How to Play DEKÜ

TL;DR: Every player has a grid of face-down cards and wants the lowest total score. Memorize your bottom row at the start, then draw, swap, and match to shrink your grid. Special cards let you give, swap, and peek. Call "DEKÜ" when you think you're lowest — or win instantly by clearing your last card. If you've played Cambio, Cabo, Skyjo, or Archduke, you already know the core loop.

Objective

Finish with the lowest total score to win — or win instantly by clearing all of your cards.

Setup

Each player starts with a grid of face-down cards — you choose the size: 4, 6, or 9 cards (9 is for true veterans).
At the start of the game, you get a brief chance to memorize your bottom row, then tap Ready. Remember what's where — you won't see those cards again unless a special card lets you.

Your turn

Draw from the deck, or take the top card from the discard pile.
If you drew from the main deck, tap a card in your grid to swap it out — or discard the drawn card.

Matching — at any time

If a card in your grid matches the card on top of the discard pile, double-tap it to initiate a match — even when it's not your turn. Guess right and you shed a card; guess wrong and you receive a penalty card. Sharp memory gets rewarded, reckless guessing gets punished.

Special cards

1 — Give: give any player 1 card from the main deck.
11 — Swap: swap the positions of any 2 face-down cards on the board.
12 — Peek: peek at any 1 face-down card on the board.

Special abilities activate three ways: matching the card, displacing it from your own grid, or discarding it after drawing it from the main deck.

Winning

There are two ways to win DEKÜ: have the lowest score after you or an opponent calls "DEKÜ" and the round ends — or get rid of your last card by matching it to the discard pile for an Instant Win. Call too early and a rival's hidden cards may beat you; wait too long and someone else calls it first.

Game modes

Classico — the standard game, with an in-app tutorial. Learn here first.
DEKÜ CHAOS — same rules, specially modified deck containing only −3, 0, 1, 11, 12, and 13. With fewer values in play, matches happen constantly and the board shifts fast.
DEKÜ RISK — adds locking, stealing, Keys, and Mix-Ups. You open the game by locking one of an opponent's cards. Locking your own cards protects them — but a pending lock can be stolen by any player before it sets. Locked cards can't be swapped, matched, or scrambled by a Mix-Up (0), which shuffles and re-deals every unlocked card on the board; a Key unlocks them. And you can only call DEKÜ with at least two locked cards in your grid.
Assassin & Gauntlet — Classico rules with their own twists layered on top.

Multiplayer, rounds & wagers

Play single rounds or multi-round matches. Challenge up to 4 players online in real time — and place wagers of Ünits (DEKÜ's in-game currency) on the outcome. Playing at higher difficulty and bigger grids earns bigger Ünit payouts and rewards. In single player, face a cast of AI opponents — Dinky, Barnabus, Cletus, Earl_100, Marcelo, Biscuit, and friends — across difficulty levels from beginner-friendly to brutal.

Played Cambio, Cabo, Skyjo, or Archduke?

DEKÜ shares their DNA — face-down grids, memory, swapping, and racing to the lowest score — and adds special-card sabotage, real-time multiplayer, AI opponents at every difficulty level, and modes that remix the whole game. Full comparison here.

Download DEKÜ free and play your first game now