It is also known as Indian Rummy and is believed to be an extension of Gin Rummy and Rummy 500. It is a game of 2 to 6 players in which each player is dealt 13 cards. Players have to meld. Gin Rummy is very similar to regular Rummy, but Gin has some additional wrinkles that make it a more interesting and challenging game. To play Gin Rummy, you need the following: Two players: If more than two people want to play. Before you can play anything else in a game, you must play one or more new melds with a total of 30 or more. For example: 9 10 11, or 3 3 3 3 5 6. Jokers in these melds count as the tile they stand for.

1. How Many Players Can Play Rummikub
2. Card Values In Rummy
3. How Many Players Can Play Rummy
4. How Many Can Play Rummy

OBJECTIVE OF RUMMIKUB: Get rid of all the tiles on your rack by organizing them into runs and groups OR have as little points in your hand as possible.

NUMBER OF PLAYERS: 2-4 players

MATERIALS: 106 tiles with numbers and colors including two jokers, tile racks

TYPE OF GAME: Tile Rummy

AUDIENCE: Adult

THE HISTORY OF RUMMIKUB

Rummikub is a group of rummy games played with tiles as opposed to cards. The game was introduced to the Western world by its inventor, Ephraim Hertzano. Tile Rummy was introduced in response to religious and legal sanctions on card games due to their association with gambling. It is believed to have been conceived in the 1930s or 1940s in Romania and has since gained international success, becoming the third best-selling game in the world. Sabra Rummikub is the only variation of Rummikub included in recent versions of the game and is the version described below.

SET UP

Rummikub includes 106 tiles including 2 jokers. The tiles are either black, red, orange, or blue and number 1-13.

The tiles are shuffled, face-down. Each player draws one tile, the player with the highest value tile goes first. Play passes clockwise. Each player collects 13 more tiles for a total of 14. Players place their tiles on the rack so that they are hidden from other players. The tiles that are not selected remain on the table and form a pool.

COMBINATIONS

The goal of Rummikub is like that of traditional Rummy played with cards- form melds of different combinations in order to get rid of all your tiles or the most high-value tiles (in order to have the lowest value hand) possible. The tiles value is equal to the number printed on it and jokers may be subsitituted for any point value.

Potential combinations consist of:

Groups are formed with 3 or 4 tiles of the same number but different colors.

Runs are formed with 3 or more numbers in sequence of the same color.

Tiles can only be counted in one combination and are not permitted to exist in multiple groups or runs.

PLAYING THE GAME

A player’s turn consists of either drawing a tile or melding 1 or more tiles from the rack by putting them on the table, face-up.

The first meld must have at least one combination which have a total value of 30 or more points.

After the first meld is finished on a player’s turn they may continue to make new melds or rearrange tiles in existing melds to form new and more strategic combinations.

Due to the complexity and numerous amount of possible rearrangements, there is a time limit imposed on turns: 2 minutes. If the time limit is reached before a player is able to finish rearranging their tiles into valid combinations the tiles must be returned to the configuration when the turn began. Players must also return tiles removed from the rack and draw 3 tiles as a penalty.

If you are unable to meld tiles to your own or any opponents combinations you must draw a tile from the pool. Your turn is over and play passes the next player. On your turn, you must draw tiles until you are able to play. You may not play a tile directly after drawing it.

Combinations with Jokers may have additions but can not have tiles moved and rearranged from it (or with it). Players may, however, replace Jokers with the tile it is supposed to represent if they have it in hand. The Joker does not return to the player’s hand for later use but must be used immediately and re-melded. In groups of equal tiles, the Joker may be represented by any color tile. For example, in a group of #3 red, #3 black, and a joker, the joker may be substituted with either #3 orange or #3 blue.

END GAME

How Many Players Can Play Rummikub

The first player to play all their tiles wins the game. All other players sum the total of their remaining tiles on their rack – jokers count for 30 points. Losers score minus the total value of their tiles and winners score plus the total value of the loser’s tiles.

If the pool of tiles runs dry before anyone plays all their tiles and no one has won the gameplay ends once players are unable or unwilling to play their remaining tiles. The player with the lowest tile total is the winner. The difference between the winner’s total score and a losers is subtracted from the loser’s score. The difference is added to the winner’s score for each loser.

VARIATIONS

• Play can move clockwise or counter-clockwise.
• In a meld with a joker present some play that tiles of both colors must be added to the group before the Joker is retrieved.
• While there is no rule saying a combination can not have two jokers it is a poor and uncommon use of them. If you choose to use two jokers in a single combination they must be explicitly declared which tiles they represent.
• Jokers may value 25 points when they are left on the rack during scoring

REFERENCES:

http://www.rummy-games.com/rules/rummikub.html

https://www.pagat.com/rummy/rummikub.html

http://www.thehouseofcards.com/games/rummikub.html

Shanghai rum is a Rummy card game, based on gin rummy and a variation of Contract rummy played by 3 to 8 players.^[1] It is also known as California rummy.

Play[edit]

Basics[edit]

Shanghai Rummy is played with multiple decks of 54 standard playing cards, including the Jokers. Two decks are required for a game of up to four players. Five or six players require three decks. Aces are high (above a King) or low, (below 2). Each game has ten hands, and the rules for each hand are unique. One person begins as dealer for the first hand, and then the person to the dealer's left becomes dealer for the next hand, and so on. Each player is dealt eleven cards for each of the ten rounds. The rest of the deck is then placed face down in the middle of the players; this is referred to as the deck. One card is taken from the top of the deck and placed face up next to it. This card is called the upcard and becomes the beginning of the discard pile.

Each player has a choice at the beginning of their turn. They may either pick up one new card from the top of the deck or take the upcard. (Also, the other players in the game have the ability to get the upcard.) After the player draws his card, either from the deck or the upcard, he must then choose any card in his hand to discard, and he then places this card face up on the discard pile. That card then becomes the new upcard, which the next player in turn can take or other players can buy. To get a card that isn't yours a player must say, “BUY', before the next player draws their card, or else it is already considered 'dead'. Once a player discards their card, the card underneath that card is now considered a 'dead' card because it is no longer in the game. Players may not take these cards.

Jokers[edit]

Jokers are wild cards and can be played in the place of any card. A player is not allowed to have more jokers than face-cards in either a set or run. An example of this would be if one is trying to get a set he must have three or more cards of the same rank (8/8/8). But if a player has a joker or 2 he could play in place of an 8 (8/8/joker). But a player cannot lay more jokers than face-cards (8/joker/joker). However he may lay the same number of jokers as face-cards (8/8/joker/joker). The same applies for runs. If a player has laid down and has a joker in a run or set, the joker can be replaced by the appropriate card by any player. If a player who has not laid down yet replaces any joker he must lay down his meld in that turn, but if the player has already laid down his meld he may take the joker and use it how he chooses anytime.

Buying[edit]

A 'buy' is when an out-of-turn player takes the upcard, draws 2 extra cards from the stock, and cannot play the cards immediately, but must wait for his turn. If more than one player wants it, the one closest to the dealer's left has precedence. There is a limit to the number of buys allowed. Each player is only allowed 3 buys per hand in the first 8 rounds. During rounds 9 and 10, each player is allowed 4 buys per hand.

Melding[edit]

The object of each hand is to come up with the correct combination of cards to be able to meld, or 'lay out'. The combination for each hand is different, and they become more difficult with each subsequent hand. The combinations for each hand are either sets or runs (sequence) or a combination of both. A set is a combination of a specific number of cards of the same rank, and the suit is not important. An example of a 'set of 3' is three cards that are all 8's, and the 8's can all be of different suits. A run is a combination of a specific number of cards of the same suit that have consecutive ranks. An example of a 'run of 4' is the 4, 5, 6, and 7 of clubs. An example of a combination for a hand is for hand #2, '1 set of 3 and 1 run of 4.' This means that a player must have both a set of 3 cards and a run of 4 cards in his hand before he can meld. A set needs a minimum of 3 cards while a run needs a minimum of 4 cards. A player can meld only when it is his turn. As always, he must start his hand by drawing a card, then when he has the correct sequence of cards, he can meld or 'go down.' He does so by laying his meld cards face up on the table in their correct sequence. After melding, a player can then play on the melds of other players. When done, he must then discard.

Play for the player who has gone down[edit]

When a player is 'down' (meaning he has already melded), he still takes his turn in turn with the other players, and he still must draw a card and discard. However, a player who is down cannot buy a card, nor can he stop a player from buying the top card in the discard pile when it is his turn. A player who is down can play his cards on the melds that have been completed either by himself or by other players. For example, if a player has laid down a set of 8's, and on a subsequent turn he then draws another 8, he can play this 8 on his set of 8's. He does this by placing the 8 with the set of 8's. If he has a card that he would like to play on a run, he must be sure to keep the order of the run. For example, if there is a run of 5 consisting of 4-5-6-7-8 of clubs, the player can play a 3 of clubs or a 9 of clubs.

Winning the game[edit]

Play progresses until the final hand when one of the players 'goes out,' meaning he is able to play the last card in his hand. Although players may discard throughout the game, to win they must be able to lay down all of their cards without discarding. In order to win, on a player's turn they must be able to draw a card and then go out without a discard. The winner of the hand gets zero points, and the other players count their cards to determine their score for the hand. After all ten hands are played, the winner is the player with the lowest score.

Card Values In Rummy

Sequence of hands[edit]

1. Two sets of 3
2. One set of 3 and one run of 4
3. Two runs of 4
4. Three sets of 3
5. Two sets of 3 and one run of 4
6. One set of 3 and two runs of 4
7. Three runs of 4
8. One set of 3 and one run of 10
9. Three sets of 3 and one run of 5
10. Three runs of 5

Points[edit]

• 3 to 9: 5 points
• 10 to King: 10 points
• Ace: 15 points
• 2: 25 points
• Joker: 50 points

References[edit]

1. ^The Everything Card Games Book, p. 146, Nikki Katz - Adams Media 2004 ISBN1-59337-130-6

How Many Players Can Play Rummy

External links[edit]

How Many Can Play Rummy