Gin Rummy

The Deal
The first dealer is chosen randomly by drawing cards from the shuffled pack - the
player who draws the lower card deals. Subsequently, the dealer is the loser of the
previous hand (but see variations). In a serious game, both players should shuffle,
the non-dealer shuffling last, and the non-dealer must then cut. Each player is dealt
ten cards, one at a time. The twenty-first card is turned face up to start the discard
pile and the remainder of the deck is placed face down beside it to form the stock.
The players look at and sort their cards.

Object of the Game

The object of the game is to collect a hand where most or all of the cards can be
combined into sets and runs and the point value of the remaining unmatched cards is
low.
a run or sequence consists of three or more cards of the same suit in
consecutive order, such as 4, 5, 6 or 7, 8, 9, 10, J.
a set or group is three or four cards of the same rank, such as 7, 7,
7.
A card can belong to only one combination at a time - you cannot use the same card
as part of both a set of equal cards and a sequence of consecutive cards at the same
time. For example if you have 7, 7, 7, 8, 9 you can use the 7
either to make a set of three sevens or a heart sequence, but not both at once. To
form a set and a sequence you would need a sixth card - either a 7 or a 10.
Note that in Gin Rummy the Ace is always low. A-2-3 is a valid sequence but A-K-Q
is not.

Play
A normal turn consists of two parts:
1 The Draw. You must begin by taking one card from either the top of the
stock pile or the top card on the discard pile, and adding it to your hand. The
discard pile is face up, so you can see in advance what you are getting. The
stock is face down, so if you choose to draw from the stock you do not see the
card until after you have committed yourself to take it. If you draw from the
stock, you add the card to your hand without showing it to the other players.
2 The Discard To complete your turn, one card must be discarded from your
hand and placed on top of the discard pile face up. If you took the top card
from the discard pile, you must discard a different card - taking the top
discard and putting the same card back in the same turn is not permitted. It is
however legal to discard a card that you took from the discard pile in an
earlier turn.
For the first turn of the hand, the draw is done in a special way. First, the person who
did not deal chooses whether to take the turned up-card. If the non-dealer declines it,
the dealer may take the card. If both players refuse the turned-up card, the non-
dealer draws the top card from the stock pile. Whichever player took a card
completes their turn by discarding and then it is the other player's turn to play.

Knocking
You can end the play at your turn if, after drawing a card, you can form sufficient of
your cards into valid combinations: sets and runs. This is done by discarding one card
face down on the discard pile and exposing your whole hand, arranging it as far as
possible into sets (groups of equal cards) and runs (sequences). Any remaining cards
from your hand which are not part of a valid combination are called unmatched
cards or deadwood. and the total value of your deadwood must be 10 points or
less. Ending the play in this way is known as knocking, presumably because it used
to be signalled by the player knocking on the table, though nowadays it is usual just
to discard face down. Knocking with no unmatched cards at all is called going gin,
and earns a special bonus. (Note. Although most hands that go gin have three
combinations of 4, 3 and 3 cards, it is possible and perfectly legal to go gin with two
5-card sequences.) A player who can meet the requirement of not more than 10
deadwood can knock on any turn, including the first. A player is never forced to
knock if able to, but may choose instead to carry on playing, to try to get a better
score.
The opponent of the player who knocked must spread their cards face-up, arranging
them into sets and runs where possible. Provided that the knocker did not go gin, the
opponent is also allowed to lay off any unmatched cards by using them to extend
the sets and runs laid down by the knocker - by adding a fourth card of the same
rank to a group of three, or further consecutive cards of the same suit to either end
of a sequence. (Note. Cards cannot be laid off on deadwood. For example if the
knocker has a pair of twos as deadwood and the opponent has a third two, this
cannot be laid off on the twos to make a set.)
If a player goes gin, the opponent is not allowed to lay off any cards.
Note that the knocker is never allowed to lay off cards on the opponent's sets or runs.
The play also ends if the stock pile is reduced to two cards, and the player who took
the third last card discards without knocking. In this case the hand is cancelled, there
is no score, and the same dealer deals again. Some play that after the player who
took the third last stock card discards, the other player can take this discard for the
purpose of going gin or knocking after discarding a different card, but if the other
player does neither of these the hand is cancelled.

Scoring
Each player counts the total value of their unmatched cards. If the knocker's count is
lower, the knocker scores the difference between the two counts. If the knocker did
not go gin, and the counts are equal, or the knocker's count is greater than that of
the opponent, the knocker has been undercut. In this case the knocker's opponent
scores the difference between the counts plus a 10 point bonus. A player who goes
gin scores a bonus 20 points, plus the opponent's count in unmatched cards, if any. A
player who goes gin can never be undercut. Even if the other player has no
unmatched cards at all, the person going gin gets the 20 point bonus the other player
scores nothing. The game continues with further deals until one player's cumulative
score reaches 100 points or more. This player then receives an additional bonus of
100 points. If the loser failed to score anything at all during the game, then the
winner's bonus is 200 points rather than 100. In addition, each player adds a further
20 points for each hand they won. This is called the line bonus or box bonus. These
additional points cannot be counted as part of the 100 needed to win the game. After
the bonuses have been added, the player with the lower score pays the player with
the higher score an amount proportional to the difference between their scores.

24

Introduction
This Chinese game requires skill at mental arithmetic. It has been played in Shanghai
at least since the 1960's and may have originated there, and it is also known in some
other cities, for example in Qingdao and Guangzhou. Since the end of the 20th
century it has also spread to some places in North America. The basic game for two
players will be described first, followed by variations for a larger number of players
and extra options.

Players, Cards and Deal

From a standard international pack remove all picture cards and jokers leaving just 40
cards: the numbers from ace (1) to 10 in each suit.
Shuffle the cards equally between the two players, each having a face down stack of
20 cards which they must not look at until they are played.

The Play
The two players simultaneously take the top two cards of their stacks and place them
face up in front of them, to form a square of four face up cards. Now each player tries
to think of a way to combine the four numbers using only addition, subtraction,
multiplication and division to get a result of 24. For example if the four cards were 2,
3, 6, 9 then possible solutions would be (9+6-3)2 or (9-3)(6-2) or (93)-(62).
The first player to think of a solution slaps the table and calls out the solution. If it is
correct, the four cards are given to the other player to place at the bottom of his or
her stack. Then each player again places two cards face up and players again try to
make 24 from the four numbers showing. This process is repeated until one player
has no cards. This player is the winner. If a player slaps the table and then calls out a
solution that is wrong, or cannot immediately give a solution, then this player must
take the four cards as a penalty. If neither player can make 24, they may agree after
a little while that there is no solution. In this case, each player chooses one of their
cards to take back, adds this card to the bottom of their stack, and replaces it with a
new face up card from the top of their stack. Players may shuffle or cut their card
stacks any time they wish, but must not look at the cards in their stacks. In the
standard game the four numbers must be combined using only the arithmetic
operations +, -, , , with brackets (, ) if necessary to define the order in which
operations are carried out. All four numbers must be used.

Crazy Eights

Basic Game
The basic game of Crazy Eights uses a standard 52 card pack, or two such packs
shuffled together if there are a lot of players. The dealer deals (singly) five cards to
each player (seven each if there are only two players). The undealt stock is placed
face down on the table, and the top card of the stock is turned face up and placed
beside the stock to start the discard pile.
Starting with the player to dealer's left, and continuing clockwise, each player in turn
must either play a legal card face up on top of the discard pile, or draw a card from
the undealt stock. The following plays are legal.
If the top card of the discard pile is not an eight, you may play any card which
matches the rank or suit of the previous card (for example if the top card was
the king of hearts you could play any king or any heart).
An eight may be played on any card, and the player of the eight must
nominate a suit.
If an eight is on top of the pile, you must play either another eight or any card
of the suit nominated by the person who played the eight.
The first player who gets rid of all their cards wins, and the other players score
penalty points according to the cards they have left in their hands - 50 for an eight,
10 for a picture, and spot cards at face value (one point for an ace, two for a two and
so on). If the stock pile is exhausted, the standard rule according to most books is
that play continues without drawing. A player who cannot or does not wish to play
just passes. If all pass, the game is blocked. Play stops and everyone scores for the
cards remaining in their hands. However, a variation played by many groups is that
when the stock pile is exhausted, the played cards, except for the last card, are
shuffled and stacked face down to make a new stock.

Basic Rummy
The game is best played with two to four players, but up to six can take part. Either a
fixed number of deals are played, or the game is played to a target score. The
number of deals or the target score needs to be agreed before beginning to play.

The Deck
One standard deck of 52 cards is used. Cards in each suit rank, from low to high:
Ace 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Jack Queen King

The Deal
The first dealer is chosen randomly, and the turn to deal alternates if there are two
players, and rotates clockwise if there are more than two. In a two player game, each
player is dealt a hand of ten cards. Seven cards each are dealt if there are three or
four players, and when five or six play each player gets six cards. The cards are dealt
one at a time, and after the deal, the next card is placed face up on the table to start
the discard pile, and the remainder of the deck is placed face down beside it to form
the stock. The players look at and sort their cards.

Object of the 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: melding, laying off, and discarding.
Melding is taking a combination of cards from your hand, and placing it face
up in front of you on the table, where it stays. There are two kinds of
combination which can be melded: sequences (also known as runs) and
groups (also known as sets or books).
1 a sequence or run consists of three or more cards of the same suit in
consecutive order, such as 4, 5, 6 or 8, 9, 10, J.
2 a group, set or book is three or four cards of the same rank, such as
7, 7, 7.
Laying off is adding a card or cards from your hand to a meld already on the
table. The cards added to a meld must make another valid meld. For example
to the 4, 5, 6 you could add the 3 or the 7. You are not
permitted to rearrange the melds in the process. For example, 2, 2,
2, 2 and 3, 4, 5 have been melded, you are not permitted to
move the 2 from the group to the sequence, so as to lay off the A.
Discarding is playing a card from your hand on top of the discard pile. You
get rid of one card this way at the end of each turn.

Play
If there are two players, they take alternate turns starting with the non dealer. If there
are more than two players, they take turns in clockwise rotation, beginning with the
player to dealer's left.
Each turn consists of the following parts:
3 The Draw. You must begin by taking one card from either the top of the
Stock pile or the top card on the discard pile, and adding it to your hand. The
discard pile is face up, so you can see in advance what you are getting. The
stock is face down, so if you choose to draw from the stock you do not see the
card until after you have committed yourself to take it. If you draw from the
stock, you add the card to your hand without showing it to the other players.
4 Melding. If you have a valid group or sequence in your hand, you may lay
one such combination face up on the table in front of you. You cannot meld
 more than one combination in a turn (but see House Rules). Melding is
optional; you are not obliged to meld just because you can.
5 Laying off. This is also optional. If you wish, you may add cards to groups or
sequences previously melded by yourself or others. There is no limit to the
number of cards a player may lay off in one turn.
6 The Discard At the end of your turn, one card must be discarded from your
hand and placed on top of the discard pile face up. If you began your turn by
picking up the top card of the discard pile you are not allowed to end that turn
by discarding the same card, leaving the pile unchanged - you must discard a
different card. You may however pick up the discard on one turn and discard
that same card at a later turn. If you draw a card from the stock, it can be
discarded on the same turn if you wish.
If the stock pile has run out and the next player does not want to take the discard,
the discard pile is turned over, without shuffling, to form a new stock, and play
continues - but see the variations section for a discussion of alternatives and
problems that can arise.
A player wins an individual hand by either melding, laying off, or discarding all of his
or her cards. Getting rid of your last card in one of these ways is called going out. As
soon as someone goes out, play ceases. There can be no further melding or laying
off, even if the other players have valid combinations in their hands.

Scoring
When a player goes out, the other players add up the value of all the cards still
remaining in their hands, as follows:
Face cards (K,Q,J) are worth 10 points each
Aces are worth 1 point each
Number Cards are worth their face value - for example a six is worth 6 points,
a four is 4 points, and so on.
The total value of all the cards in the hands of the other players is added to the
winner's cumulative score.
The game continues with further deals until a player reaches the points target that
was decided before the game began, or until the agreed number of deals has been
played.