Rummikub

2-4 players

Object

To be the first player to play all the tiles from your rack by forming them into sets 

(runs and/or groups). 

Components

: total 106 tiles

numbered tiles :1 to 13 in four different colors, two copies of each = 104 tiles

(black, red, orange, blue)

2 joker tiles

Set up

Place all tiles (including joker tiles) face down on the table and mix them thoroughly.

Each player takes 14 tiles and places them on his/her rack.

The remaining tiles are called the “pool.” 

 Each player picks a tile;     the player with the highest number goes first. 

(Return the tiles to the table and mix them. )

How to end the game

 The players decide how many rounds they want to play; each round is made up of multiple games. 

The number of players determines the number of games in a round

ex) With four players- a round is made up of four games

 With three players- a round is made up of three games

 With two players- a round is made up of two games

 When a player plays the last tile on his/her rack a game ends.

 Players then start over again until they have played the number of games/rounds they agreed to play. 

Playing the Game

There are two kinds of sets: 

The first type:

A group is a set of either three or four tiles of the same number in different colors. 

The second type:

A run is a set of three or more consecutive numbers all in the same color. 

*The number 1 is always played as the lowest number; it cannot follow the number 13.

Each tile is worth its face value (the number shown on the tile).

 In order to make an initial meld, each player must place tiles on the table in one or more sets that total at least 30 points. 

These points must come from the tiles on each player’s rack; for their initial meld, 

*Players may not use tiles already played on the table.

* A joker used in the initial meld scores the value of the tile it represents. 

(There are more details on how to use Joker tiles)

When players cannot play any tiles from their racks, or purposely choose not to, 

they must draw a tile from the pool. 

After they draw, their turn is over. 

Play passes to the left (clockwise). 

First case: On turns after a player has made his/her initial meld, that player can build onto other sets on the table with tiles from his/her rack.

Second case:  On any turn that a player cannot add onto another set or play a set from his/her rack, that player picks a tile from the pool and his/her turn ends.

* Players cannot lay down a tile they just drew; they must wait until their next turn to play this tile. 

Play continues until one player empties his/her rack and calls, “Rummikub!” 

This ends the game and players tally their points (see Scoring). 

(There are more details on how to score)

If there are no more tiles in the pool but no player has emptied his/her rack, 

play continues until no more plays can be made. This ends the game

The Joker

There are two jokers in the game. 

Each joker can be used as any tile in a set, and its number and color are that of the tile needed to complete the set.

 On future turns, a joker can be retrieved from a set on the table by a player 

who can replace it during his/her turn with a tile of the same number and color the joker represents. 

When a player retrieves a joker, the joker will once again have any value or color. 

However, a player who retrieves a joker must play the joker on his/her current turn to make a new set.

And must also use at least one tile from his/her rack on that turn (just as on any other turn). 

A player cannot retrieve a joker before s/he has played his/her initial meld. 

Time Limit: 

There is a time limit of 1 minute per player, per turn. 

Players who go over the time limit must draw a tile from the pool, ending their turns.

 Incomplete Runs

Players who cannot complete a move within the 1 minute time limit must replace the tiles that were on the table to their previous positions, take back the tiles they played, and draw three tiles from the pool as a penalty. 

This ends the turn. 

Building onto Sets

A player may build onto a set in any of the following ways (or in any combination of these ways) as long as there are only legitimate sets on the table and there are no loose tiles left at the end of the turn.

1. Add one or more tiles from the rack to extend a run

Example) If you have '3,7' blue tiles on rack.

And there are '4,5,6' blue tiles on table.

You can make '3,4,5,6,7' blue tiles.

2.Remove a fourth tile from a group and use it to form a new set

Example) If you have '3,5,6' blue tiles on rack.

And there are 4 colors for card 4 on table.

You can take the blue 4 from the group of four on the table 

and lays the run blue '3, 4, 5, 6.'

3.Splitting a run

Example) If you have '6' blue tiles on rack.

And there are '4,5,6,7,8' blue tiles on table.

You can make '4,5,6' blue tiles and '6,7,8' blue tiles.

Scoring

 After a player has cleared his/her rack and called “Rummikub!,” 

the other players add up the value of the tiles they are holding on their racks as a negative figure and the winner of the game receives a positive score equal to the total of all the other players’ points.

 As an aid to checking the figures, the winner’s score should equal the total of the other players’ scores in each game and at end of each round. 

* Penalty for having a joker on a rack is 30 points. 

<Rare case>

In the rare case that all the tiles in the pool are used before any player goes “Rummikub!” and no player can play any more tiles, the player with the lowest value of tiles on his/her rack wins the round. 

Each player totals up the value of his/her tiles and subtracts it from the winner’s total (this will result in a negative number for each player). 

They then reduce their scores by this amount. 

The total of these negative numbers is scored to the winner as a positive amount. 

After scoring the game, players place all the tiles back on the table and begin the next game by following the directions under Set Up. 

In addition to keeping track of points, players keep track of the number of games each player has won.

Winning

When the last round ends, the player who has won the most games in all rounds combined is the winner. 

In the case of a tie, the player with the highest score is the winner. 

Strategy

The beginning of a game of Rummikub may seem slow, 

but as the table builds up, more plays are possible. 

In the early stages of the game it’s a good idea to hold back some tiles so that other players open up the table and provide more opportunities for play. 

Sometimes it is useful to hold back the fourth tile of a group or run and play only three, so that on the next turn you can play a tile instead of drawing from the pool. 

Keeping a joker on your rack is also a good strategy; however, you risk being caught with it (earning a penalty of 30 points) when another player goes “Rummikub!”