Club Rummy
Club Rummy is a rummy-based card game for two or more players. My friends and I made up this variant in high school and played it quite often. It tends to be a high scoring and complicated game, while still partially luck and partially skill. I think these aspects helped us to enjoy playing the game.
Overview
Number of Players
- Club Rummy is generally played with two to six players; ideally three to four.
The Deck
- A standard 52-card deck is used. Multiple decks may be used depending on the number of players. Recommended amounts are:
- 2-3 players: 1 deck
- 4 players: 1-2 decks
- 5-6 players: 2 decks
Objective
- The object of the Club Rummy is to score points by creating "melds" while avoiding penalty points.
Melds
- A set refers to three or more cards that possesses one of the following features:
- 1) are all of the same rank (e.g. three kings, three 6's, et cetera.)
- 2) are of the same suit and in ascending rank (e.g. 4-5-6 of clubs)
- Sets that are lying face-up on the table in front of a player are called melds.
The Table
- The table/hands in Club Rummy consist of the following portions:
- The deck is left face down on the table.
- The discard pile is a stack of face-up cards on the table. They should be fanned such that every card in the discard pile can be seen at any time.
- Player melds are melds created by the players and placed on the table. They should be face-up on the table in front of their respective players.
- Player hands are held by their respective players and concealed from other players.
Gameplay
The Deal
- Before beginning, players draw cards or use some other predetermined method to decide who will go first.
- The game starts by dealing out ten cards to each player, face down. When the deal is complete, each player can pick up and view his respective cards. The remaining cards in the deck are placed on the table, face down, and the top card in the deck is turned face up to create the first card in the discard pile.
- The players then take turns making their plays, proceeding clockwise, until the game ends. Scores are then tallied and the cards are shuffled and re-dealt, until some point at which the players agree to end play.
Turns
- Each player's turn consists of four portions: the Draw, the Meld, the Discard, and Going Out, in that order.
- The Draw
At the start of a players turn, he collects one or more cards. He can either take the top face-down card from the deck, or take the top n cards from the discard pile. Note that certain restrictions apply when taking cards from the discard pile; see The Meld below.
** Note: If the player elects to take a card from the deck and there are no more cards in the deck, then the discard pile is shuffled and placed face down to provide a new deck.
- The Meld
After drawing his card(s), the player has the option to "meld" his completed sets by placing them on the table. The player is not obligated to place any sets on the table, however, unless he took cards from the discard pile in that turn. If the player has taken the top n cards from the discard pile, then he must meld a set containing the nth card. For example, if the player takes the top 8 cards in the discard pile, the bottom of which was a King of Clubs, then he must meld a set containing that King of Clubs during his turn.
Partial Meld: The player is also entitled to put down a "partial meld," in which he adds cards to melds which are already on the table in front of him. For example, if the player has three kings on the table in front of him, he is allowed to meld a fourth king he holds in his hand.
- The Discard
To end his turn, the player must place one of the cards in his hand face-up on top of the discard pile. He is exempt from this requirement of he has no cards.
- Going Out
Once all of the players have taken at least one turn. then any player may end the game at the end of his turn by electing to "go out." In order to "go out," a player must have 25 or less points worth of cards in his hand. (See below for information on scoring hands.) If a player chooses to do this, then gameplay ends and scores are tallied.
** If there are five or six players, then a player cannot "go out" with more than zero points worth of cards in his hand until everyone has taken at least two turns.
Scoring
Card values
- Two's through Nine's: Each of these cards is worth 5 points each.
- Tens, Jacks, Queens, Kings: Each of these cards are worth 10 points each.
- Aces: Aces in melds on the table are worth 15 points each, Aces in a player's hand (whether part of completed sets or not) are worth 5 points each.
Assigning Points
- Points (and penalties) are assessed in three areas: cards on the table (melds), cards in hand, and bonuses/penalties.
- Cards on the table (melds)
A player scores points corresponding to all of the cards in melds on the table.
- Cards in hand
A player is penalized for all of the cards held in hand. This is true regardless of whether or not the cards are part of sets or not. Note that the player who chose to go out shouldn't (if he's playing intelligently!) have any cards in his hand which could have been melded on the table.
- Bonuses and Penalties
- Going Out Penalty: If a player "goes out" but has more unmelded points in his hand than one or more other players, then the player who chose to "go out" will be penalized 35 points.
- Going Out Bonus: If a player "goes out" with zero unmelded points in his hand (ie no cards), then the player who chose to "go out" will receive a bonus of 40 points.
- Going Out in One Turn Bonus: If a player, in a single turn goes from having no melded cards on the table to having melded all of his cards and going out, that player will be assessed a bonus of 100 points. Note that this is not cumulative with the 40 point bonus listed above.
- Large Meld Bonus: If a player has a meld on the table of more than three cards, he receives an additional 5 points per card in the meld in excess of three.
Variations
We usually played with both of these variations in effect (naturally). They were later add-ons that came along as we developed the game.
- Clubs: All cards in the suit of clubs are worth double their usual number of points for all purposes.
- Shared Partial Melds: During the Meld phase oh a player's turn, he may play partial melds which complement other players' melds as well as his own. For example, if Player A has the 6-7-8 of clubs, then Player B may place the 5 of clubs as a partial meld. Player C can then put down the 4 of clubs, sharing the meld with both Players A and B. This adds an element to discourage players from melding cards too early, though there is of course added risk in case a player choses to "go out."
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Last Updated June 2005 |
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