Ninety-Nine

Overview
How to Play
Videos
Play Now
Ratings & Comments

[This adding game is not to be confused with the trick-taking game, Ninety-Nine.]

From David Parlett's The Penguin Book of Card Games:

Said to be a Gypsy game. Deal three cards each and stack the rest face down. Play goes to the left, but may change. Each in turn plays a face up card to the table, announces the total value of all cards played so far, and draws a replacement from stock.

Cards count as follows:

2, 5, 6, 7, 8: Face value
Black Ace: Changes the total to 0-99, player's choice
Red Ace: 2
3, 4: 0
9: Changes the total to 99
10: -10
Jack: 10 and reverse direction of play
Queen, King: 10

The total may not exceed 99. The first player to be unable to play, loses a life. The first to lose three lives, loses the game.