Tonight we played a few rousing games of Rummikub.

Let me start with a why…Rummikub is a game that I have played with my family since GES and I were kids.

Now, a what…The synopsis, if you check out the Wikipedia link, it will give you more details, of course, Rummikub was invented by a Romanian-born Jew, who hand made the first sets with his family in the backyard, then sold the first sets door-to-door and on consignments at small shops. It has become Israel’s #1 export game and in 1977, it became the best selling game in the United States.

Yes, I do play games that were invented after 1980, but these are games from my childhood, classics.

Rummikub is a combination of Rummy and Mahjong, I don’t know if you’ve played either, but Rummy is played with a deck of cards and Mahjong is played with tiles. If you have ever played Rummy, it’s played with seven cards and Gin-Rummy is played with ten cards.

Rummikub is similar to Rummy in that you have to make runs and groupings. You start with fourteen tiles and put them on the stand. Each player turns a tile over to see who goes first, then, technically, you are supposed to open with tiles totaling 30 points, but we play that you have to have a run when you open.

So…a run is when you have three of a kind or three in a row. There are four colors in the game, red, orange, blue and black, if the light is not bright enough the two colors each look very similar! Just as in Rummy, three of a kind have to be all different colors and a run would be all the same color, for example, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, etc. Now, you can have more than 3 in a row, no limit.

Then, there are other things you can do, break up sets and make new ones, as long as you don’t leave less thank three tiles together. If you can’t put anything out, pick a tile.

It may sound confusing, I know, but once you sit down and play, after a few minutes, you’re in it to win it! And look out if you play with EJS or MGS, they are good! Tonight, the whole family played, lots of fun!

Tonight, something happened that almost never happens, a run of one through 13! Picture proof!

The object, go figure, is to go out first and most important…have a good time!

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rummikub