Contract Rummy

Hubby and I both love playing cards!  In fact, we have a summer long marathon Gin Rummy game going on at the moment.  (I'm winning!)  But what we really love to play in Contract Rummy, which we play with our dear friends D and S.  We so enjoy our time with them and the game both....it's a win-win situation!  We had a competitive match last night.  Somehow I ended up winning. (I got lucky the last hand!)

The game is pretty straightforward....although it sounds kind of complicated, once you understand the initial concept, it isn't! 

The Game: Contract Rummy is a rummy game consisting of rounds in which the players try to accumulate a certain combination of groups or runs. You must have the entire combination for that round before laying your cards down.

Object:  The object is to discard all cards in your hand.  You must wait one rotation after your initial lay down of fulfilling your contract before playing any additional cards outside of the contract.  You can discard the remaining cards in your hand by playing on the cards you have laid, the cards your opponent has laid, discarding, or likely a combination of all of the above.

Cards:  We play with two decks of cards for four players.   Jokers serve as wild cards. 

Deal: The initial dealer is chosen at random.  The dealer rotates clockwise one player for each round following.

Points: When a player goes out the other players count the remaining points in their hand.  (Jokers are worth 25 points, aces 15, face cards 10, and the remaining cards are worth their face value.) 

Winner:  The player with the lowest total points at the end of all the rounds is the winner!

Buys: Each player starts each round with three "buys".  If a player desires the card on the top of the discard pile, they ask to buy the card.  They take the desired card on the top of the discard pile, and also the top card from the draw pile.  If more than one player wants to buy the discarded card then the player who is earliest in the turn rotation takes the card.  (If the player whose turn it is wants the discarded card, then play goes on as usual, without them taking the penalty card.)



We use these homemade tent cards to keep track of what round we're on, our
 contract for the round, and the number of cards dealt.  They're lifesavers!

Contracts:
Hand 1: 2 groups of three, 10 cards dealt
Hand 2: 1 group of three, 1 run of four, 10 cards dealt
Hand 3: 2 runs of four, 10 cards dealt
Hand 4: 3 groups of three, 12 cards dealt
Hand 5: 2 groups of three, 1 run of four, 12 cards dealt
Hand 6: 1 group of three, 2 runs of four, 12 cards dealt
Hand 7: 3 runs of four, 12 cards dealt, NO DISCARD**

(**NO DISCARD: The last hand, players may not discard the final card in order to be rid of all the card in their hand.  Rather, players must only play cards on the cards that have been laid on the table.)

Happy Card Playing!