The card game Rummy 500 is a fun, melding card game played with two to eight players.
The first player to 500 points wins this game!
Find the video tutorial and written explanation for how to play the card game rummy 500 below.
Rummy 500 Tutorial
Needed
52 card deck for two to four players (additional deck for five to eight players); two to eight players, pen and paper for scorekeeping
Deal
Two players = 13 cards each; three to eight players = 7 cards each
The top card of the remaining deck is flipped up to start the discard pile.
Objective
The objective of the game is to be the first player to play all his or her cards into melds. A meld is a set of three or four cards with the same rank or a run of three or more cards in the same suit.
Game Play
A player’s turn begins by the player either drawing from the deck or drawing from the discard pile. After drawing, a player can lay down any melds if wanted/possible. A player’s turn ends with the player discarding one card.
Players will discard in a way that allows every player to see all the cards in the discard pile. Any card can be drawn from the discard pile, but all the cards on top of the drawn discard must also be taken.
Players take turns drawing, melding if wanted/possible, and discarding. Players are also allowed to meld cards onto other players’ melds. When doing so, a player will lay the melded card down in front of him/her and indicate the meld it is being added to.
Once a player has no more cards in hand, or the draw deck is exhausted, and the next player does not want to draw from the discard pile, the round is over.
Scoring
Players will score points for the cards melded, and lose points for the cards remaining in their hands.
The kings, queens, and jacks are worth ten points, the 2s through the 10s are worth face value, and the aces are worth fifteen points when melded in a set, or one point if melded in a run. An ace left in a hand is a fifteen point loss.
Rules
The ace is always low when used in a run.
Once a meld is laid on the table, it cannot be moved or separated.
A card being laid off must be specified to one meld, and cannot be changed.
A card drawn from the discard pile must be immediately melded.
A player that has a meld in his/her hand is not required to lay it down.
If a player has a meld still in his/her hand when a player goes out, the card points are included as negative points when scoring.
If a player notices a card in the discard pile that can be melded after a player has discarded, the player can announce rummy, draw from the discard pile to the card that can be melded, and make the meld. The player that called rummy will discard to end the turn and play moves right to the next player.
If two decks are being used, a set meld cannot contain two cards of the same suit.