The card game is suitable for any number of players. Stray Knight is similar to Black Peter with Skat cards. Three kings are removed from the deck, leaving only the king of clubs.

The cards are distributed equally to the players. Each player checks to see if they have any pairs in their hand. A pair is two identical cards, regardless of colour. All pairs may be discarded. In turn, each player now draws any card from the player to his left. If the new card completes another pair, it can be discarded. Each player in turn draws a card from their neighbour on the left until only the King of Clubs, the "lost knight", is left. Whoever holds the king of clubs in his hand gets a cooking pot as a helmet and is the loser.