How to Play the Tile Game Rummikub

Brings People Together 2 to 4 players ages 8 and up

There is something about the feel of tiles in your hand, the clicking, the weight, the soft thud when you place it on the table. With 106 smooth tiles, Rummikub is the perfect game to experience this phenomenon. In all fairness, our copy is simply called Rummy but it play the same way.

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Setting Up Rummikub

First, players have to decide how many rounds they wish to play. (Five rounds makes a nice game. but chose less for short play times or more rounds for longer games.) The rules of Rummikub say that to decide who goes first, each player chooses form the facedown tiles. The Player with the lowest tiled number goes first.

Next, all players choose 14 tiles to add to their rack.

The Rummikub Tiles

There are four colours of tiles in Rummikub: red, yellow, blue and black. Each colour has two sets of tiles numbered 1 to 13. Each tile is worth the amount on the tile. The 13 tile is worth 13 points and so on. 

Also, there are two joker tiles. These tiles are wild and can take the place of any tile. They are worth the amount of the tile that they are replacing. For example, if the joker is taking the place of a 4 tile, it is worth 4 points. The exception to this is if at the end of the round, the joker is still in your hand, then it is worth 25 points.

The Object

The object of Rummikub is to be the player with as few points in their hand at the end of each round.

Playing Rummikub

After players have selected their 14 tiles, the first player has the opportunity to place her tiles on the table. To place tiles, the value of the tiles must add up to 25. (Some editions say 30, some say 50. As long as everyone is playing the same way it doesn’t matter much.) These 25 points can come from any combinations of tiles. (They do not need to be in all one run or set.)

Tiles can be placed in two way: in run and sets. A run must be played in all the same colour. For example, the 4, 5, 6 in blue. Runs must also be at least three tiles long.

Sets are tiles of the same number. As in runs, sets must have at least three tiles in them. The three titles may not be of the same colour. For example, you can not play yellow 6, red 6 and yellow 6. The blue or black 6 must be played.

If a player can not place any tiles down, then she picks up a tile from the pile and add it to her rack. Her turn is over, even if the tile she picked up makes is possible to play.

Playing the Table

Once a player has placed their original runs or sets that total 25 points, then he is able to play the table. This means that he can add to any other players tiles that are on the table. He can also place down any new runs or sets that he can.

Jokers

When a joker is played and a player has that tile, on her turn she can place that tile in the joker’s place and take the joker. She must then play it on the table. If a player has not yet placed tiles on the table, she can go ahead and take the joker as long as she can then lay down with 25 points.

Ending a Round

When a player places all of his tiles, he has finished the round. No other player may place tiles. Instead, all players add up all the tiles that remain on their racks. This sum is recorded as their score for that round and is added to any existing score. 

If there are no more draw tiles left and all players still have tiles in their racks, players are allowed to add to the table until there is a player who can not lay a tile. At that point, the game is void.

Winning Rummikub

The player who has the smallest score at the end of the agreed apon rounds is the winner.

What We Like

Rummikub is a simple to explain and play game. There is no reading so players of any age can play. (For very young players, you could wave the place down amount.) Setting the number of rounds gives this game a flexibility that we like as we don’t always have time for long games. The clicking of tiles also makes this a family favorite. Our version also came with international rules so we can learn to play that way too.

What We Don’t Like

First, this game requires space. That’s not a big problem but it is a consideration. Next, our tiles can be see through if we play in front of the window. (As I said at the beginning of the post, we don’t have the official copy.) However, our biggest issue is the time it takes to put the game away—106 tiles, one tiny space, you spend forever putting them back in just so. But again, it might be just our game. Lastly, the frustration is real. Some of us get very frustrated with this game and the other players. (This is an us problem. It’s just part of the game, part of the challenge.)

Should you Add Rummikub to your Family Game Shelf?

Rummikub was created in the 1950s and is still a best seller. With its simple game play but mix of skill and luck it’s easy to see why. Families of all ages can play and enjoy Rummikub. For your next game night, we recommend adding Rummikub to your Family Game Shelf.

To add Rummikub to your family game shelf, shop Amazon. Canadians can shop here.

If you like this game you’ll want to check out Phase 10 card game and the Phase 10 dice game as well as the card game 3 to 13. Visit the Family Game Shelf shop for even more fun with seasonal and original games.

Rating:

Pros: easy to understand, all ages, luck and skill, flexible game length
Cons: needs space,
Mom: probability, math skills, critical thinking.