by Kim Park

Created on: March 18, 2009   Last Updated: May 24, 2012

HOW TO PLAY RUMMOLI

Rummoli? What is that? I know this may be a game that not many people have heard of but that does not mean it isn't worth checking out. Rummoli is a great game that is easy to play and can be played by the young and old, with many or with few. It works well for those rainy days or for some after dinner family time.

It is one of my all time favourite card games (besides Cribbage) which I have been playing ever since I can remember. At first it was a game my family only played at our cottage, placing candles nearby so we could continue playing through the regular power outages, but then we got a board for our home and it's always coming out after dinner at home with the folks. Although this game can be played for money (and I've heard the story of my great-grandmother pulling out her empty change purse just to play rummoli many times) in my family we always just play for fun, with poker chips and a communal pot of pennies.

All you need to play Rummoli is:

- A set of regular playing cards with the jokers removed

- A Rummoli board, which can be purchased inexpensively at any games store or online

- Some poker chips or something else that can be used the same way, such as coins or beads

- Pennies, which are equal to 5 poker chips, just to make the game go a little longer without having to hold too many poker chips

- Lastly you need some people that want to play! Although you can play with as little as two players, I would recommend 4 or more (up to 8) for the most fun

THE RUMMOLI BOARD

The Rummoli board is divided into 8 outer sections of different card combinations and then the centre Rummoli' area. The eight outer sections are as follows: Ace of Spades; Ace-King of Diamonds; 7-8-9 Sequence (same suit); Poker Pot; Ten of Spades; Jack of Diamonds; Queen of Clubs; and King of Hearts. These are the different card combinations that the player wants to have in their hand and play to earn more chips. How this will happen is explained below.

Rummoli boards can be either some type of paper/plastic board that is folded and put away when not in use or you can also find much fancier boards made of wood. I have seen some really nice boards where the different sections are actually carved down into bowl shapes so that the chips cannot slide between the different sections as can happen on the flat boards. You could also make yourself a board from a large piece of paper or even an old table cloth. Just find a picture of the board online and copy the sections out for

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