Robbers’ rummy

Robbers’ rummy was a variant of rummy card game for two or more players. It became popular in Germany in the early 20th century. Being developed from normal rummy, it highlights arrangement of cards derived from card matching rules, while dumping the concepts of card discards or scoring wholly.

 

Robbers’ rummy is played using two regular 52 card decks, with 2 to 6 wildcards (Jokers). Primarily, each player is dealt 11 to 13 cards from the shuffled deck, whose remains (the stock) is placed face-down on the table. The aim of each player is to decrease the number of cards detained in hand by placing them on the table, face-up, forming melds. A meld is either any sequence of three or more cards of the same suit (where the King may be succeeded by Ace, and 2, and so on), or any three or four cards of equal rank, yet distinct suits. Any one Joker card used within a meld must be recognized as one card of suitable rank and suit.

 

An important point to remember is that any meld consisting of four cards may be reduced to an equally normal three-card meld by replacing or robbing one card, which in turn may be utilized to form other melds. The name Robbers’ rummy replicates the categorization, by promoters of regular rummy, of such liberty in playing this game as excessive, or even offensive. The first player to lay-off all detained cards on the table has won the game.