Rummikub

What You Need

• A Rummikub set: 106 tiles, which is two copies of 1 to 13 in four colors plus two jokers. Two racks.
• Pen and paper for scores.

Setup

1. Turn every tile face down and mix them.
2. Each player picks one tile. The higher number goes first. Put both back and mix again.
3. Each player takes 14 tiles onto their rack. The rest stay face down as the pool.

Sets

A group is 3 or 4 tiles of the same number, each in a different color. A run is 3 or more tiles in a row of the same color, such as blue 4, 5, 6. The 1 is always the low end. A run cannot go from 13 around to 1.

Every tile is worth its face number. A joker is worth the tile it stands in for.

The Initial Meld

Your first play of each game must come entirely from your rack and total 30 or more. One set or several. Until then, you cannot use tiles on the table or rearrange them. If you cannot reach 30, draw a tile and pass.

How a Turn Works

1. Play tiles from your rack. Add to sets on the table, lay new sets, or rearrange the table to make room.
2. If you do not play, draw one tile from the pool. Your turn is over. You cannot play that tile until your next turn.
3. Rearranging alone does not count. At least one tile from your rack must reach the table.
4. When you finish, every set on the table must be legal, with no loose tile left over.

The official time limit is one minute per turn. Go over and you draw a tile and your turn ends. Start rearranging and fail to finish in time, and the penalty is worse. Restore the table, take back your tiles, and draw three.

Manipulation

After your initial meld, you can rearrange anything on the table, so long as every set is legal when you stop. Some legal moves follow.

• Add a tile to the end of a run, or a fourth color to a group.
• Take the fourth tile out of a group and use it to start a new run.
• Split a run in the middle. Red 4 through 8 plus your red 6 becomes red 4, 5, 6 and red 6, 7, 8.

Jokers

• A joker stands for any tile. Its number and color are whatever the set needs.
• You can take a joker off the table by replacing it with the tile it represents, from your rack or from another set. In a group of three, either missing color works.
• A joker you pick up must be played that same turn, in a new set, and you must also play at least one tile from your rack.
• You cannot retrieve a joker before your initial meld.
• A joker still on your rack when someone goes out costs you 30 points.

Scoring

A game ends when a player empties their rack and says "Rummikub." Each other player adds up the tiles left on their rack (jokers count 30) and scores that as a negative. The winner scores the sum of those penalties as a positive.

If the pool runs out first, play on until nobody can move. The lowest rack total wins. Each other player scores the difference from the winner's total as a negative. The winner scores the sum as a positive.

Winning

Play a fixed number of games. The official two-player round is 2 games. The player who won the most games wins the match. If you tie on games, the higher point total wins.

Two-Player Notes

• The box says 2 to 4 players. Two works well. The table stays readable.
• The game opens slowly. Only two racks feed the table. Expect two or three draws before your first meld. Some pairs drop the opening to 25 points. Not official, but reasonable.
• With 28 tiles dealt and 78 in the pool, the pool almost never runs out. Drawing is cheap.
• Only one opponent watches your rack. Hoarding pays.

Strategy Tips

• Keep the fourth tile of a group on your rack. Next turn, play it instead of drawing.
• Play a joker early. It is 30 against you at the end.
• When your opponent's rack drops to four or five tiles, dump everything you can.