Robbers' rummy
Encyclopedia
Robbers' rummy is a card game
for two or more players which became popular in Germany
in the early 20th century. Being derived from normal rummy
, it emphasises arrangement of cards based on card matching rules (generally simplified, but thereby no less challenging), while abandoning the notions of card discards or scoring entirely.
, which uses sets of tiles numbered 1-13 instead of suits from a deck of cards. Rummikub has one glaring omission from its rules; that is, the rule that the cards on the table at the beginning of a turn must remain there at the end. Hence, if you play Rummikub, simply take all the tiles that anyone plays and you have the distinct advantage of being able to use those tiles, while everyone else does not.
Any one Joker card used within a meld must be identified as one card of appropriate rank and suit.
A player who was unable or disinclined to place at least one card from their own hand on the table accordingly, must draw one card from the stock into the hand. Alternatively, a player who did place one or more own cards on the table may draw one card from the stock, or must otherwise yield to the next player right away. After having drawn one card, the player at turn may still place any one or more cards on the table, and must then yield to the next player without drawing another card.
The first player to place all held cards on the table has won the game.
Card game
A card game is any game using playing cards as the primary device with which the game is played, be they traditional or game-specific. Countless card games exist, including families of related games...
for two or more players which became popular in Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
in the early 20th century. Being derived from normal rummy
Rummy
Rummy is a group of card games notable for gameplay based on the matching of similar playing cards. The Mexican game of Conquian is considered by David Parlett to be ancestral to all rummy games, which itself is derived from a Chinese game called Khanhoo and, going even further back,...
, it emphasises arrangement of cards based on card matching rules (generally simplified, but thereby no less challenging), while abandoning the notions of card discards or scoring entirely.
Description
The rules of robbers' rummy are very close to those adopted for the popular table game RummikubRummikub
Rummikub is a tile-based game for two to four players.-History:...
, which uses sets of tiles numbered 1-13 instead of suits from a deck of cards. Rummikub has one glaring omission from its rules; that is, the rule that the cards on the table at the beginning of a turn must remain there at the end. Hence, if you play Rummikub, simply take all the tiles that anyone plays and you have the distinct advantage of being able to use those tiles, while everyone else does not.
Object
Robbers' rummy is played using two standard 52 card decks, and 2 to 6 wildcards (Jokers). Initially, each player is dealt 11 to 13 cards from the shuffled deck, whose remainder, called the stock is placed face-down on the table. The goal of each player is to reduce the number of cards held in hand by placing them on the table, face-up, forming melds. A meld is:- Either any sequence by rank of three or more cards of the same suitSuit (cards)In playing cards, a suit is one of several categories into which the cards of a deck are divided. Most often, each card bears one of several symbols showing to which suit it belongs; the suit may alternatively or in addition be indicated by the color printed on the card...
(where the King may be followed by Ace, and 2, and so on), - Any three or four cards of equal rank, but of distinct suits.
Any one Joker card used within a meld must be identified as one card of appropriate rank and suit.
Play
At each turn, a player may place one or more cards from their own hand on the table, such that melds are formed (or extended). For this purpose, each player may rearrange any or all melds on the table, including, if necessary, by reassigning the identification of Joker cards; provided all cards on the table form melds eventually, in completion of the placement. All cards which were on the table, before the placement of the own cards from hand, must remain on the table.- Note:An essential point to recognize is that any meld consisting of four cards may be reduced to an equally regular three-card meld by removing or robbing one card, which in turn may be used to form other melds. The name Robbers' rummy reflects the characterization, by proponents of normal rummyRummyRummy is a group of card games notable for gameplay based on the matching of similar playing cards. The Mexican game of Conquian is considered by David Parlett to be ancestral to all rummy games, which itself is derived from a Chinese game called Khanhoo and, going even further back,...
, of such liberty in playing this game as excessive, or even offensive.
A player who was unable or disinclined to place at least one card from their own hand on the table accordingly, must draw one card from the stock into the hand. Alternatively, a player who did place one or more own cards on the table may draw one card from the stock, or must otherwise yield to the next player right away. After having drawn one card, the player at turn may still place any one or more cards on the table, and must then yield to the next player without drawing another card.
The first player to place all held cards on the table has won the game.
Online games
- Rummy at Rummynetwork
- rummy Resource