Nertz (also called Pounce, Nerts or Racing Demon) is a fast card race. Every player has their own deck and races to empty a 15-card Nertz pile while building shared Ace-to-King piles in the middle of the table.

Is Nertz free to play online?

Yes. Nertz! at nertz.app is free and runs in your browser with no download. Play the computer at five levels or share a room code with family and friends.

How do you score in Nertz?

Cards you play to the middle score for you: Ace through 9 are worth 1 point, 10 through King are worth 5. Cards left in your Nertz pile count against you the same way. Capturing a pile with its King is +10, and going out (Nertz) is +50.

How many people can play Nertz?

Nertz! supports 2 to 32 players at one table — online with friends, or against up to 31 computer players.

Can I track my Nertz stats?

Yes. Sign in and every match is saved: win-rate, Nertz-call and capture trends over time, a recent-match log, and full match history with final scores for the whole table.

Ask the Coach: strategy, tables and score help

The Coach helpers 2 min readLast updated October 3, 2026

What the three Coach helpers do, what they can and cannot see, and how to get the most useful answers out of them.

Before you start

The Coach works best with an account: two of the three helpers read your saved results, and a guest has none.
The Coach helpers answer questions. For account, billing or privacy requests, use the help centre or open a ticket instead.

The three helpers

Strategy coach: looks at your real match and round history and suggests tactics that would have scored you more, for example when to chase the middle instead of your own piles.
Table finder: reads the list of tables that are open right now and recommends one, with the code to join it.
Score explainer: walks through how a round or a match score added up, in plain language, using your saved numbers.

How to use them

1On the home screen tap "Coach", or go to nertz.app/coach.
2Pick the helper you want with the buttons at the top.
3Tap one of the suggested questions, or type your own.
4The answer appears in the conversation. You can keep asking follow up questions in the same thread.

What they can and cannot see

They can read your own saved match scores and lifetime totals, and the list of tables with free seats.
They cannot see your cards, other players' cards, other players' private records, your password, your sign-in details or your support tickets.
They do not see your email address, and nothing you type there is shared with other players.
They answer game questions from the help articles and your numbers. They cannot change your account, delete data or issue refunds.

Good to know

An AI helper can occasionally get something wrong. If a number looks off, check the stats page, and ask the score explainer to show its working. For anything about rules, accounts or privacy, the help articles are the authority.

Common problems

The strategy coach has nothing to work with.

It needs saved rounds. Finish a round while signed in and the advice becomes specific to you.

The table finder says no tables are open.

It only sees tables that are live at this moment. Open one yourself, and invite family and friends with the table code.

A helper answered a question about my account.

Tell us in a ticket. The helpers are meant to be limited to game help and your own scores, and we want to know if one strays outside that.

Was this helpful?

See your stats, rounds and the leaderboard 2 minWhere your saved games live: global numbers, the three leaderboards, and your own profile with round by round history.Stats & leaderboard How scoring works, and why you lost points 2 minEvery way points change in Nertz!: middle cards, King captures, the Nertz bonus and the cards left in your Nertz pile, with a worked example.Rules & scoring Contact support and what to include 2 minEvery way to reach us, what to include in a ticket, what never to send, and how to keep track of your request.Contact & tickets

Where to go next

Still need help?

Tell us what happened and a person will read it. You will get a reference number, and the reply comes back in the same thread. If you would rather write from your own mailbox, support@nertz.app reaches the same place.

Contact support All the ways to reach us