Welcome to the PartyPlay Palace learning corner. This guide walks you through the five game formats you can explore here. No prior knowledge needed: each section opens with a little history, then explains the rules as if you were sitting down for the very first time, and finishes with a handful of beginner tips. Read start to finish, or use the table of contents to jump straight to your favourite.
Number Wheel Game
Spinning-wheel games are ancient. Centuries ago, tinkerers and scientists built wheels that could spin freely and slowly coast to a stop — partly out of fascination with motion and chance, partly as fairground attractions. From the simple idea of a wheel with numbered pockets and a pointer that lands somewhere came a timeless party format that still grabs everyone instantly: you spin, you watch, you guess along.
How to play
On screen you see a wheel with numbered pockets. Before the round you pick a number, or a group of numbers, and place your points on your choice. Then the wheel launches, spins, and gradually coasts to a stop with one pocket resting under the pointer. If the shown number matches your pick, you win points that round — and the sharper your prediction, the more you win. After that, a fresh round simply begins.
- Start with bigger groups (like a whole colour or a row of numbers) so you match more often and learn the flow at ease.
- Single numbers pay more but land less often — mix both to get a feel for it.
- Every spin is completely independent of the last — no number is ever "due".
- Set yourself a fixed points budget per session so watching stays relaxed.
- Above all, enjoy the moment the wheel slows down — that suspense is the real fun.
Match Reels Game
Mechanical machines with spinning reels are among the best-known inventions of the late 19th century. Clever mechanics built devices where several reels covered in colourful symbols ran side by side and formed a row when they stopped. The appeal was the surprise: which pictures will come to rest, and do they line up? From that simple mechanical idea grew the bright, animated reel games we know today.
How to play
You see several reels side by side, each able to show different symbols. You decide how many points to put into the round, then start. The reels spin and stop one after another. When matching symbols land next to each other along an active line, that counts as a match and you're awarded points — more or fewer depending on the symbol and how many line up. You see instantly whether it clicked.
- Check the symbol overview first so you know which combinations are worth more points.
- Smaller points per round make your session last longer and stay relaxed.
- A match tells you nothing about the next round — every spin starts fresh.
- Watch the active lines: only symbols on those lines count as a match.
- Sit back and enjoy the animations — you set your own pace.
21 Strategy Card Game
Card games where you add up card values and try to reach a target number have been popular across Europe for centuries. In friendly gatherings a format took shape around getting your cards as close to 21 as possible without going over. That tense head-to-head against the dealer is exactly what still makes it one of the most loved thinking card games around.
How to play
Number cards count their value, picture cards count 10, and the Ace counts as either 1 or 11 — whichever helps you. You get two cards, and so does the dealer (one face up, one face down). Your goal: land closer to 21 than the dealer without going over. Round by round you decide whether to take another card ("hit") or stay at your current value. The dealer then reveals and follows fixed rules. Whoever is closer to 21 wins the round.
- On a low value (say 11 or under) you can safely take a card — going over isn't possible yet.
- At 17 or more it's usually wiser to stay, since the risk of going over is high.
- Keep an eye on the dealer's face-up card — it guides your decision.
- An Ace is flexible: count it as 11 while you stay at or under 21, otherwise as 1.
- Practise calmly: each round gives you a sharper feel for good choices.
Number Match Game
Games built around called-out numbers and your own number card have a long, sociable tradition. In community halls and at fairs, everyone got a card with a grid of numbers, and numbers were read aloud one by one. If a called number was on your card, you marked it. The shared thrill of waiting for your own pattern to fill made this format a classic for young and old across generations.
How to play
You receive a card with a grid full of numbers. One number is called at a time. If that number is on your card, it's marked automatically. The goal is to complete a particular pattern — a full row, all four corners, or the whole card. As soon as your target pattern is filled, you've taken that round.
- Before you start, check which pattern the round is asking for — row, corners, or full card.
- Keep an eye on several nearly finished lines to boost your chance of a match.
- It's pure chance and shared suspense — sit back and enjoy the tension.
- Called numbers are independent of one another — every card has fair chances.
- Great for a quick break: one round plays fast and always stays relaxed.
Reveal Card Game
Cards with hidden symbols that you uncover one by one have something wonderfully immediate about them. The idea is very old: under a covering sit little pictures or marks, and only once you clear them away do you learn what's underneath. That very moment of surprise — the small flutter before a square opens — makes revealing one of the simplest yet most exciting game formats around.
How to play
In front of you sits a card with several covered squares. You tap the squares one at a time to reveal the symbols beneath them. Following the card's rule — usually several matching symbols — you find out whether it's a match. Uncover the winning combination and you're awarded points. There's nothing to calculate: just reveal and see what lines up.
- The order you reveal in doesn't matter — just pick whichever square tempts you.
- Quickly read the card's matching rule so you know what to look for.
- Each card stands on its own — one result says nothing about the next card.
- Feel free to reveal every square to see the whole picture.
- Perfect for a quick, entertaining moment amid other things.
Glossary of game terms
- Round
- A single run of a game — from your choice to the result. After that, a new round begins completely fresh.
- Points
- The play currency at PartyPlay Palace. Points are free, purely for fun, and cannot be turned into real money.
- Symbol
- A picture or mark that appears on a reel or card. Matching symbols make a match.
- Line
- A set path of positions along which symbols must line up to count.
- Marker
- The pointer showing where the wheel stops, or which number was matched on a card.
- Dealer
- The game-controlled opponent in the card game, drawing cards by fixed rules.
- Match
- A lining-up combination that earns you points in a round.
- Grid
- The field of rows and columns on a number card where you find your numbers.
Always free, always just for fun. At PartyPlay Palace you play with points only — no real money, no deposits, nothing of real value won or lost. Everything here is for entertainment and learning.
Learn more about keeping play healthy on our Responsible Play page →