Card game

Rummy: rules and how to play

Draw, discard and group your 13 cards into sequences and sets.

Players: 2 to 6
Cards: Two decks plus printed jokers is common
Goal: Arrange all 13 cards into valid sequences and sets

Try it

Practise counting rummy points

Count the points left in the cards outside the groups.

Rummy is a draw-and-discard game. On each turn you pick up one card, either from the face-down stock or from the top of the discard pile, and then discard one card. The aim is to arrange your hand into valid groups before anyone else.

How a round goes

Each player receives 13 cards. One card is turned face up to start the discard pile.
On your turn you draw one card and discard one card, so you always hold 13.
You win by arranging all 13 cards into valid groups and declaring.

The groups

Sequence: three or more consecutive cards of the same suit, such as 5, 6, 7 of hearts.
Set: three or four cards of the same rank in different suits, such as 9 of spades, 9 of hearts, 9 of clubs.
Pure sequence: a sequence with no joker. A valid hand in the common Indian format needs at least two sequences, and at least one of them must be pure.
Joker: a card that can stand in for a missing card in a group, except in the pure sequence.

Joker rules and scoring differ between variants, so check the version you are playing.

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