Games Articles

Article / Updated 10-31-2023

Listen to the article:Download audio Rummy is a card game in which you try to improve the hand that you’re originally dealt. You can do this whenever it’s your turn to play, either by drawing cards from a pile (or stock) or by picking up the card thrown away by your opponent and then discarding a card from your hand. You can play rummy with two or more players (for six or more players, you need a second deck of cards). You'll also need a paper and pencil for scoring. This article helps you learn how to play rummy and other basics, including rules, scoring, and how to win! Don't have time to read the entire article? Jump to the quick read summary. The objective of rummy Your aim is to put (or meld) your cards into two types of combinations: Runs: Consecutive sequences of three or more cards of the same suit Sets (or books): Three or four cards of the same rank. If you are using two decks, a set may include two identical cards of the same rank and suit. This figure shows some legitimate rummy combinations. This figure shows an unacceptable combination. This run is illegal because all cards in a run must be of the same suit. The rules for rummy — unlike the majority of other card games — state that aces can be high or low, but not both. So, runs involving the ace must take the form A-2-3 or A-K-Q but not K-A-2. The first person who manages to make their whole hand into combinations one way or another, with one card remaining to discard, wins the game. How to play rummy Follow these rummy card game rules and instructions below to understand how to play rummy from start to finish: Each player is dealt a certain number of cards from the deck. According to the rummy rules, 2 player game, or rummy for 3 players, each person gets 10 cards. That's also true for 4 players. When playing with five players, each player gets six cards. With more than five players, you must use two decks of cards and a hand of seven cards. The two-player game can also be played with seven cards each. Designate a scorer and a dealer at the start of the game. Then, the dealer deals out the hands and puts the undealt cards face-down on the center of the table as the stock, placing the top card, turned upward, beside the stock as the first card of the discard pile. The player to the left of the dealer plays first. They can either pick up the card on the discard pile or the top card from the stock. If they can meld some of their cards, combining them into runs or sets (as described above), they can put these down on the table. If not, they discard one card from their hand, face-up onto the discard pile, and the turn of play moves to the next player. The next player can either pick up the last card the previous player discarded or the top card from the stock. They can then meld some or all of their cards and put them down in combinations. The play continues clockwise around the table. When the stock runs out, shuffle the discard pile and set it up again. Laying Off A player can put down a card (or cards) on the table that fits with another player's melds already on the table. This is called laying off. The player who is laying off places the card on the table where they are sitting. As an example, if Player A has put down a meld that has three sevens, Player B could put down a seven from their hand. Other rules of rummy and tips Now that you know the objective of the game and the basic instructions to play, here is a small list of other official rules of rummy, and common tips to abide by: You cannot pick up the top discard and then throw the card back onto the pile. If you pick up two cards from the stock by accident and see either of them, you must put the bottom card back, which gives the next player an additional option. They can look at the returned card and take it if they want it. If they don't want it, they put it back into the middle of the stock and continue with their turn by taking the next card from the stock. When you pick up a card from the stock that you don’t want, don’t throw it away immediately. Put the card into your hand and then extract it. No player, regardless of skill level, needs to give gratuitous information away. Once you've mastered the game of rummy, you might want to try the slightly more interesting and challenging gin rummy. Rummying with wild cards You can play rummy with wild cards by adding jokers to the deck, or you can make the 2s or some other number wild. You can substitute the card represented by a wild card when it is your turn to play. So, if a combination including a joker, standing in for the king of clubs is put on the table, the next player can put in the king of clubs and pick up the joker for use elsewhere. If you put down two 8s and a joker, you do not have to announce which 8 the joker represents, but with a run, such as 5-6-joker, the assumption is that the joker represents the 7. When playing with wild cards, you may not want to put combinations containing wild cards down immediately; you don’t want to give another player the use of a wild card by way of the substitution. Of course, if you feel obliged to put down the set or run, try to ensure that the card your wild card replaces has already been played in some other set or run. Going out and tallying your score The first player to be able to put seven of the eight cards in their hand into combinations (including the card that they pick up in their current turn), or ten of their 11 cards, as the case may be, goes out (places all their cards on the table) and wins. You discard your remaining card as you go out, usually having made the others into one combination of four and one combination of three. You do not have to make the plays at one turn; you may have put down some cards into sets already, of course. If your last two cards are two 7s, and you pick up a third 7, most people play that you can go out by making a set, without needing a final discard. The winner collects points from all the other players. They base their point total on the remaining cards in the other players’ hands, regardless of whether the cards make up completed combinations or not — which is a good reason to put down melds as soon as you get them. The players put their cards face-up on the table and call out how many points they have left for the winner. You score the cards according to the following scale: 2s through 10s get their face value, meaning, for example, that a 5 is worth 5 points. Jacks, queens, and kings receive 10 points apiece. Wild cards cost you 15 points each, if you are playing with them. Aces, in keeping with their lowly status during the game, charge you 1 point only. For example, if you’re left holding ♠K, ♦K, ♦Q, and ♣A at the end of the game, the winner of the game scores 31 points. With more than two players, the winner cumulates the points from all the other players. Laying all your cards down in one turn is called going rummy, which doubles your score; obviously, the availability of this bonus affects your decision to put down combinations earlier rather than later. If you think that you can claim this bonus, you may want to delay putting down your combinations. The first player to score 100 points is the winner. For a longer game, you can play to 250 points. Simple rummy strategy When you first start playing rummy, you may find that putting your cards into combinations is quite challenging. The best strategy is to aim for melds that have the best chance for completion. The cards in your hand and on the table give you information about your chances for completing certain combinations. For example, if you can keep only two cards from the ♠7, ♠8, and ♣8, and you’ve already used the ♦8 in another run, you should keep the spades because you have two chances for success this way — the ♠6 or the ♠9. Keeping the two 8s gives you only one possible draw, the ♥8. Another typical problem is knowing when to break up a pair in order to increase your chances elsewhere. For example, imagine that you have to discard from a collection such as the one shown in the figure below. The solution to this problem is to throw the ♥10 away. Keeping your two pairs gives you a reasonable chance to make three of a kind, and the ♥10 gives you only a single chance of making a combination — by drawing the ♥9. In general, you don’t want to split up your pairs. But life (or at least Rummy) isn’t always so simple. Suppose that you have the cards shown in the figure below. If you need to throw out one card, throw a 4 away. The ♠7 is a useful building card, meaning that it fits well with the ♠8; mathematics says that the nest of 7s and 8s gives you four possible cards with which to make a combination (the ♠9, ♠6, ♣8, and ♥8). You have the same number of options if you throw the ♠7 away and keep the two pairs. But the real merit in throwing away one of the 4s is the degree of freedom you attain for a future discard. By throwing one 4 away, you allow yourself to pick up another potentially useful building card (such as the ♠7) at your next turn, and then you can throw away the other 4. By contrast, throwing away the ♠7 fixes your hand and gives you no flexibility. The odds favor your draw to the run rather than your hopes for a set. When you make a run, you can build on it at either end. A set, on the other hand, has only one possible draw. For this reason, be careful about which cards you discard. If you must give your opponent a useful card, try to let them have the sets of three or four of a kind instead of helping them build their runs. Keeping your eye on the discard pile You can’t go through a game of rummy thinking only about the cards in your hand — you also need to watch the cards thrown into the discard pile. Monitoring the discard pile helps you keep track of whether the cards you’re hoping to pick up have already been thrown away. For example, if you have to keep two cards from the ♠7, ♠8, and ♣8, consider whether the ♠6, ♠9, or ♥8 has already been discarded. If both spades have already gone, you have no chance of picking them up — at least not until you work your way through the entire stock, at which point you may get a second chance at the cards when the deck is reshuffled. In such a stuck position, you should settle for a realistic chance, however slim, of picking up the last 8 by discarding the ♠7. Try to avoid drawing to an inside run — keeping, for example, a 3 and a 5 in the hopes of drawing the 4. Holding onto builders (cards that may be helpful elsewhere) is better than relying on a single card. You can’t review the discard pile for clues. You have to remember which cards were thrown away — or be very adept at taking stealthy peeks at the discarded evidence! Thinking about your opponents’ hands Contemplating what your opponent has in their hand helps you make smarter choices about what cards you should discard. After all, you don’t want to throw away that ♥K if your opponent can use it to complete a run with the ♥Q and ♥J. You compile a picture of your opponent’s hand by reading the negative and positive messages you get from their plays. For example, if you see your opponent throw away the ♥Q, you can be sure that they aren’t collecting queens. That information in itself doesn’t make discarding any queen safe, however, because they may be collecting high diamonds. But if do you subsequently throw down the ♥Q, and they pick it up, their action provides you with an informative message; you can safely infer that they are collecting high diamonds. Quick Read Summary Rummy is an engaging card game that challenges players to enhance their initial hand. Whether you're a beginner or an experienced player, understanding how to play rummy is essential. Here, we'll walk you through the basics, including rules, scoring, and strategies to win. Objective of rummy The goal of rummy is to create combinations of cards in two main categories: runs and sets (or books). Runs: These consist of consecutive sequences of three or more cards of the same suit. Sets (books): Sets are comprised of three or four cards of the same rank. When using two decks, a set can include two identical cards of the same rank and suit. Basic rules of rummy Dealing: The number of cards dealt varies based on the number of players. In games with 2 to 4 players, each player receives 10 cards, while 5 or more players require two decks, and each player gets 7 cards. Setup: Designate a scorer and a dealer. The remaining cards form the stock, with the top card placed face-up beside it as the discard pile. Gameplay: Players take turns clockwise. On their turn, they can draw a card from the discard pile or the stock. If possible, they can lay down combinations (runs or sets) on the table. Otherwise, they must discard a card onto the discard pile. Laying off: Players can add cards to existing combinations on the table, a move called "laying off." For example, if a player has three sevens on the table, another player can put down the fourth seven from their hand. Additional rules and tips You can't pick up a discarded card and immediately throw it back. If you accidentally pick up two stock cards and see either, put the bottom card back for the next player. If you don’t want a card you’ve just picked up from the stock, don’t throw it away immediately. Place the card in your hand, and then extract it. This prevents other players from knowing whether you kept that card. When playing with wild cards, like jokers, they can substitute any card. Scoring and winning The first player to be able to put all of their cards into combinations on the table and discard their remaining card goes out, and wins the game. You play several games until one player reaches 100 points and wins. You can also play a longer game to 250 points. Points are based on card values: 2-10 cards are worth face value, face cards (Jacks, Queens, Kings) are 10 points, wild cards are 15 points each, and Aces are 1 point. Going out in one turn ("going rummy") doubles your score. Players tally their points based on their remaining cards, and the winner collects points from others. Strategy in Rummy Aim for melds with the best chance of completion. Consider the cards in your hand and on the table when deciding which cards to keep or discard. Prioritize runs over sets, as they offer more opportunities for expansion. Be cautious about giving your opponents useful cards. Monitor the discard pile to gauge which cards have been discarded. Think about your opponents' possible combinations based on their plays. Rummy is a game of strategy, skill, and observation. As you gain experience, you'll refine your tactics and develop a deeper understanding of your opponents' hands. With these fundamentals in mind, you're ready to enjoy the exciting world of rummy and aim for victory! Hungry for more? Go back and read the article or check out the book.

Article / Updated 10-27-2023

In bridge, bidding is an exchange of information. During bidding, you're trying to telegraph details about your cards to your partner. Your first impulse may be to develop some special bidding conventions that only you and your partner know. According to the rules of the game, however, you can't have any bidding secrets with your partner; the same goes for your opponents. So even though the opponents may be bidding their heads off, you at least will know what their bids mean. Here are some tips to help you keep your bidding on the straight and narrow: Do try to use the minimum number of words possible when you bid. If you want to pass, say just one word: "Pass." If you want to bid 3♣, say "Three clubs." No more, no less. Do be careful about how you use your voice. You may be tempted to bid softly if you have a weak hand or loudly if you have a strong one. Remember to keep all your bids at the same decibel level. Don't use body language. If your partner makes a bid you don't like, don't throw any looks across the table and don't use any negative body language. If your partner makes a bid that you do like, you also must refrain from any telltale signs of glee. Don't give in to emotional reactions or breakdowns, no matter what happens during the bidding. Bridge is too great a game to mess it up with illegal signals, so keep an even keel.

Article / Updated 10-27-2023

This handy table for bridge players shows how many points you score if you make your contract. Your bridge score depends upon which suit you end up in (including notrump) and how many tricks you take. For example, if spades are trumps and you bid for eight tricks and you take exactly eight tricks, read across the spade line to see that you scored 60 points. If you don't make your contract, you don't have to worry about this table because you don't score any points, the opponents do! Note: Game = 100 points. There are bonuses for bidding and for making 100 points or more on one hand. Tricks Taken 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 Notrump 40 70 100 130 160 190 220 Spades 30 60 90 120 150 180 210 Hearts 30 60 90 120 150 180 210 Diamonds 20 40 60 80 100 120 140 Clubs 20 40 60 80 100 120 140

Article / Updated 10-27-2023

In bridge, bidding is considered the most important aspect of the game. It's a given that a good bidder equals a winning bridge player. Here are a few bidding tips to start you off: Before opening, add your high card points (HCP): Ace = 4, King = 3, Queen = 2, Jack = 1. With 12 or more HCP, open the bidding. To open 1♥ or 1♠, you need at least five cards in the suit. With two five-card suits, open in the higher-ranking suit first. The rank of the suits, from highest to lowest, is spades, hearts, diamonds, clubs. With two four-card suits, one a major (hearts or spades), one a minor (diamonds or clubs), open in the minor. With two four-card minors, open 1♦. Open 1NT with 15 to 17 HCP plus a balanced hand (no voids, singletons, or two doubletons). If your partner opens, pass with fewer than 6 HCP. With 6 or more HCP, bid your longest suit at the one level, if possible. Responding at the two level in a new suit requires 11 or more HCP. A response of 1NT shows 6 to 10 HCP and denies a four-card major if your partner opens 1♣ or 1♦. Supporting your partner's first bid major suit requires three or more cards in the suit; supporting any second bid suit requires four or more cards in the suit. A primary objective in bidding is to locate an eight-card or longer major suit fit between your hand and your partner's.

Article / Updated 10-27-2023

Each hand of bridge is divided into four phases, which always occur in the same order: dealing, bidding for tricks, playing the hand, and scoring. Dealing Someone (anyone) shuffles the deck, and then each player takes one card and places it face-up on the table. The player with the highest card is the dealer. He shuffles the cards and hands them to the player to his right, who cuts them and returns them to the dealer. The cards are dealt one at a time, starting with the player to the dealer's left and moving in a clockwise rotation until each player has 13 cards. Bidding for tricks In this phase, players bid for the number of tricks they think they can take. (It's like being at an auction.) Because each player has 13 cards, 13 tricks must be fought over and won in each hand. The bidding starts with the dealer and moves to his left in a clockwise rotation. Each player gets a chance to bid, and a player can either bid or pass when it's his turn. The least you can bid is for seven tricks, and the maximum you can bid is for all 13. The bidding goes around and around the table, with each player either bidding or passing until three players in a row say "Pass" after some bid has been made. Playing the hand The player who buys the contract, determined by the bidding, is called the declarer. The declarer is the one who will play the hand. The player seated to the left of the declarer puts down the first card face up in the middle of the table; this is the opening lead. The play moves clockwise. The next player, the dummy, places her cards face-up on the table in four vertical rows, one row for each suit, and completely bows out of the action. In other words, only three people are playing. Once the lead is on the table, the declarer plays any card from dummy in the suit that was led; third hand does the same, and fourth hand, the declarer, also does the same. Whoever has played the highest card in the suit wins the trick and leads any card in any suit desired to the next trick. The same process goes on for all 13 tricks. The rule is you have to follow suit if you have a card in the suit that has been led. If you don't have a card in that suit, you can throw away (discard) any card you wish from another suit, usually some worthless card. After 13 tricks have been played, each team counts up the number of tricks it has won. Scoring After the smoke clears and the tricks are counted, you know soon enough whether the declarer's team made its contract by taking at least the number of tricks they bid. You then register the score. The deal moves in a clockwise manner; the player to the left of the person who has dealt the previous hand deals the next one.

Article / Updated 10-27-2023

In the following example, you can see the bids each bridge player makes during a sample bidding sequence. You don’t see the cards on which each player bases his or her bid — they aren’t important for now. Just follow the bidding around the table, noting how each bid is higher than the one before it. Assume that you’re in the South position. South (You) West North (Your Partner) East 1♥ Pass 2♣ 2♦ 3♣ 3♦ 4♥ Pass Pass Pass After your opening 1♥ bid, West passes and your partner (North) bids 2♣. East joins in with a bid of 2♦, a bid that is higher than 2♣. When it’s your turn to bid again, you show support for your partner’s clubs by bidding 3♣. Then West comes to life and supports East’s diamonds by bidding 3♦. Your partner (don’t forget your partner) chimes in with 4♥, a bid that silences everybody. Both East and West decide to pass, just as they would at an auction when the bidding gets too rich for their blood. It has been a somewhat lively auction, and your side has bought the contract with your partner’s 4♥ bid, which means you need to take ten tricks to make your contract. (Remember, a book — six tricks — is automatically added to the bid.) If you don’t make your contract, the opponents score penalty points and you get zilch. The final contract of 4♥ also designates hearts as the trump suit. Keep in mind the following points about the bidding sequence: Each bid made is higher ranking than the previous bid. A player can pass on the first round and bid later (as West did), or a player can bid on the first round and pass later (as East did). After a bid has been made and three players in a row pass, the bidding is over.

Article / Updated 10-20-2023

Sorry to break the news to you, but as yet no one has come up with software that can play bridge at an expert level. However, the quality of the software continues to improve. The beginner bridge programs give you a chance to practice your bidding, card play, and defense without risking the embarrassment of an angry partner. A computer program allows an additional benefit: You can always have the last word by simply quitting the program! Computer bridge programs, like everything else to do with computers, change fast enough to make your head spin. You can find many new bridge programs wherever you buy software online. Learn to Play Bridge with Audrey Grant Learn to Play Bridge with Audrey Grant is for the absolute beginner. Grant, a top international instructor, reads the lessons while you focus on the hands and the colorful graphics. The software includes 29 interactive quizzes and a progress screen to track your results. Introduction to Bridge: Play & Learn with Pat Harrington Pat Harrington offers two programs in easy-to-use interactive lessons, starting with the absolute basics in lessons 1 to 6 and progressing to topics such as rebids, takeout doubles, preempts, and more in lessons 7 to 13. Learn Bridge CD Learn Bridge uses video, sound, and animation to present 40 interactive lessons on basics, bidding, and defense. It comes with an unlimited number of practice quizzes for players at the beginner or intermediate level. Learn to Play Bridge I & II The Learn to Play Bridge series includes two programs, and both are available as free downloads through the American Contract Bridge League (ACBL). The first program is a comprehensive course in bridge, designed for people who have never played but want to learn the game. The second program takes the beginner to the intermediate level. Both of the Learn to Play Bridge programs contain excellent graphics and hundreds of quizzes and other interactive exercises. These programs are a fun and effective way to study the game. They were written by Fred Gittelman, a world-class player and a world-class programmer. Note: The programs are available for Windows only.

Article / Updated 10-20-2023

Setting up your chessboard is the first step in playing a game of chess. Take your time setting up the board, until you’re confident that you know where everything goes: The rooks go on the corner squares. Place the knights next to the rooks. Put the bishops on the board next to the knights. After the bishops come the queens. The queens always start on the square of the same shade — the white queen starts on a light square, and the black queen starts on a dark square. Place the kings next to the queens, which is only fitting. Add the pawns straight across the rank in front of the other pieces.

Article / Updated 10-20-2023

Some chess pieces are more powerful than others. Some are stronger than others. The element of material is concerned with this relative strength of the pieces. It is quite common to see advantages in other elements converted into an advantage in material, because an advantage in material is the easiest advantage to convert into a win. Value your pawns and pieces Each pawn or piece has a numerical value. The pawn is the basic unit of chess and is assigned a numerical value of one. The other pieces are evaluated in those same terms. Therefore, if a pawn is worth one point, a knight is worth more: three points. In other words, you lose two points in the element of material if you trade a knight for a pawn. You would need to capture three enemy pawns (or one knight) to compensate for the loss of your knight. The relative values of the pieces are shown in Table 1. Table 1: The Relative Values of Chess Pieces (in terms of the pawn) Piece Value Pawn 1 Knight 3 Bishop 3 Rook 5 Queen 9 Assigning a value to the king is not possible because its loss means the loss of the game! Material superiority is decisive when all other things are equal. If you can win one pawn, winning another or forcing further concessions from your opponent is often possible. Things are rarely equal in chess, though, and it's sometimes impossible to correctly evaluate when an advantage in material matters more than an advantage in some other element. Is it worth a pawn to gain space? Usually, only experience can answer this kind of question. Pieces themselves can gain or lose power depending upon their positioning. Having an advanced pawn deep in enemy territory may be far more important than having a measly knight tucked away in a corner. A bishop locked behind its own pawns may not be worth a fraction of a free roaming knight. These values are relative and can change many times over the course of the game. Nevertheless, remembering the piece's relative value when you consider trading it for another is a useful guide. If you give up your queen for a pawn, you'd better have a darned good reason! Material strategies A good rule is to exchange pieces when you have an advantage in material. This strategy is referred to as simplification. For example, if you have an extra pawn, but both you and your opponent have a bishop, it's usually easier to win if you trade your bishop for your opponent's and play the rest of the game with just kings and pawns. Material superiority takes on added importance the closer you come to an endgame. A single pawn advantage may mean little in the opening — but it may be decisive in the endgame. This strategy illustrates how you can force additional concessions from your opponents. If you keep offering to exchange pieces, and your opponents keep refusing, they will be forced to retreat. The result? You wind up with a spatial advantage, too! Because exchanges are desired by the side with an edge in material, it's logical to avoid them if you are behind. The intentional loss of material in return for an advantage in another element is referred to as a sacrifice. Sacrifices are near and dear to the heart of chess players who know that — should they not obtain an immediate advantage — time will work against them. The closer you get to an endgame, the more important the extra material becomes. This risky maneuver is considered courageous by some and foolhardy by others. You can often tell a lot about chess players by watching how they risk or conserve their material! Material matters The following rules are meant to serve as guidelines and not as rigid rules. Every time chess players try to devise a rigid rule, some smart aleck comes along and breaks it! Nevertheless, it is useful to at least think about the concepts presented here: When ahead in material, force exchanges and steer towards the endgame. Simplify! Open files and diagonals when possible so that you may use them to engage the enemy and force further concessions. If possible, win material without sacrificing in some other element. Material is usually more important than other elements, so take it if it is offered — unless you have a really good reason not to. If you are behind in material, avoid exchanging additional pieces, but do not become passive. You must attack!

Article / Updated 08-16-2023

Before you can play a game of chess, you need to know how to move the pieces (legally). A chess piece’s power is tied to its mobility. The more mobile a piece is, the more powerful it is. Here's how the various pieces can move: Pawns: Pawns can only move forward. On their first move, they can move one or two squares. Afterwards, they can move only one square at a time. They can capture an enemy piece by moving one square forward diagonally. They can only move diagonally when capturing an enemy piece. Bishops: Bishops can move any number of squares diagonally. Knights: Knights can move only in an L-shape, one square up and two over, or two squares over and one down, or any such combination of one-two or two-one movements in any direction. Rooks: Rooks can move any number of squares, up and down and side to side. Queens: Queens can move any number of squares along ranks, files and diagonals. Kings: Kings can move one square at a time in any direction.