Rummikub rules

Quick start

1. Turn all the tiles face down and mix them. Each player turns up one tile, and the highest number goes first. Mix those back in, then everyone takes 14 tiles onto their rack.
2. Tiles are played in sets. A group is 3 or 4 tiles of one number, each a different color. A run is 3 or more numbers in a row, all one color.
3. Your first play, the initial meld, must be sets worth at least 30 points, all from your own rack. Until it is down, you cannot use or change the table.
4. On later turns, play tiles from your rack. You may add to any set on the table and rearrange the sets, if every set is valid when your turn ends.
5. A joker stands for any tile in a set. If you cannot play, or choose not to, draw 1 tile from the pool, which ends your turn. Each turn has a 1-minute limit.
6. Empty your rack to win the round. Each other player loses the value of their tiles, 30 for a joker, and you gain the total. Most rounds won takes the game.

Rule sheet and score sheet

Print the whole game on one page, and a score sheet made for Rummikub. Both are free PDFs for Letter paper.

Download the rule sheet

PDF, 1 page. The whole game on one page.

Download the score sheet

PDF, 1 page. Laid out for Rummikub.

Setup

2 to 4 players with the standard 106-tile set, each playing alone. 5 or 6 can play with the larger 160-tile set, described further down.

You need: One standard Rummikub set: 106 tiles and 4 racks.

• Every numbered tile comes twice, so the set holds 8 tiles of each number.
• Each player also gets a rack, a stand that holds their tiles upright so only they can see them.
• The larger set for 5 or 6 players has 160 tiles: three of every numbered tile, 4 jokers and 6 racks.

1. Turn all the tiles face down and mix them well.
2. Each player turns up one tile. The highest number goes first, and play moves clockwise. Turn those tiles back over and mix them in.
3. Each player takes 14 tiles and stands them on their rack so nobody else can see them.
4. The tiles left face down are the pool. Players draw from it during the round.

Each player’s rack

The pool

Every other tile, face down and mixed

• The official rules do not say what to do if two players tie for the highest tile, or if someone turns up a joker. Agree on a fix first, such as having those players turn up new tiles.
• Each new round starts the same way, with everyone turning up a tile to see who goes first.

How to play

Players take turns clockwise. On each turn you either play tiles from your rack or draw 1 tile. A round ends when someone empties their rack.

1. Know the two kinds of set

   Tiles go on the table in sets of at least 3. A group is 3 or 4 tiles of one number, each a different color. A run is 3 or more numbers in a row, all one color. A 1 cannot follow a 13.

   • A group can never repeat a color, so it stops at 4 tiles.
   • A run has no top length. It can stretch as far as the numbers go, from 1 to 13.

   A group

   

   Same number, three colors. The orange 9 could be added.

   A run

   

   Numbers in a row, all blue

   Not a group

   

   Red appears twice

   Not a run

   

   A 1 cannot follow a 13

2. Make your initial meld

   Your first play, the initial meld, is one or more sets worth at least 30 points, each tile counting its number. All the tiles must come from your rack. Until it is down, you may not use or change the table.

   • A joker in your initial meld counts as the tile it stands for.
   • Wait until your next turn before you add to other sets or rearrange the table. The initial meld turn is for your own new sets only.
   • If you cannot reach 30 points yet, draw a tile and try again on a later turn.

   Two sets: 24 + 9 = 33

   

   A group of 8s and a run of 2, 3, 4

   With a joker: 11 + 12 + 13 = 36

   

   The joker counts as the orange 11

3. Play tiles or draw

   On turns after your initial meld, play tiles from your rack: new sets, tiles added to sets on the table, or both. If you cannot play, or choose not to, draw 1 tile from the pool. That ends your turn.

   • On any turn when you play, at least one tile must come from your rack. Moving tiles around the table on its own is not a turn.
   • You never have to play. Holding tiles back is allowed, but you must then draw.

4. Rearrange the table

   On those later turns you may also split sets on the table, move tiles between them and add your own. When your turn ends, every tile on the table must be in a valid set, with none left over.

   • Add a tile to a set. A run takes the next number at either end. A group of 3 takes a tile of a missing color.
   • Take a tile away from a set that still has 3 or more without it, such as the fourth tile of a group or the end tile of a run of 4, and use it in another set.
   • Split a long run into two runs of at least 3 tiles each, adding a tile from your rack where one is needed.
   • Tiles on the table stay on the table. They never go back to a rack, except under the time penalty below.

5. Use the jokers

   A joker stands for any tile in a set. On turns after your initial meld, you may free one from the table: put in the tile it stood for, or rearrange by splitting a run, adding a tile or moving tiles to other sets. All sets must stay valid. Use the freed joker that turn in a new set.

   • In a group of 3, the joker can be replaced by a tile of either missing color.
   • The tiles you use to free it can come from your rack or from the table.
   • On that turn you must also play at least one tile from your rack, as on any turn when you play.
   • Nobody can take a joker from the table before making their initial meld.
   • A joker still on your rack when the round ends costs you 30 points.

6. Keep to the time limit

   Each turn has a 1-minute limit. If time runs out before you play, draw 1 tile. If it runs out in the middle of a move, put the table back as it was, take back your tiles and draw 3.

   • Any watch or phone timer will do.
   • Some rule versions allow 2 minutes a turn.

7. End the round

   The round ends when a player plays their last tile and calls out “Rummikub.” If the pool runs out first, play on until nobody can play. The player whose rack is worth the least then wins.

   • Once the pool is empty, a player who cannot play passes, since there is nothing left to draw.
   • The rule sources we checked do not say who wins if two players tie for the lowest rack, so agree on it before you play.

8. Score the round

   Each other player scores the value of the tiles left on their rack, with 30 for a joker, as a minus. The winner scores the sum of those as a plus. Mix all the tiles for the next round.

   • If the pool ran out, each other player scores the difference between their rack and the winner’s rack, as a minus. The winner again scores the sum as a plus.
   • A round’s scores always add up to zero, which is a quick way to check the sums.

Example: splitting a run to fit a tile

You made your initial meld on an earlier turn. The table holds a black run from 2 to 6. You hold a black 4 and a black 7. The 7 fits on the end of the run, but the 4 fits nowhere as the table stands. So you add the 7, making a run from 2 to 7, and split it after the 4. Your own 4 starts the second run. The table now shows black 2, 3, 4 and black 4, 5, 6, 7. Both runs have at least 3 tiles, so your turn is legal. Every numbered tile comes twice, so there really are two black 4s.

On the table before your turn

From your rack

First new run

All from the table

Second new run

Your 4 and 7 with the table’s 5 and 6

Scoring

Every player scores in every round. The winner gains points and everyone else loses them, so the round’s scores always add up to zero.

• Only tiles still on a rack count. Tiles on the table are never scored.
• Before you start, agree how many rounds to play. The official rules count rounds in blocks of one round for each player, so 4 players play 4 rounds, or 8, or 12.
• The official rules invite groups to add their own house rules, and the length of the game is left to you.

Play the number of rounds you agreed on. Whoever won the most rounds wins the game. If players tie, the highest total score wins.

Write each player’s name at the top of a column. After each round, write every player’s points for the round, a minus for each player left with tiles and a plus for the winner, then update the running totals. If the pool ran out, each minus is the difference from the winner’s rack. Circle the winner’s score each round so you can count rounds won at the end.

A worked example: scoring one round

Four people are playing. You lay down your last tile and call out “Rummikub.” Ben, Cara and Dev still hold the tiles shown. Cara’s joker costs her 30. Each of them scores a minus, and you score their total as a plus: 69 points. The four scores add up to zero.

Ben

9 + 4 = 13

Cara

30 + 2 = 32

Dev

11 + 12 + 1 = 24

What happened	Goes to	Points
Ben: red 9	Ben	−9
Ben: blue 4	Ben	−4
Cara: joker	Cara	−30
Cara: black 2	Cara	−2
Dev: orange 11	Dev	−11
Dev: orange 12	Dev	−12
Dev: blue 1	Dev	−1
You: Ben’s 13 points	You	13
You: Cara’s 32 points	You	32
You: Dev’s 24 points	You	24
You		69
Ben		−13
Cara		−32
Dev		−24

Scorekeeper

For 2 to 6 players. After each round, enter every player’s score: a minus for each player left with tiles, 30 for each joker, and the total of those as a plus for the winner. If the pool ran out, each minus is the difference between that player’s rack and the winner’s. The official rules leave the number of rounds to you, so it runs until you tap End the game. It counts the rounds each player wins, and the game goes to the most rounds won, with the highest total breaking a tie. It works in this browser, keeps the game if the page reloads, and needs no account.

Other ways to play

House rules and other versions

One set for the initial meld

Some versions ask for the initial meld to be a single set worth at least 30 points, where the official rules allow one or more sets.

Two minutes a turn

Some versions give each player 2 minutes a turn in place of 1.

Fewest tiles wins when the pool runs out

When the pool is empty and nobody can play, the player with the fewest tiles on their rack wins the round. The official rules use the lowest value of tiles instead. Scoring is the normal way: each other player scores their rack’s value, 30 for a joker, as a minus, and the winner scores the sum as a plus.

Draw two, with a river

When you choose to draw, take 2 tiles. Keep one and add the other to the right end of a row called the river. To take a river tile, also pick up every tile added after it. Play the tile you wanted that turn, using rack tiles if needed. That ends your turn. The others go on your rack and cannot be used that turn.

Playing cards in place of tiles

The game can be played with two standard decks plus jokers. The ace counts 1, the jack 11, the queen 12 and the king 13. Each suit stands for one tile color.

Highest total wins

Keep a running total of each player’s round scores. When the game ends, the player with the highest total wins, however many rounds each player won.

Rule questions

Words used in Rummikub

Tile

One playing piece. Numbered tiles run from 1 to 13 in blue, red, orange and black.

Rack

The stand that holds your tiles upright so only you can see them.

Pool

The face-down tiles left after everyone has taken 14. You draw from it.

Set

Tiles played together on the table: a group or a run, at least 3 tiles.

Group

3 or 4 tiles with the same number, each a different color.

Run

3 or more tiles with numbers in a row, all the same color. The 1 cannot follow the 13.

Initial meld

Your first play: sets worth at least 30 points, all from your own rack.

Joker

A tile that can stand for any tile in a set. It costs 30 points if it is left on your rack.

Manipulation

The official name for rearranging sets on the table: splitting them, moving tiles and adding your own.

Rummikub

What you call out when you play the last tile from your rack.

Round

One deal of the tiles, played until a player empties their rack or nobody can play. The official rules call this a game and use round for a block of them.

What you need

• A Rummikub set106 tiles and 4 racks, for 2 to 4 players.Find it on Amazon (A Rummikub set, opens in a new tab)
• A six-player Rummikub setThe set you need for 5 or 6 players. It plays 2 to 6 and has 160 tiles, including 4 jokers, and 6 racks.Find it on Amazon (A six-player Rummikub set, opens in a new tab)
• A one-minute timerOptional. Any timer works for the 1-minute turn limit.Find it on Amazon (A one-minute timer, opens in a new tab)
• A score pad and pencilPlain paper works. Our printable score sheet has a column for each player.Find it on Amazon (A score pad and pencil, opens in a new tab)

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