Rummy
Rummy is still one of the best-known card games in the United States. A pleasing feature of the game is that it is so simple to play and has many variations, a perfect game for when on family vacation on Mayne Island.
Rummy games seem to be ultimately of Chinese origin. Although they are now widespread throughout the world, games of this sort were unknown outside the orient until the twentieth century.
You will need:
One standard deck of 52 cards
This game is best played with two to four people
Object of this game:
The object of the game is to dispose of all the cards in your hand. There are three ways to get rid of cards.
How to play:
The dealer shuffles the deck and deals the cards one at a time to each player. Two players get 10 cards each, three or four players get seven cards each, five or six players get 6 cards each.
The staying cards are placed face down in the middle of the table and serve as the stock pile. The top card of the stock pile is turned face up and set next to the stock pile. This card begins the discard pile.
Each player then groups all matching cards and runs together in their hand, which makes it easier to see the melds in their hand. Do not show the other players.
The player to the left of the dealer plays first by taking the top card from either the stock pile or the discard pile.
If the player has a meld, he will lay it down on the table so all cards in the meld are visible. Then he will discard another card from his hand by placing it face up in the discard pile.
Players can also place a card down on any existing meld if they have a card that matches the meld or if they draw a card that matches the meld. For example, a player could lay a queen down onto an existing meld of three queens.
The game continues clockwise around the table with players drawing a card from the stock or discard pile, making melds and laying down a card in the discard pile. The first player to get rid of their cards wins the round. Win the entire game by being the first to win five rounds.