Queen's Court beginner guide: rules, gloves and rank

TL;DR

• You win a round of Queen's Court with the lowest spread, the gap between the top cards of your two piles.
• A Queen copies the adjacent pile for a zero spread, but Queens on both piles is an automatic loss.
• In the second half of each round every player gets a glove that locks any pile for the rest of the round.
• Two round wins take the game; online, each round moves 100 rank points per opponent.

What the game is

Queen's Court: A Duel of Dignitaries is a competitive card game from The Lady and Loaf Games Co., released on Steam for Windows and Linux on 30 October 2026. It has single-player, local play and online PvP. Steam lists 8 GB of RAM and 500 MB of storage, and online play needs a broadband connection. Prices on 1 November 2026 were US$3.99, RM10.99, S$4.75, ₱139, Rp 39,499 and ฿88.

The setup

Each player gets two face-up cards, one per pile, three cards in hand and a glove card held aside. The rest of the deck sits in the centre. Your spread is the difference between your two top cards: a 5 and a 2 is a spread of 3, while a 9 on a 9 is a zero-sum spread, the best possible result.

Step by step: playing a round

1. Play one card per turn. Going clockwise, place one card from your hand on any pile, your own or a rival’s.
2. Draw a replacement. Take one card from the centre after playing, or two if your card made a zero-sum spread.
3. Use Queens carefully. A Queen matches the adjacent pile for a zero spread, but never let Queens sit on both of your piles.
4. Glove a pile in the second half. Once the deck is empty, everyone gets a glove; play it to lock any pile for the rest of the round.
5. Empty your hand to lock in. When you play your last card your spread is locked and others skip you; lowest spread wins.

Ties and winning

If spreads tie, the player with fewer total cards across both piles wins the round. If pile counts also tie, every tied player gains a round win, except anyone who already has one. The game goes to the first player with two round wins and cannot end on a full tie. When a glove covers a pile, the card directly beneath it counts for the spread. If the last player still holding cards has both piles gloved, the round ends.

Rank points, antes and challenges

Local games award no rank points. Online, each round won pays 100 rank points per opponent, so 200 against two opponents, and each round lost costs 100. Hosts can set an ante: you need at least that many points to join, it is taken at the start, and the game winner collects double the ante. Every game also hands each player three challenges worth 50, 100 or 200 points, paid at the end of the game; failing one costs nothing.

FAQ

How do you win Queen's Court: A Duel of Dignitaries?

Win two rounds. A round goes to the player with the lowest spread between the top cards of their two piles.

What does the glove do in Queen's Court?

Played in the second half of a round, the glove locks any pile so nobody can play on it until the round ends.

Are Queens good or bad?

Both. One Queen copies the adjacent pile for a zero spread, the best hand, but Queens on both piles is an automatic loss.

Does Queen's Court run on Linux?

Yes. Steam lists a native Linux build of Queen's Court alongside the Windows version.