The term Rummy is used to describe a group of card games in which players get rid of all the cards in their hand by creating “melds”, or groups of matching cards or sequences. In the most basic form of the game players must take turns drawing one card from a stockpile, creating melds and discarding a card. The first player to get rid of all of his cards is the winner. Rummy games are played all over the world and tens, if not hundreds, of variations have been created over the years. Keep reading to learn about some of the most popular Rummy card game variations.
There are a number of variations that fit in to the basic Rummy card game group. These games are played by the most basic rules, in which players simply attempt to create melds and get rid of all their cards as quickly as possible. In these games a losing player may lost a fixed amount of points of money. These basic games include the game simply known as Rummy, Indian Rummy, Kaluki, Umtali and Rummikub, which is played with number tiles instead of cards.
There is also a collection of Asian Rummy games. These games are similar to traditional Rummy but are played with a different type of cards, or often played with tiles. The objective of all of these games is to remove groups of cards or tiles until there are none left in your hand. Asian Rummy games include Mah Jong, Quan Dui, Si Se Pai and Okey.
There are also variations of Rummy in which players are allowed to rearrange other players’ melds on the table and incorporate their own cards into them. These are known as manipulation Rummy games and include the games of Carousel, Vatikan, Shanghai and Manipulation Rummy.
There are also a number of Rummy variations in which melds are scored. In these games players generally play until one player earns a predetermined number of points. One of the most popular meld scoring Rummy variations is Rummy 500. Canasta also fits into this group. In Canasta special point bonuses are given to players who are able to create 7-card melds.
You can find many of these Rummy variations online. Download software or find a Flash game and try them out for free or play Rummy card games online for real money.