Discover Arlington: A Thrilling Rummy Variant

Welcome to Arlington, an exciting version of Rummy that can be played individually or with four players in two partnerships. In this game, you’ll experience seven thrilling rounds, each filled with opportunities to score points and potentially lose them. The player with the highest overall score at the end will emerge as the ultimate champion. Are you ready for the challenge?

So, how do you score points in Arlington? Well, one way is by playing melds, which means creating sets or runs of cards and placing them onto the table. The strategic decisions you make while building your melds can significantly impact your chances of winning. Additionally, players can earn points by going “rummy” — a clever move where you discard your entire hand in one go. Talk about a winning strategy!

Getting Started: The Setup

First things first, let’s set up the game. Shuffle two decks of cards, including the joker, and deal each player a 13-card hand. The remaining cards go into a draw pile at the center of the table. Keep in mind that there won’t be a discard pile in this game; all cards will either be held in your hand or strategically played into your melds. Are you still with me?

Understanding Card Rankings, Scores, and Values

Hey there! Let’s dive into the wonderful world of card games and discover all the exciting details about rummy. Are you ready? Great, let’s get started!

First things first, let’s talk about the ranking of the cards in rummy. The mighty King takes the lead, followed by the elegant Queen, the charming Jack, and then we have the numbers from 10 to 2. Simple, right?

Now, let’s turn our attention to bonuses. Each hand in rummy comes with a special bonus for the players. For the first three hands, you’ll be rewarded with 100 points. But hold on, it gets even better! The bonus increases by 100 with each hand, reaching a whopping 500 points for the seventh hand. That’s quite a boost!

But wait, there’s more! Melded cards also come with their own point values. If you’re using jokers as wild cards, they’re worth 50 points. If you’ve got 2s as wild cards, they’ll grant you 25 points. Aces are quite valuable, giving you 15 points. Now, let’s zoom through the numbers. Kings through 10s are worth 10 points each, and from 9s to 3s, you’ll get 5 points per card. It’s like your cards have their own secret value code!

Now, let’s talk about those tricky situations when you still have cards in your hand after a hand has ended. Brace yourself, because you’ll lose some points. If you’ve got a joker, that means a loss of 100 points. A pair of 2s makes you lose 50 points, while Aces will cost you 15 points. Kings through 10s result in a loss of 10 points each, and finally, from 9s to 3s, you’ll lose 5 points per card. So be careful and aim for a clean slate!

Hold on tight, because that wraps up all the essential details about rummy! Now you’re ready to jump into the thrilling world of card games and master the art of rummy. Have fun and may the luckiest player win!

GAMEPLAY

In Arlington, we play a total of 7 hands. These hands can end in one of two ways: either a player goes rummy or the last card in the draw pile is taken. Either way, the hand will come to an end, and we will score points.

During the hands, we take turns in a clockwise manner.

Every turn, I will draw a card from the draw pile. Then, I have the option to exchange a non-wild card from my hand for any Jokers or 2s that are being used as wild cards in melds. Let’s say my opponent has a meld of 3, 4, Joker, 6, and I have a 5 in my hand. I can trade my 5 for the Joker in the meld. It’s important to note that I can only do this with my opponent’s melds, not my own or my partner’s. I also cannot trade for 2s or Jokers that are not being used as wild cards. Once I make the exchange, I can play the exchanged card at any time.

When I’m playing a game of meld, it’s important to have a contract meld. This allows me to interact with other melds, which adds to the excitement and strategy of the game. If I haven’t played a contract meld yet, I need to do so now.

If I’ve already played a contract meld in a previous turn, then I have the option to play another one now or to play 1-2 cards from my hand onto other melds that I or my partner own. This allows me to further develop my strategy and potentially score more points.

After playing my meld or cards, if I still have more than one card in my hand, I will choose one to show to the table. Then, starting with the player on my left, I will ask if they want to see the revealed card. If they do, I will give it to them. If not, I will ask the remaining players. If no one wants the card, I can keep it in my hand for future use.

However, if I only have one card in my hand, I don’t need to go through this process. Instead, I can simply state that I only have one card and keep it to myself.

In the game, there are special cards called aces and wild cards (jokers and 2s). These special cards can only be offered to the player on your left. If they decide to take the special card, they will skip their draw step on their turn. If they don’t take it, they keep it in their hand.

The Game’s End

The game comes to a close once all 7 hands have been completed. The player who has accumulated the most points throughout the game is declared the winner.

The game ends when all 7 hands have been completed. The player with the most points wins the game.