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Rummikub online — rules, facts, and a live table

Rummikub is tile rummy. Form sets (same number, different colors) and runs (consecutive numbers, same color). Your first play must total at least 30 points from your own tiles. After that you may manipulate the table as long as every group remains a legal meld.

Play RummikubShow me gently

Animated how-to: Rummikub runs are the same color counting up, sets are the same number in different colors, first play must reach 30 points, empty your rack to win.
Watch once — it loops. The words underneath are if you want them.

Good to know

  • The set has 106 tiles: 104 numbered tiles (2 × 4 colors × 13 ranks) and 2 jokers.
  • Ephraim Hertzano created the game in 1940s Romania after playing-card games were restricted, then manufactured it in Israel; Lemada Light Industries later globalized it.
  • The initial meld must score at least 30 points and, in standard rules, cannot use tiles already on the table.
  • A set is 3 or 4 tiles of one rank in different colors. A run is 3 or more consecutive ranks in one color. 1 is low; 13 is high; runs do not wrap.
  • Jokers are wild. Many house rules score an unused joker as 30 points against you if another player goes out.
  • The Rummikub World Championship has been held as a branded international event for decades.

What you are looking at

Rummikub is tile rummy. Form sets (same number, different colors) and runs (consecutive numbers, same color). Your first play must total at least 30 points from your own tiles. After that you may manipulate the table as long as every group remains a legal meld.

Thick plastic number tiles with engraved faces, four bright colors, and a wooden or bakelite rack. The table is a puzzle of groups you can legally break and rebuild.

Origin

Rummikub was designed by Ephraim Hertzano. It is associated with Romania / Israel. Dating: 1940s by Ephraim Hertzano in Romania; commercial Israeli launch in 1977.

Equipment

106 tiles: two copies of 1–13 in four colors (black, red, blue, orange) plus 2 jokers. Four racks.

Players: 2–4. Typical duration: 30–60 minutes.

Questions

How many tiles are in Rummikub?

106: two of each number 1–13 in four colors, plus two jokers.

Can I use the table before 30 points?

Not under standard rules. Tilehaus enforces a 30-point initial meld made of new groups from your rack.