How scoring works, and why you lost points
Every way points change in Nertz!: middle cards, King captures, the Nertz bonus and the cards left in your Nertz pile, with a worked example.
Before you start
- Cards worth 5 are marked with a small gold 5 in the corner: tens, Jacks, Queens and Kings.
- A round score is what you did this round. A match total is the sum of your round scores so far.
What adds points
- Every card you play to the middle: 1 point, or 5 points for a ten, Jack, Queen or King.
- Completing a pile by playing the King: 10 bonus points, and the pile is captured.
- Emptying your Nertz pile, which calls Nertz: 50 bonus points.
What takes points away
- Every card left in your Nertz pile when the round ends: minus 1, or minus 5 for a ten, Jack, Queen or King.
- That is the only penalty in the game. Cards on your piles and in your hand do not cost you anything.
Good to know
Which is why a round can look strong and still end slightly negative: a big Nertz pile left standing can wipe out a good middle.
A worked example
You play 20 cards to the middle: 18 low cards (18 points) and two 5 point cards (10 points), so 28 points. You play the King that finishes a pile: 10 points. You empty your Nertz pile, so Nertz is called for you: 50 points. Three cards were still in other people's piles, but your own pile was empty, so nothing is deducted. Your round score is 28 + 10 + 50 = 88 points.
If instead you had left three cards in your Nertz pile, two of them face cards, you would lose 1 + 1 + 5 = 7 points, for a round score of 81.
Where to see the breakdown
- 1When a round ends, the summary lists every player with their middle points, Kings captured, Nertz bonus and leftover penalty.
- 2Open Stats & leaderboard to see round by round history, your best rounds and your lifetime totals.
- 3Ask the Coach's score explainer to walk through what a specific round did to your total.
Common problems
Common problems
I had the most cards in the middle but still lost the round.
Check the Nertz pile column. Cards left there are subtracted, and face cards cost 5 each, so a heavy pile can outweigh a good middle.
My score is negative.
That happens when the round ends with a lot left in your Nertz pile. It is only one round: match totals carry on.
The target score was reached but the game kept going.
A match ends when a round finishes with somebody at or past the target. The final round always plays out first.
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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.