Rummy: Play Free Online Against the Computer or Friends

What is Rummy?

Rummy is the classic draw-and-discard card game, free to play online here on your phone, tablet or computer. Draw a card, lay sets and runs face up on the table, add cards to any meld in play and be the first to get rid of your whole hand.

A table is dealt the moment the page opens, with you against a computer player. Add a second or third computer player, pass one device around 2 to 4 friends, or open an online table and share the code.

This is basic rummy, also called straight rummy, played by the standard rules: melds stay on the table, anyone can lay off on them, and the winner of a hand scores the cards everyone else is left holding.

How to play Rummy

1. 

   1Start a hand

   The table is dealt as soon as the page opens: you against one computer player on Medium. Use the bar above the table to choose the computer, an online table or Same screen for pass and play, and to set the players and the level.

2. 

   2Draw a card

   Every turn starts with a draw. Tap the stock for an unknown card, or tap the discard pile to take the card you can see.

3. 

   3Lay down a meld

   Cards that already make a set or a run glow gold in your hand. Tap them, then press Meld to lay them face up on the table.

4. 

   4Lay off on any meld

   A blue card fits a meld that is already on the table, no matter who laid it. Pick the card and press Lay off, or drag it onto the meld.

5. 

   5Discard to end your turn

   Pick the card you need least and press Discard, or drag it to the discard pile. High cards cost the most if you are caught holding them.

6. 

   6Go out and score

   Get rid of your last card to win the hand. You score every card the others still hold, and the score sheet keeps the totals until someone reaches the target.

The rules in full

1. Rummy uses one standard 52-card deck. With two players each gets 10 cards. With three or four players each gets 7. The next card is turned face up to start the discard pile and the rest is the stock.
2. The aim is to get rid of every card in your hand by melding. A set is three or four cards of the same rank. A run is three or more cards of one suit in order, such as 4-5-6 of hearts.
3. Start every turn by drawing one card: the top of the stock, or the top of the discard pile.
4. Then meld if you can and want to. Pick the cards and press Meld to lay a set or a run face up on the table.
5. You may also lay off: add a card from your hand to any meld on the table, yours or another player's. A fourth queen joins a set of queens, and a card at either end extends a run.
6. End your turn by discarding one card face up. A card you took from the discard pile cannot be thrown straight back in the same turn.
7. You go out when your last card leaves your hand, whether you meld it, lay it off or discard it. That ends the hand at once.
8. The winner scores the cards left in every other hand: kings, queens and jacks count 10, aces 1 and other cards their number.
9. Going rummy means going out in a single turn without having melded or laid off earlier in the hand. It doubles the score for that hand.
10. If the stock runs out, the discard pile is turned over without shuffling to make a new stock. This happens at most twice a hand. After that the hand is blocked and the lowest count wins the difference from each other hand.
11. Deal again and keep the totals. The first player to reach the target, 100 points unless you change it, wins the match.

Rummy tips and strategy

• Throw high cards early. A king, queen or jack left in your hand gives the winner 10 points each.
• Keep cards that can become two melds. A 7 of hearts next to a 7 of spades and an 8 of hearts has more ways to pay off than a lone pair.
• Watch what each player takes from the discard pile. If someone picks up a 9, hold your other 9s and the cards next to it in that suit.
• Middle cards make runs more easily than aces and kings, which can only be extended one way.
• Melding early is safe: those cards can no longer count against you. Holding melds back for a rummy bonus is a gamble that pays double or costs you a full hand.
• Before you discard, check the melds on the table. A card that looks useless may lay off on someone else's set or run.
• Count the stock. When it is nearly gone, cut your points rather than waiting for the perfect card.
• Do not feed the next player. The card you throw is offered to them first, so avoid discarding next to something they just picked up.

The rules this version follows

This is basic rummy, the game most card books simply call rummy and many players call straight rummy. It follows the standard rules: 10 cards each for two players and 7 each for three or four, one draw and one discard a turn, and melds laid face up for everyone to build on.

Aces are low, so A-2-3 is a run and Q-K-A is not. You may lay down any number of melds in a turn, and your last card may be melded, laid off or discarded.

The deal passes to the left after each hand, and the player on the dealer's left plays first.

Options for house rules

Rummy is played a little differently from table to table, so the common variants are one tap away in the New match sheet.

Aces can be high or low, which allows Q-K-A and makes an ace left in hand count 15. Going out can require a final discard. Melding can be limited to one new meld a turn. The target can be 50, 100, 150 or 250 points.

Play the computer, friends or an online table

Against the computer you can face one, two or three opponents on Easy, Medium or Hard. Easy plays loosely and gives you two hints a hand. Hard remembers every card it has seen and avoids feeding you.

Pass and play, the Same screen button, puts 2 to 4 people on one device. A curtain hides the cards between turns, so nobody sees another hand.

Online tables seat 2 to 4 players. Open a table, share the code, and fill any empty seat with a computer player.

Helpers that keep the game moving

Your hand sorts itself by suit or by rank, and you can drag cards into any order you like. Cards that already make a meld glow gold. Cards that fit a meld on the table glow blue.

Every meld on the table is marked with the colour of the player who laid it, and the score sheet shows who won each hand, by how much, and which hands were doubled for going rummy.

Your match is saved on your device after every move, so you can close the page and pick it up later.

How scoring works

Only the winner of a hand scores. Add up the cards left in the other hands: face cards 10, aces 1, everything else its number. Cards already melded on the table count for nothing.

Go out in one turn without having melded or laid off before, and the total is doubled. This is going rummy.

Scores carry over from hand to hand. A match to 100 usually lasts between four and eight hands.

Rummy and Gin Rummy: the difference

In rummy, melds go on the table during play and anyone may add to them. Up to four can play. You win a hand by emptying it.

In gin rummy, two players keep their melds hidden until one of them knocks. If that is the game you are looking for, it is here too.

Controls

Tap or click a card to pick it, then use the Meld, Lay off and Discard buttons. You can also drag a card onto a meld or onto the discard pile.

On a keyboard, the arrow keys move along your hand and Space picks a card. Press D to draw, T to take the discard, Enter to meld or discard, L to lay off, S to sort, H for a hint on Easy and M for sound.

Rummy FAQ