Players: Two (potentially more)
Cards: Whole pack (with two Jokers)
Objective: To get the lowest score by forming sequences and sets
of cards
This game is similar to "Gin Rummy", except that the number of cards changes and there are some extra rules.
Setup
Deal three cards to each player, and place the rest of the cards in the centre. This is the "stock". Turn over the top card from the stock to form the discard pile.
Play
The game is played in twenty one rounds. The number of cards dealt to each player is three on the first round, four on the second round, up to thirteen cards on the eleventh round, and then down to three again on the last round.
Each turn, the player looks at the top card from the stock, and takes either that card or the top card from the discard pile. They then put a card on top of the discard pile (but not the card that used to be there).
If the player has six points or less in their hand (see below), they may then say "going out" if they want to. The other player has one more free turn, and then both players show their cards. If the other player chooses to, they may have up to six extra turns after the free turn, at a cost of two points for the first one, three for the second one, and so on (so taking three extra turns costs 2 + 3 + 4 = 9 points).
Each player gets the number of points remaining in their hand against them. If the player who is going out has more points than the other player (whether or not the other player has had extra turns), then they get an extra five points against them. Cards which are part of a set (three or four of a kind) or sequence (three or more cards of the same suit) do not count against them; the rest of the cards count as follows:
Jokers may stand for any other card.
The maximum number of points a player can get against them in a single
round is twenty five.
Winning
The winner is the player with the lowest number of points at the end of the game.
Strategy