Rummikub

About this board game

Rummikub is a tile game for 2–4 players with an approximately 60-minute playing time. Players race to get rid of all their tiles by arranging numbers into runs of three or more, or into groups of three or four of a kind.

Like card-based Rummy, Rummikub uses colors in a way similar to card suits. The game may begin quietly, but as more tiles enter play, each turn can offer increasingly complex, challenging, and exciting possibilities.

• Form runs of three or more numbered tiles.
• Create groups of three or four of a kind.
• Work toward playing every tile in your possession.

Ephraim Hertzano invented the game in the 1940s, when card-playing was outlawed under the Communist regime. After World War II, he immigrated to the British Mandate of Palestine, now Israel, where he developed the first sets with his family. The game is listed with a 1950 release year.

The Hertzano family later licensed Rummikub in other countries, and it became Israel’s best-selling export game. In Turkey, it is known as Okey and is widely played at family gatherings and local cafés.

Hertzano’s Official Rummikub Book, published in 1978, described American, Sabra, and International versions. Modern sets include only the Sabra rules, although rule details can vary between publishers. With its shifting possibilities and simple objective, Rummikub turns numbered tiles into an engaging and ever-changing tabletop challenge.