How to Play the Card Game Hollywood Rummy

Hollywood Rummy is a somewhat complex variation on the classic card game Rummy, a simple draw-and-discard game appropriate for players of all ages. Hollywood Rummy can be played with three to eight players, making it a great choice for unevenly numbered groups. The object of the game is for a player to get rid of all of his cards before anyone else. Hollywood Rummy is played in seven rounds, each of which has a different objective. Players try to build sets or runs of cards by drawing and discarding. Once a player has built the sets required to complete the round, he plays his cards on his next turn by laying them face up on the table. He must then get rid of any additional cards in his hand by playing them on the laid-down cards of other players. The round ends when any player gets rid of all of her cards.

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• 1 deck of cards per 2 players
• pad and pen for scoring
• 10 chips or markers per player (optional)

1. Decide who will deal first, then deal cards to each player. Each round requires a different number of cards, starting with seven cards for round one. The dealer starts with the person to her left and continues dealing clockwise until all cards are dealt. The dealer then places the deck face down in the middle of the table and turns over the top card of the deck.

2. Begin building the required hand. The player to the left of the dealer starts game play by drawing one card and discarding one card, with the intention of building either sets (three of a kind, four of a kind) or runs (straight flushes--for example, AKQJ of spades) in his hand. For round one, the required hand is two sets of three cards. Players may choose to draw from the face-down pile, or they may choose the top card from the discard pile. Once the top card on the discard pile has been covered by another discard, that card is "dead" and may not be picked up even if it is uncovered due to the next player's draw. In addition to drawing and discarding, players may "buy" cards from the discard pile out of turn. If an out-of-turn player desires the top card from the discard pile, he must claim it before the in-turn player draws. The "buyer" buys the discarded card by taking it plus a "penalty" card (and does not discard). However, if the in-turn player wants the discarded card, she has first rights to select the card. If she does not want the card, the rights to the card pass to the player to the in-turn player's left and continue clockwise. Therefore, if both the player to the left and the right of the in-turn player want the card, the player to the left takes precedence over the player to the right no matter who requests the card first. If desired, each player may be given 10 chips or tokens at the beginning of the game and use these (along with a penalty card) to "pay" for "bought" cards, which limits the number of cards he may buy.

3. Continue game play in a clockwise direction. In order to get rid of their cards, players must build all of the sets and/or runs required in each round. Twos and jokers are wild, but twos may be used as "natural" cards as well for the purposes of building sets and runs (i.e., a player may have a set of three twos, but not a set of three jokers). Sets and runs must contain MORE natural cards than wild cards (i.e., a three- or four-card run may contain only one wild card, but a five-card run may contain two). A set or run may contain more cards than required (i.e., if a set of three is required but a player has four kings in her hand, she may play all of them).

4. Finish the round. Once a player has built ALL of the required sets and runs in his hand, he may lay down or "play" his hand on his next turn. Once a player has played his hand, he may no longer "buy" cards. At this point, the player's objective is to get rid of the remaining cards in his hand by playing them either on his own laid-down cards or the hands of others, and discarding his final card. A player may not play on other players' hands before she has laid down her own hand. When one player is out of cards, the round is over. In the final round of Hollywood Rummy, discarding the final card is not allowed. In order to go out, a player must assemble a hand that fulfills the requirements of the round with no cards leftover, and all cards must be laid down at once (i.e., the last card a player draws must fit into the sets and runs already in her hand). This rule makes the final hand extremely important, as the player who goes out leaves the other players with at least 13 cards in their hands, possibly resulting in high scores.

5. Score the hand. Each card left in a players hand at the end of a round has a point value, as follows: number cards three through nine: five points; tens and face cards: 10 points; Aces: 15 points; Twos: 20 points; Jokers: 50 points. Players must count the value of all cards left in their hands at the end of each round. Cards that have been played or laid down are not counted.

6. Proceed to the next round. Each of the seven rounds of Hollywood Rummy has a different objective and requires a different amount of cards to be dealt, as follows: Round 1: deal seven cards, build two sets of three; Round 2: eight cards, one set of three and one run of four; Round 3: nine cards, two runs of four; Round 4: 10 cards, three sets of three; Round 5: 11 cards, two runs of five; Round 6: 12 cards, one set of five and one run of six; Round 7: 13 cards, two sets of three and one run of seven. Follow steps one through five for each round.

7. After all seven rounds are complete, add up the scores from all rounds. The player with the lowest score wins.