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Shanghai Rummy

Number of Players

Shanghai Rummy is a card game designed for 3 to 8 players.

The Pack

The number of decks needed is determined by the number of players playing.

  • 3-4: 2 decks
  • 5-6: 3 decks
  • 7-8: 4 decks

Every deck should have 2 jokers.

Rank of Cards

A, K, Q, J, 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2

Values of Cards

  • K-3 & Red 2s: Face Value
  • Aces & Black 2s: 20 points
  • Jokers: 50 points

The Draw, Shuffle, and Cut

Shuffle all of the cards together. The person to the right of the dealer cuts the cards.

The Deal

The dealer deals 11 cards to each player, one at a time, starting with the person to the dealer's left. The remaining cards are placed in the center of the table to form the draw pile. The top card of the draw pile is turned over to start the discard pile.

Object of Play

The object of the game is to be the player with the lowest score by creating specific combinations of cards each round known as sets and runs, while utilizing jokers as wild cards.

Wild Cards

Jokers and black 2s are wild cards and can be used to replace a missing card in a set or run. There needs to be more natural cards than wild cards in the set or run.

Special Plays

The "May I?"is when an out-of-turn player takes the top card of the discard pile, with restrictions.

  • Players cannot "May I?" the card if the player whose turn it is wants it.
  • The player who gets the "May I?" has to draw an extra card from the top of the draw pile, and cannot play the cards immediately, but must wait for his/her turn.
  • If more than one player wants it, the one closest to the dealer's left has precedence.
  • A player may only use "May I?" 3 times per hand. If a player has 17 cards, they have used all of their "May I's".

The Play

Players take turns in a clockwise order. Each turn consists of:

1. The player drawing a card from the top of either the draw or discard pile. 2. Melding if the player can complete the current contract. (see Contracts below). The player places the meld down on the table in front of them. - Runs are a sequence of at least 4 consecutive cards in the same suit. (5D-6D-7D-8D) - Longer runs can be split into smaller runs to fulfill the contract. (3S-4S-5S-6S-7S-8S-9S-10S can be split to 3S-4S-5S-6S and 7S-8S-9S-10S) - Sets are 3 or more cards of the same rank. (7D-7H-7C or KS-KH-KC-KD). 3. A player once down (melded), can play remaining cards on existing melds (their own or others). - If a wild card has been played on the table in a run and the player has the card it represents, they may replace the wild card with the card from their hand. - Wild cards played in sets cannot be replaced. - The wild card must be played on that turn. 4. Once the player has played all the cards they can, they discard. - If the player still has cards left, the play moves to the player to their left. - If all of the players cards have been played or discarded the hand is over.

Contracts:

Hand 1 - 2 sets (6 cards) Hand 2 - 1 set 1 run (7cards) Hand 3 - 2 runs (8 cards) Hand 4 - 3 sets (9 cards) Hand 5 - 2 sets 1 run (10 cards) Hand 6 - 1 set 2 runs (11 cards) Hand 7 - 3 runs (12 cards)

Scoring

When a player has played all of their cards, it's time to count all the cards left in your hand. The scores are written down from hand to hand and totaled at the end of all rounds being played.

Winning the Game

The winner of the game is the person who scored the lowest number of points through all 7 hands of the game.

Variations

1. Number of Contracts - Some variations use 10 contracts instead of 7. 11 cards are still dealt to each player for the final hands, requiring players to use the "May I?" to get enough cards in their hand. - Hand 1 - 2 sets of 3 (6 cards) - Hand 2 - 1 set of 3 and 1 run of 4 (7 cards) - Hand 3 - 2 runs of 4 (8 cards) - Hand 4 - 3 sets of 3 (9 cards) - Hand 5 - 1 set of 3 and 1 run of 7 (10 cards) - Hand 6 - 2 sets of 3 and 1 run of 5 (11 cards) - Hand 7 - 3 runs of 4 (12 cards) - Hand 8 - 1 set of 3 and 1 run of 10 (13 cards) - Hand 9 - 3 sets of 3 and 1 run of 5 (14 cards) - Hand 10 - 3 runs of 5 (15 cards) 2. Some variations don't allow larger sets and runs to be split. The contracts must be met with unique sets and runs and Aces are always high, never low. 3. The "Shanghai" - this is play occurs when a card that is discarded could be added to one of the melds already on the table. There are 2 situations for this: - If the player deliberately discards a card which could be added to an existing meld, they call "Shanghai" as they discard the card. This prevents it from being picked up by the next player or being "May I?"'d in that player's turn. This can happen for example, when the player has not made their initial meld, but wishes to get rid of a card from their hand that would fit into another player's meld. - If the player discards a card which could be added to existing meld without calling "Shanghai", then any other player, even a player who has not yet put down their contract, may call "Shanghai", and add the discard to a meld. The calling player then offers their hand face down to the player who discarded the card, and they must take a card from it and place it in their hand. The player to the left then takes their turn as normal. - Note: A "Shanghai" takes precedence over a "May I?". If a player calls "Shanghai" to protect a discard or to take a discard and add it to a meld on the table, this stops any other player from taking that card with a "May I?" on that turn.