BICYCLE’S KALUKI

Hey there, let’s talk about Kaluki, a really fun card game you can play with 2 to 4 people! There are lots of different ways to play this game, but the rule set from Bicycle is pretty special because it has a unique twist – you need the same contract for each round!

So, here’s how it works: before you can start laying down any cards or melds on the table, your first meld must be worth at least 51 points. That’s the minimum! Once you reach that, you can start building your collection of cards on the table. The goal is to be the first player to get rid of all your cards or discard your very last one. Nice and simple, right?

Now, here’s where it gets interesting: once a round is over, you get to earn points for any cards that are still left in your opponents’ hands. Pretty cool, huh? And don’t worry, the game keeps going until one lucky player reaches a score of 250 points or more. When that happens, they’re crowned the ultimate champion!

THE CARDS & THE DEAL

Hey there! Ready to learn how to play Kaluki? Here’s what you need to do: grab two full decks of cards (don’t forget the Jokers!) and shuffle all 108 cards together. Once you’ve done that, deal 15 cards to each player. Now, take the remaining cards and place them face down in the middle of the table. Flip over the top card to start the discard pile. The player to the left of the dealer goes first – that’s the eldest hand.

MELDS

Now, let’s talk about melds. There are two types of melds in Kaluki: sets and runs.

SET

A set is when you have three or more cards of the same rank. Since we’re playing with two decks, it’s possible to have more than one card of the same suit in a set. For example, you could have 3♠ 3♠ 3♥ in a set. If you want to make things more challenging, you can even require sets to contain no more than one card from each suit. It’s up to you!

RUNS

In this game we call Rummy, a “run” means having three or more cards that are all the same suit and go in order. It’s important to know that Aces can be high (Q K A) or low (A 2 3). But be careful! Going around the corner, like having a run of Q K A 2 3, is not allowed.

Let’s talk about Jokers now. Jokers can be used as stand-ins for any card you need to complete a run. The Joker takes on the value of the card it’s replacing. To make things a bit tougher, you can challenge players to complete runs with more natural cards and fewer Jokers.

When a meld (a set of cards) includes a Joker, another player has the option to replace that Joker with the actual card it represents. But don’t worry, they have to immediately use the Joker to create their own meld. This doesn’t mean they have to finish their starting meld right away, but they do have to play it as soon as they replace the Joker.

Now let’s talk about how to play the game.

When it’s my turn to play, I start by drawing a card. Usually, I can only draw from the top of the draw pile. However, there are two exceptions to this rule. First, if I have already laid down my Opening Meld, I can draw from the discard pile instead. Second, if I can use the top card of the discard pile to create my Opening Meld right away, I can also draw from there.

Let’s talk about the Opening Meld. The first meld I play must have a value of 51 points or more. To determine the value of a meld, I add up the individual cards. Number cards are worth their face value, court cards are worth 10 points each, Aces are worth 15 points, and Jokers are worth the same as the card they replace. I have to meet the requirement of 51 points or more with a single meld.

Once I’ve played my Opening Meld, I can continue with my turn.

Once I’ve played my opening meld, I can grab the top card from the discard pile at the beginning of my turn. If I want to, I can also start putting down cards on other players’ melds. All I have to do is give the card to my opponent, and they’ll add it to their meld.

We keep playing in a clockwise direction until one of us gets rid of all our cards. That’s called going out. Going out doesn’t mean I have to discard a card. Once I’ve gone out, the round is done.

SCORING

If I go out, I earn points for the cards left in my opponents’ hands. Number cards are worth their value, court cards are worth 10 points each, Aces are worth 15 points each, and Jokers are worth 25 points each.

WINNING

We pass the deal to the left at the start of each round. The first person to reach 250 points wins the game. If we want a longer game, we can play until someone gets 500 points.