Player remaining.
Having all surviving players be Killers.

One Important Rule

Players may talk during the round and while the Center Pile is being revealed.

However, you cannot reveal which card you played.

Once a card has been placed into the Center Pile or onto another player's Player Deck, it cannot be taken back.

All Types of Cards Description

Task Cards

If a Task Card appears in the Center Pile, the player number shown on that card is considered to have completed one Task.

Every player needs to complete 4 Tasks.

The first player to complete all 4 Tasks immediately claims the Gift Card.

Players may also submit another player's Task Card, meaning you can potentially help someone complete their Tasks—or accidentally help them get the Gift Card.

Kill Cards

A Kill Card attacks the player whose number appears on the card.

That player is eliminated unless the attack is blocked by a Shield Card.

Multiple players can be eliminated in the same round.

If a player is eliminated, they reveal their ID Card.

If they are a Killer, the game may move closer to ending.
If they are a Safe Player, the game continues.

Safe Players can also play Kill Cards, so be careful—indiscriminate killing may actually help the Killer.

Shield Cards

Shield Cards protect players from Kill Card attacks.

A Shield Card can cancel one Kill Card.

If the Center Pile contains multiple Kill Cards and Shield Cards, the Shields block an equal number of attacks.

If there are fewer Shield Cards than Kill Cards, the remaining attacks are resolved normally.

If there are no Kill Cards in the Center Pile, a Shield Card has no effect and is discarded.

Clue Cards

Clue Cards are special cards and must be played face up.

When a Clue Card appears:

Read its instructions aloud.
Every player must follow the instructions for that round.
The player who played the Clue Card cannot play another card during that round.
The remaining players continue taking their turns.

Clue Cards can dramatically change the situation and make the investigation even more unpredictable.

Nobee Cards

Nobee Cards are information-gathering cards.

When a Nobee Card is played face up, the player chooses one of its information options.

Depending on the card, the player may:

Secretly inspect the cards that have already been played in the Center Pile.
Secretly look at the cards in another player's hand.

Only the player using the Nobee Card gets to see the information.

After playing a Nobee Card, that player's turn ends.

The more information you gather, the better you can track where cards are going.

Antik Cards

The Antik Card is one of the most important cards in the game.

Playing an Antik Card usually means the game is approaching its end.

Its effect depends on the number of Killers still in the game.

If there is 1 Killer

Playing an Antik Card immediately triggers the Final Verdict.

Name the player you believe is the Killer.

If you are correct, all Safe Players win immediately.
If you are wrong, the Killer wins immediately.

If there are 2 or 3 Killers

If all Killers are still alive, you may name one player you believe is a Killer.

If you are correct, that Killer is eliminated.
If you are wrong, the Safe Players lose.

The game continues until the remaining Killer(s) are eliminated by another Antik Card or Kill Card.

Important: Killers cannot play Antik Cards. If a Killer plays one, that Killer is immediately eliminated.

Gift Card

The Gift Card is the most powerful card in the game.

There is only one Gift Card per game.

The first player to complete all 4 Tasks receives it.

Once a player receives the Gift Card, it cannot normally be taken away.

However, a Clue Card effect may transfer it to another player.

The Gift Card must be played face up, and all players must follow its instructions.

Ready to Play?

Now you know everything you need to start your investigation.

Gather your players, shuffle the cards, keep your role secret, complete your Tasks, watch your back, and figure out who the Killer is before it's too late.