- Contract Rummy App
- Contract Rummy Contracts
- Contract Rummy Hands
- Contract Rummy How To Play
- Play Contract Rummy
- Rules for (our special version of) Contract Rummy. First, I need to explain why this page exists. Contract Rummy is a card game. My immediate family has been playing Contract Rummy at least since the late 1970s. As far as we can tell, we learned the game from friends in Bellevue, Iowa.
- Contract Rummy Contract Rummy is believed to have originated from a game called Zioncheck that was devised by Ruth Armson. David Parlett suggests that Contract Rummy card games followed on from Contract Bridge which was popular in the 1930's.
- Contract Rummy is the Most Similar Rummy Version, to the Original Rummy Game — Play Rummy Games Online for fun, Win Rummy for real money There is not a lot of difference between standard Rummy and the version known as Contract Rummy.
- Contract Rummy is played with two standard decks of 52 cards, including the jokers. The number of jokers in play is determined by the number of players, and should always be one less than the number of players in the game. Contract Rummy is played with three to five players, but the best games are played when there is an equal.
Contract Rummy is a rummy style game for three to eight players. Be first to play your cards into specific melds based on the round number in order to help you win this game! Find the video tutorial and written explanation for how to play contract rummy below.
Contract Rummy
Contract Rummy is the general name given for a whole class of Rummy games, all sharing two centralfeatures:
- A specific number of deals comprise a game.
- In each deal a contract - a particular, predetermined pattern of melds - must be met in order to lay down any cards.
What is the history of Contract Rummy? David Parlett reports that all Contract Rummy games (of which there are numerous variations under a variety of names) date 'from the Contract Bridge boom of the 1930's'. Richard Fry notes that the first version was 'probably the game developed by Ruth Armson, called Zioncheck'. Albert Morehead stated in 1950 that Contract Rummy 'is one of the most popular games played by women's clubs and card-playing groups that meet regularly.'
The rules detailed below are representative of all Contract Rummy games, though there are numerous regional andlocal variations even among games with the same name. Some of the particular variations are:
- Carioca Rummy - A two-player South American version
- Continental Rummy - A version with only one contract
- King Rummy - A version with four contracts.
- Progressive Rummy - The number of cards deal increases each hand
- Liverpool Rummy - A version with fewer contracts and more jokers
- Shanghai Rummy - A version with more contracts and wilder scoring
Other names for Contract Rummy include 'Combination Rummy', 'Deuces Wild Rummy', 'Hollywood Rummy', 'Joker Rummy', 'Shanghai Rummy', and 'Zioncheck'.
Contract Rummy Rules
Number of Players: 3 to 8; each plays for himself (no partnerships).
The Deck: For 3 or 4 players, use two decks of 52 cards each, plus one joker, for a total of 105 cards. For more than 5 players, use three decks of 52 cards each, plus two jokers, for a total of 158 cards. The cards are ranked (hi) K-Q-J-7-6-5-4-3-2 (lo). An ace may be ranked either high or low. Jokers are wild.
Starting a Game: To determine who deals first, the deck is shuffled and cut, and each player draws a card. The player drawing the lowest card deals first. Thereafter, the deal passes from player to player to the left.
Dealing: In deals 1 through 4, ten cards are dealt to each player; in deals 5 through 7, each player receives twelve cards. Cards are dealt clockwise, starting with the player at the dealer's left. After dealing, one card is turned as the upcard, and the remainder of the deck is turned face-down to form the stock.
Objective: A game consists of seven deals. In each deal, the objective is to complete a certain meld, called a 'contract', which increases in difficulty as the game proceeds. The player who lays off all their cards first wins the hand. The player with thelowest cumulative score after seven deals wins the game.
Play: Each players turn consists of a draw, possible melding or laying off, and a discard. Each player's turnmust end with a discard, which is placed face-up on the discard pile.
Melds: Each meld consists of either a set, consisting of three or more cards of the same value, or a sequence,consisting of four or more cards of the same rank and consecutive value. An ace may rank either high (A-K-Q) or low (3-2-A), butsequences may not extend 'round the corner' (K-A-2). Jokers are wild, and can stand in for any card.
When two or more sequences are required, they must be in different suits, or if in different suits, not in consecutive order(i.e. they must be separated by at least one card).
Contracts: Each deal has a different contract, which consists of some combination of sets and sequences:
| Deal Number | Cards Dealt | Contract |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | 10 | Two Sets |
| 2 | 10 | One Set and One Sequence |
| 3 | 10 | Two Sequences |
| 4 | 10 | Three Sets |
| 5 | 12 | Two Sets and One Sequence |
| 6 | 12 | One Set and Two Sequences |
| 7 | 12 | Three Sequences |
The Upcard: The player in turn may draw either the top card of the discard pile, or the top card of the stock.If he does not want the discard, he may decline it, and any other player may take it. The right to take it passes tothe player's left (clockwise around the table). If an out-of-turn player takes the top of the discard pile, he must alsodraw the top card of the stock (as a penalty), but he may not yet meld, lay off, or discard, since it is not yet his turn.
Once the fate of the discard has been decided, the in-turn player must take the top card of the stock. Since he hasrefused the discard, he cannot take the top of the discard pile, even if a new card has been revealed.
Fulfilling The Contract: Once an in-turn player has drawn a card, he may fulfill the contract by laying downthe appropriate melds. He may only lay down the precise melds as called for in the contract; he may not lay offany additional cards at this time.
Laying Off: In the subsequent turns after a player's contract has been met, he may lay off additionalcards to any meld on the table, whether his own or his opponents. However, he may not create any new melds of his own.
A player may not lay off any cards until he himself has met the contract.
Contract Rummy App
Jokers: A joker is a wild card, and may be used to in place of any other card as part of a meld. When doing so,the player must state its suit and rank. Any player in turn (providing he's already fulfilled his contract) may later trade the actual card for the joker, and may then either use the joker immediately, or hold it in his hand.
Going Out: When a player has discarded his last card, the hand is over, and scored. If the stock is exhaustedbefore any player has gone out, the discard pile is shuffled by the original dealer and turned face-down to form a new stock.
Scoring: At the end of a hand, each player scores the sum of all cards in his hand. For purposes of scoring, the cards remaining in the players hand have the following values:
| Card | Point Value |
|---|---|
| 2 | 2 |
| 3 | 3 |
| 4 | 4 |
| 5 | 5 |
| 6 | 6 |
| 7 | 7 |
| 8 | 8 |
| 9 | 9 |
| 10 | 10 |
| J | 10 |
| Q | 10 |
| K | 10 |
| A | 15 |
| Joker | 25 |
Contract Rummy Contracts
The player with the fewest points at the end of the seven deals wins the game.
Variations
- Some play that dueces are also wild cards. If so, they also count for 25 points in scoring.
- In some variations, number cards (2 through 9) count as 5 points, rather than their index value.
- Some variations give bonus points for winning a hand, not using wild cards, etc.
- Some play that jokers may be substituted by any player at any time, regardless of whether it's theirturn or not. In this case, if more than one player claims a joker, precedence goes to whoever's turn is next.
Other Contract Rummy Rule Links
Other Contract Rummy Variations
Contract Rummy Hands
- 12-Step Rummy - From Kate Hanratty
- 6 7 8 9 10 - From Alan Hoyle
- Continental Card Game - From Mike Gaston
- Crummy Rummy - From Mike Rosulek
- Rummy Rummy - From Bill Whitnack