Rummy

How to play

In short

• The first player to get rid of all their cards wins: meld runs (at least 3 cards of one suit in order) and sets (3 or 4 cards of the same rank), then discard your last card.
• Each turn you draw a card, meld or lay off what you can, and discard one card.
• Your first meld needs at least 42 points in total, including one run without a joker.
• In the first three rounds players only draw and discard; melding starts in round 4.

Cards and the deal

The game uses two decks of French cards (2 × 52) and four jokers, 108 cards in all. Everyone gets 14 cards, the player who starts gets 15. The rest is the stock. The starting player does not draw: they begin by discarding one card, which starts the discard pile. In the next deal the next player starts.

A turn

1. Draw the top card of the stock. Instead, you may take the top discard, but only if you meld it in the same turn.
2. Meld new runs and sets, lay off cards on melds on the table, or swap a joker. You can lay off and swap only after your first meld.
3. End your turn by discarding one card. You cannot discard the card you took from the discard pile this turn.

In the first three rounds players only draw and discard; melding starts in round four. When the stock runs out, the discard pile except its top card is turned over as a new stock.

Melds

• Run: at least 3 cards of one suit in order, such as the 5, 6 and 7 of hearts. An ace can start a run (A, 2, 3) or end it (Q, K, A), but a run does not go around the king: K, A, 2 is not allowed.
• Set: 3 or 4 cards of the same rank, each of a different suit, such as three queens.
• A joker replaces any card. A meld must have fewer jokers than other cards, and two jokers cannot sit next to each other in a run. On the table, a joker shows a tag with the card it stands for.

First meld

Your first meld is made in a single turn and must be worth at least 42 points, with one run without a joker. Cards 2 to 10 count their number, J, Q and K count 10, an ace counts 10 (only 1 at the start of a run A, 2, 3), and a joker counts as the card it replaces. In the rule variants you can choose 51 points instead. Until you have melded, you cannot lay off cards on the table. If your points fall short, take the cards back with Undo turn.

Laying off and swapping jokers

After your first meld you can lay off cards at the start or end of a run and add a missing suit to a set, on your own melds and on other players’. You can swap a joker in a run for the card it stands for. To take a joker from a set, first add all the missing suits. A freed joker must be melded again in the same turn. You always need one card left to discard.

End of a deal and scoring

The deal is won by the player who discards their last card. Everyone else gets penalty points for the cards left in hand: 2 to 10 count their number, J, Q, K and aces 10, a joker 50. A player who never melded in the deal gets 100. If someone melds all their cards in one turn without having melded before, everyone else pays double. Against the computer, the points add up over several deals, and fewer is better.

Variants

• First meld worth 51 points instead of 42. Off by default.
• Meld from the first round: no three rounds of only drawing and discarding. Off by default.

Controls

Tap a card to select it, tap it again to deselect. Meld the selected cards with the Meld button. With one card selected, tap the discard pile or the Discard button to discard it, or tap a meld to lay it off there. You can also drag a card onto the discard pile or a meld. Melds that the selected card fits have a dashed outline. When there are many melds on the table, scroll them with your finger or the More melds button. The button above your cards on the left sorts them by suit or by rank, and Undo turn takes back everything you melded this turn. The hint shows what you can do. With a keyboard, move between cards with the arrow keys and select with Enter; Tab takes you to the buttons, the piles and the melds. A game in progress is saved. To play with friends, use a room code.