Rummikub
BGG rank
BGG #1,742
BGG rating
6.5

Rummikub

1950

Rules assistance for Rummikub

Plain-language explanations of turns, card effects and disputed situations, with official source references and saved question history.

  • 2–4 players
  • 60 min
  • 8+
  • Complexity 1.7/5

For 2 players

Rules assistant for Rummikub

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Answers come from the official rulebook, with the page to check.

Rummikub is a board game released in 1950 for 2–4 players, 60 minutes per game, and ages 8 and up. It was designed by Ephraim Hertzano and its main mechanics are Set Collection and Tile Placement.

Expansions

Similar games

About the game

Rummikub is similar to several central European card games which are played with two decks of playing cards, including Machiavelli and Vatikan. Ephraim Hertzano invented the tile game Rummikub in the 1940s when card-playing was outlawed under the Communist regime. After World War II, Hertzano immigrated to British Mandate of Palestine (now Israel) and developed the first sets with his family. Over the years, the Hertzano family licensed it to other countries and Rummikub became Israel's best-selling export game. Hertzano's Official Rummikub Book, published in 1978, describes three different versions of the game: American, Sabra, and International. Modern Rummikub sets include only the Sabra version rules, with no mention of the others, and there are variations in the rules between publishers. In Turkey, the game is known as Okey and is widely played by families at gatherings or at local cafes. Like Rummy that you play with cards, you try to get rid of all your tiles by forming numbers into runs of 3 tiles or more, or 3 to 4 of a kind. The colors of the numbers on the tiles are like card suits. This game may start rather uneventfully, but when the players start putting more and more tiles in play, the options for your upcoming turns can become more complex, challenging, and exciting (from areyougame.com).

Publishers

  • (Unknown)
  • Kaissa Chess & Games
  • Enigma (Bergsala Enigma)
  • Broadway Toys LTD
  • Boardgame Space
  • Parker Brothers
  • Schmidt Spiele
  • Hasbro

Questions and answers

Rummikub supports 2–4 players according to the catalogue. This range comes from the publisher’s listed player count, so the game can be set up for any group size within it. Some setups, rules and scoring details may still vary by player count, so check your edition’s rulebook for the exact configuration.