How to play Rummy 4x3x2's ♣

What you see

• Your cards at the bottom, grouped by rank.
• The other players across the top. You can't see their cards, but you can see what they've picked up from the discard pile.
• The face-down pile and the discard pile (the top card is face up).

Choices above the table

• Players: 2 to 5.
• Pack size: Four (8 or 12 cards each), Three (6, 9 or 12) or Mixed (6, 8, 9 or 12). 12 cards only works with up to 3 players.
• End the hand when the pile runs out: after 2, 3, 4 or 5 run-outs, or never. Packs of four can take a long time, so this keeps a hand from going on forever.

What happens automatically

• Everyone gets the same number of cards, and one card is turned face up to start the discard pile.
• When the face-down pile runs out, the discard pile (all but its top card) is shuffled to make a new one.
• When someone finishes, everyone else gets exactly one more turn, then the round is decided.

How a hand goes

1. The player left of the dealer starts.
2. On your turn, pick up one card: the top of the face-down pile, or the face-up top of the discard pile.
3. Throw away one card face up. You can't throw back a card you just took from the discard pile.
4. When, after picking up, all your cards but one are in groups, throw the last one and you finish.
5. Everyone else has one more turn, and may finish too.

Your moves

• Pick up from the pile: nobody learns anything.
• Take the face-up card: useful when it adds to a rank you're collecting, but everyone sees it.
• Throw away: tap a card, then the button. Throw ranks you can't complete first.
• Finish: shown when every other card is in a group.

Who wins the round

1. A complete hand (every card in a group) beats an incomplete one.
2. Between complete hands, bigger groups win, compared largest first. With 9 cards: 4+3+2 beats 3+3+3, which beats 3+2+2+2. With 6 cards: 3+3 beats 2+2+2. With 12: 3+3+3+3 beats 3+3+2+2+2.
3. Same shape: the higher card value of the groups wins (number cards their number, J Q K 10, Ace 1).
4. Still level: the round is shared.
5. If nobody is complete, the best card value wins: cards in groups count for you, loose cards against you.

The round winner scores 1. The first to win 3 rounds wins the game. Finishing first doesn't win by itself: someone else may finish on their last turn with bigger groups.

Why it works like this

• Pick up one, throw one. Your hand stays the same size, so every turn is a choice between keeping and giving away.
• You can take the top discard. It lets you grab a card you need, but everyone sees what you take, so they learn what you collect.
• You can't throw back a card you just took. Otherwise you could pick a card up just to stop someone else getting it, and the game would stall.
• A buried card is gone until the pile is reshuffled. It makes some ranks impossible to finish, so you have to notice and change plans.
• Everyone gets one more turn after a finish. Everyone then has had the same number of turns, so nobody loses just because of where they sit.
• Bigger groups win, then card values. It rewards building strong groups instead of rushing to finish with weak ones.
• The hand can end when the pile runs out. Packs of four are hard to complete, and without a limit a hand could go on for a very long time.

Common questions

• Can I play with friends? Yes. Press Play with friends to make a room, then send the link. The table has four seats with 8 cards each; computer players fill any empty seat. Each player has their own coach, which only sees their own cards.
• What is a "dead" rank? Once enough of a rank's four cards are buried in the discard pile that you can't make the group, it's dead until the pile is reshuffled. Throw those first.
• Do runs count, like 5-6-7? No, only cards of the same rank.
• We all finished on our last turn. Who wins? The biggest groups, then the higher card value. That's why it pays to build a three rather than settle for two pairs.
• Does four of a kind count in Mixed? Yes, as a group of four, the biggest there is.

At this table

You against Rosie, Dev, Mags and Theo (as many as you pick). Use Opponents to make them easier or harder.