| Round | Players: | Deal | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
International is a variant of Contract Rummy played with 2 decks, taking roughly an hour. Each round, play moves clockwise, with players taking turns drawing and discarding, hoping to meet the criteria for the given round. These criteria change each round, and are given in the left column.
After the dealer shuffles (dealership shifts left each round), each player is dealt a hand of cards (number of cards is shown next to the round), and a card is flipped up. The player to the left of the leader begins the round.
At the start of each turn, players draw one card, and discard one card. After drawing, a player may meld provided they are able to.
Once you have achieved the necessary criteria for the round, you may lay down exactly the cards that fit those criteria. You cannot add "extra" groups or runs after doing this, or replace cards in these groups.
G represents a group, which is comprised of three same-valued cards, and R represents a run, represented by 4 ascending cards of the same suit.
Players also have the option to "buy" out of turn. Once somebody has discarded (or at the start of the round), you can ask to buy, and pick up the card and an extra card from the top, but cannot discard.
Buying priority goes by whose turn is closest to the player who has discarded, and newly-uncovered cards can be bought. A player can buy multiple times, but cannot buy once somebody has begun their turn.
Ace is the highest value card, and 3 is the lowest; 2 is a wild card, which can take the place of any other card (but cannot, itself, be a 2). There is no "going around the corner" (i.e. run of Ace, 3, 4, 5).
In following turns (not the same one as you have just laid down), you may play cards on any other groups/runs that have been laid down (i.e. play a 10 on a group of 10s, or a King of Diamonds on a run of 9, 10, Jack, Queen)
Once somebody has gotten rid of all of their cards (obtaining 0 points), all other players SCORE the cards in their hand:
Points are bad; the player with the most points after the final round loses, and the player with the least wins.