BRAND NEW GAME!!!

PLAYING THE GAME

The game is played with all 162 cards provided with your box set.

DETERMINING SEATING AND FIRST DEAL.

To start the game the cards are shuffled (usually by two persons splitting the STACK) and the entire STACK is placed back in the discard tray.  Then each person cuts the card STACK revealing a card. Seating and dealing order are determined by the cards drawn. Highest to lowest with JOKERS being the highest followed by A’s moving all the way down to 2s. The person with the highest cut is the dealer.

THE CUT

Once everyone is seated, the person to the dealer’s right has the opportunity to try to get THE CUT. After cards are re-shuffled that person to the dealer’s right tries to cut the cards to the EXACT number of cards needed to deal 11 to each player PLUS one for the flip card that starts the play. 45 cards for 4 persons, 56 cards for 5 persons and 67 cards for 6 persons. The cards are then dealt and if the exact number of cards in the cut given to the dealer equals 11 cards per player plus the FLIP CARD, then that person gets THE CUT, and all other persons get a 50-point penalty against them on the score pad. This adds a super fun carnival aspect to play. The cut takes place every round.  The deal and cut are then passed onto a new person every round moving clockwise.

THE GAME BEGINS

The person to the dealer’s left starts the play. They have the choice to either take the exposed FLIP CARD or draw the face down card on the top of the STACK. 

There is also a chance for other persons to “BUY” the exposed card – but we will explain this a little later.

The goal of the game is to collect SETS and RUNS. 

A SET is a group of THREE or more cards of the same value – they do not need to be in the same suit.

A RUN is a group of FOUR or more cards in running order in the same suit.  All cards must be of the same suit.

For a person to GO DOWN you must collect a certain number of Sets and Runs depending on which round you are playing as follows: 

ROUND ONE:  Two Sets - SET SET

ROUND TWO:    One Set and One Run - SET RUN

ROUND THREE:   Two Runs - RUN RUN

ROUND FOUR:   Three Sets – SET SET SET

ROUND FIVE:   Two Sets & One Run -  SET SET RUN

ROUND SIX:  One Set & Two Runs – SET RUN RUN

ROUND SEVEN:   Three Runs - RUN RUN RUN 

THE ROUND CLICKER

The ROUND CLICKER is essential and changed after each round to keep persons on track as to what round they are playing. Very common for persons to think they are playing the incorrect round – so pay attention to it .  

ACES

In RUNS aces can be high or low and used next to the 2 or the King. But you cannot wrap around the ace – it must be either high or low and sits on the end of a run. 

JOKERS

And as you might have guessed – Jokers are wild and can be played as any card to complete a SETor a RUN. 

There are a couple of other rules regarding Jokers, and we will get to those in just a bit.

GETTING ON THE BED

Persons take turns in order and once a person has compiled the required Sets or Runs in their hand - depending on the round – they can then put their cards down on the table face up showing their prospective Runs and/or Sets. This is called GOING DOWN – Or GETTING ON THE BED.  This does not end the game. Play continues and other persons usually also go down prior to the end of the round.  You can only play the specific number of SETS and RUNS in that round. 

You cannot play any additional SETS or RUNS but can play off both your and the other persons SETS and/or RUNS on the table.

As play continues, any person that is ON THE BED can get rid of their other cards when it is their turn by playing on any run or set on the table. To discard onto the table a person must have a PLAYER – a card that matches a SET or plays at the front or back end of a RUN. 

Persons who are not down cannot play cards onto other persons’ cards.  They must wait till they are ON THE BED.

The hand ends when a person GOES OUT. This does NOT mean the person discards their last card into the discard tray. A person must go all the way out by playing all their cards onto the table. So, remember – to go all the way out you must have ALL PLAYERS in your hand. If you have a non-player in your hand, you cannot go out.  You discard the non-player, keep the player in your hand and wait till your next turn.

SCORING

The goal of Shanghai Rummy is to get the lowest score after the 7 rounds. The person who goes out each round scores a 0 for that round and gets a star on the score pad above the diagonal line for that round. All other persons count the cards remaining in their hands and add up the points indicated on the cards - as follows:

JOKERS  50 Points

Aces  20 Points

10’s and Face Cards 10 Points

2’s through 9’s  5 Points

On the score pad provided, write down each person’s score above the diagonal line for that round and then the total for all rounds played on the section below the diagonal line. The person who wins the round should have a star inserted above the diagonal line and their total below the line. 

If a person GOT THE CUT,then 50 extra points are added to all other person’s scores. 

THE SLAM 

A rare occurrence – and one of the most rewarding aspects of the game. This is when a person completes the SET or RUN 

requirements of the round and all the cards in their hand are PLAYERS, AND no other person is down yet. If they then pick up a final player in their draw, they can then SLAM their cards down on the table and the round is instantly over and all other persons will have a ton of points against them. Again, a rare event and usually only happens on the last three rounds of the game. But sooooooo sweet. 

BUYING CARDS

During each round all participants have the option to BUY the face up FLIP CARD or regular discard showing. If a person wants that card, they must shout out: “I’LL BUY!”  If they have priority to buy the card, they can then take it - but must draw TWO ADDITIONAL PENALTY CARDS from the face down STACK.  The person whose turn it is has first dibs on the discard for free. If they don’t want it, then another person can BUY the card.  If more than one person wants to buy a particular card – priority is determined by rotating clockwise from the player whose turn it is. But remember the person whose turn it is has the first priority and gets the card for free if they want it. 

All persons are limited to TWO BUYS PER ROUND.  After that you are SHOPPED OUT. 

To confirm how many buys you have left - count your cards. If you have 11 cards you have two buys left, 14 cards one buy left, and if you have 17 cards you are SHOPPED OUT and can no longer BUY. 

MORE JOKER RULES

1)  Jokers can be used in RUNS – but not next to each other. So a RUNcannot be 3, Joker, Joker 6 of spades. There must be a regular card between each joker in a RUN. 

2)  Jokers can be used anywhere in a SET.  

3)  And here is where you must start really thinking – sorry. Once you are ON THE BED, a joker on the table can be replaced by a card in your hand that is exactly what the Joker represents on the table. This only applies to RUNS. So, during your play if you are DOWN and then after you START YOUR PLAY, you can substitute a card in your hand for a JOKER in a played RUN. For example, if you have the 8 of diamonds in your hand and you see a JOKER on the table being used as the 8 of diamonds in a RUN, you can play your 8 of diamonds and then slip the JOKER out – BUT LEAVE IT ON THE TABLE – DO NOT PLACE IT IN YOUR HAND.  Then you can use it anywhere on the table (on a SET or RUN) you like - but it must be used this play before you discard or go out. Best if you can use the swapped-out JOKER to set up a bridge to play other cards in your hand at that time or in the future. 

4)  And just to reiterate – once ON THE BED you CANNOT switch out JOKERS in a SET – only in a RUN.

5)  Three JOKERS can be used to form a set – but  for god’s sake with that many Jokers - go for the SLAM. 

END OF RULES

SAMPLE SCORE SHEET

GLOSSARY OF TERMS 

AWARD SHELF – The blank space above the player’s names on the score pad where the CROWN and DUNCE CAP (Optional) are awarded at the end of the game.  

BUY – Each person gets up to two buys per round. They can BUY a discard but must take two penalty cards from the STACK. Priority to BUY starts at the person whose turn it is (who can take the card for free) and then moves clockwise around the table. 

CAROUSEL OF WAIT – where you will find yourself if you PREMATURE BUYALATE. If you BUY too soon and your buys don’t give you the cards you need to go down, then you just must wait as the game goes on to see if you still can go down by the regular cards you see or draw on each future turn. You are SHOPPED OUT and can no longer buy. 

CUT FOR SEAT POSITION – (Optional). Before the game starts you may also perform a separate CUT FOR SEAT POSITION. Or the CUT FOR DEAL can establish both seat position and deal. 

CUT FOR DEAL – Before the game starts, all persons should cut a portion of the stack exposing a card and the high card gets the first deal. Cut again for ties. This also determines who gets to try to GET THE CUT first – the person to the dealer’s right.

FLIP CARD – The first card that is flipped from the stack into the discard tray to start the ROUND.

GETTING ON THE BED – Once a person has met the specific SET and/or RUN requirements they can lay down their cards on the table. This is called GETTING ON THE BED or GOING DOWN.

GETTING THE CUT – Each round the person to the dealer’s right cuts the stack and gives that portion of cards to the dealer. And then if the exact number of cards - plus the flip card - is dealt leaving no other cards, then they succeed in GETTING THE CUT, and all other persons get 50 points against them for that round plus the regular points counted at the end of the round. 

GOING DOWN – This does not mean GOING OUT. This means GETTING ON THE BED or putting your SETs and/or RUNs on the table. 

GOING OUT – This is when a person has gotten rid of all their cards onto the table and has no more cards. A person must go out with all cards playing on the table– not in the discard tray. The round is then over and that player gets a 0 score (and a star on the score pad) for that round and the other players get the points against them that they still hold in their hands.  If a player GOT THE CUT, then 50 points is also added to all other person’s scores. 

I’LL BUY IT! – This is what a person must shout out if they want to buy a discard. The person whose turn it is has priority to take it for free. Priority for other persons to BUY then rotates clockwise. Only one person may buy per discard.  When buying, that person must also take two additional penalty cards from the STACK. 

JOKERS – Wild for any card.   No limit on the number of Jokers played in a SET. In a RUN there is also no limit, but you cannot have two Jokers next to each other - they must be separated by a regular card. Once fully down, you can also take advantage of any Joker on the table if you have a card that represents the exact position in a RUN. Take the Joker out and slip your card in – BUT YOU MUST LEAVE THE JOKER ON THE TABLE. DO NOT PUT IT INTO YOUR HAND. Then you must play that Joker on any SET or RUN on the table prior to discarding or going out.

JOKER FREE – A bragging right for any person who goes down without having any jokers. 

KILLING A JOKER – Once a person is ON THE BED, during their next turn they could draw an extra JOKER they can then play on any SET or RUN. If they play it on a RUN, then that extends options for all persons to play further on that RUN. But if they play it on a SET they basically KILL IT, as this does not extend playing options for anybody.  Selfish! 

LIGHTNING ROUND – the round SET SET SET is called the lightning round because it usually is super quick, super fun and involves a lot of quick BUYING. 

ONE AWAY – A card that is one card away from being able to be played on another person’s RUN. Smart to keep this type of card in your hand if you have that option.

PREMATURE BUYALATION – All players get up to two BUYS per round – but no more than two. These buys should help to get you down ON THE BED. But if you buy too soon…………..and are still holding all 17 cards and not ON THE BED, you have just PREMATURE BUYALATED and are SHOPPED OUT. You now must just sit on the CAROUSEL OF WAIT to see if you may be lucky enough to pick up the cards you need in each of your future turns. 

PLAYER - A card that matches any SET or fits onto any RUN in a persons hand or that has already been played on the table.

QUIET 55 – On the last hand of the game, if the leading person is more than 55 points ahead, they can act like a big, spoiled baby and QUIET 55. They basically just collect eleven 5 point cards and then sit on their hands waiting for the game to end and then claim their CROWN. A safe way to guarantee the win – but really?????

PARLAY – In Shanghai Rummy parlay means being able to play an additional SET on another person’s played SETS. If you have an extra set and can play them on other player’s cards who are down ON THE BED, you “parlay” them. Usually used to abuse other players who couldn’t parlay their cards. 

ROUND CLICKER – The three rotating cubes included in your box set which indicate what round of the game is being played. It is super important to update this prior to each round so that persons can keep track of what round they are playing. 

RUN – Four or more cards in order and must be of the same suit.

SET – Three or more cards of the same value. The cards suit does not matter. 

SHANGHAI MANICURE – Only a persistent rumor – but legend has it that some advanced and super competitive persons get a specific type of manicure prior to tournament play that increases their chance of GETTING THE CUT. 

SHOPPED OUT – After two buys per hand, a person is SHOPPED OUT and can no longer BUY.

SLAM – a rare occurrence – and one of the most rewarding aspects of the game. This is when a person completes the SET or RUN requirement of the round and all the cards in their hand are PLAYERS – and no other person is down yet. If they then pick up a final player in their draw, they can then SLAM their cards down on the table and the round is instantly over. All other persons will have a ton of points against them.  Again, a rare event that usually only happens on the last three rounds of the game. But sooooooo sweet. 

SEMI-SLAM – This is the same as SLAMMING, but only after one or more other persons are already on the bed. 

SOPHIE’S CHOICE – The later rounds in the game can be quite complicated and it is common that you are building some great RUNs or SETs - but then you are forced to make a choice on which ones to keep – and which ones to get rid of because you are running out of cards. 

STACK – The face down stack of all remaining cards in the discard tray.

START YOUR PLAY - This means that you have either picked up or bought a card but have not discarded. You have “Started Your Play”. You must START YOUR PLAY prior to playing any cards down on the table.

SUICIDE BUY – Towards the end of any round when most other persons are down and you know time is running out for you, you may choose to SUICIDE BUY. Even though you don’t need the available discard – your hopes lie in the two penalty cards. Many, many persons are saved by the suicide buy – especially in the later rounds.

SWITCHAROO – When a person is down to one card and they then draw a card from the stack and keep that card and discard the card they were holding. Safe to assume they picked up a player and are keeping it to go out on the next round. A SWITCHAROO.

TABLE TALK – A big NO NO. This is when a person’s casual conversation makes mention of another person’s cards, buys, or discards that points out what that person’s strategy is. Or any conversation that could steer somebody to make decisions that benefit the table talker or any other person. Don’t do it!

THE CROWN – Awarded to the winner of the game. One of the CROWN stickers provided with your box set is placed above the person’s name on the score pad. 

THE DUNCE CAP – Optional. Awarded to the person with the highest score. One of the DUNCE CAP stickers included with your box set is placed above that person’s name. Good for games with competitive, obnoxious, and wicked people.  Not recommended for new persons, sensitive persons or people starting out with SHANGHAI JUNIOR. 

STRATEGIES AND A FEW POINTERS

OUTSIDE VERSUS INSIDE RUNS – When collecting runs, it is much better to collect partial runs with three cards running next to each other – like the 7,8,9 of spades. This is an outside run and you have TWICE the chances of completing the run with a 6 or 10 of spades. An example of an inside run would be 7, 8, 10 of spades. To complete this run you would have to get a 9 of spades – only one option. You will end up collecting both types of runs – but favor getting outside runs anytime you can. 

KEEP TRACK OF WHAT THE PLAYER TO YOUR LEFT IS COLLECTING – When you discard, the person to your left gets the option to pick up that card for free. When you are getting a bit more advanced in your play, your job is to make sure to try to keep that person from getting the cards they want. As the game progresses, you will get an idea of what they are collecting. Try to avoid discarding cards they can use. 

DON’T PREMATURE BUYALATE – Your buys are precious – especially in the later rounds. A buy should complete a SET or better yet a RUN. Take your time – especially if the persons down ON THE BED still have a lot of cards in their hands.

DO SUICIDE BUY – If you are super close to GOING DOWN and the other players are close to going ALL THE WAY OUT, then it makes sense to SUICIDE BUY. If possible, try to suicide buy a discard valued at the lowest points possible. 

DON’T DISCARD PLAYERS – Especially if the person to your left is already down. You can make some real enemies if you do. Take your time and carefully review the cards down ON THE BED before discarding. 

ONCE YOU ARE DOWN GET RID OF HIGH POINT CARDS STILL IN YOUR HAND – Once down you will continue to discard non-players. Unless you know it will benefit the person to your left, best to get rid of high point cards when you discard non-players. Aces first, then face cards – and never keep a JOKER in your hand if you are down – play it somewhere ON THE BED that can benefit your future play if possible.

THE KILL – For experienced players – and people who don’t care who hates them. If you are in the lead towards the end of the game and the person you discard to is not in contention, you can exercise THE KILL by discarding players so that the weaker player is able to pick those up and GO OUT before your rivals or runner up persons are able to go out. This guarantees your victory and will completely upset the other players. Fun – right?

ROUND BY ROUND STRATEGY – These are just general thoughts, as you know there is an exception to every rule. And the more participants, the more often you will need to buy – even in SET SET. But here are general thoughts on each hand.

SET SET – Usually a quick round. You almost never need to BUY on this round with 4 persons. Higher need to BUY with 5 – 6 persons playing. 

SET RUN – Focus on getting your run over focusing on your set. Usually, you won’t need to BUY on this round as well – but BUY if you must to go down. 

RUN RUN – This hand usually takes a long time to complete. So don’t PREMATURE BUYALATE. Take your time. Only BUY to make a RUN.  Wait till the plersons on the bed are down to one or two cars left in their hand before you SUICIDE BUY. 

SET SET SET aka LIGHTNING ROUND– This round goes very fast and you usually need to BUY on this round. BUY to complete any SET. 

SET SET RUN – Focus on the RUN over the sets. BUY to complete a RUN for sure. SUICIDE BUY only when the other players on the bed are down to one or two cards. Now entering SLAM territory - so watch other players who are not buying. This can be an indication that they are trying to SLAM.  Most SLAMS are done without any BUYS.  And if you have one or two JOKERS and a great hand and think you may be able to SLAM then – go for it. 

SET RUN RUN – By far the trickiest hand. Really tugs on your brain. But stay calm and take your time. Focus on your RUNS over your sets. And in this round, you may have completed SET RUN RUN in your hand, but not be able to go down if you still only have 11 cards – be careful of this. Hard to explain but you’ll see. May be a good reason to make your first BUY earlier in the round. SLAMS are possible here as well. 

RUN RUN RUN – The grand finale. Fun hand – especially if you have Jokers. Take your time, don’t PREMATURE BUYALATE and as with all hands, try not to discard anything you think the other persons may need – especially the person to your left. This is the best hand to try to SLAM.

OTHER VERSIONS OF THE GAME

You can use your box set for two additional abbreviated versions of Shanghai Rummy.

SHANGHAI JUNIOR – Shanghai Rummy can be a bit intimidating to people just learning the joy of playing cards. This can be true of young people – or people of any age. The best way to introduce them to the fun of Shanghai Rummy is to start them out on Shanghai Junior. 

Only the first three hands are played but you still employ all other rules – including THE CUT and BUYING. The final award ceremony should also take place – but let’s leave out the DUNCE CAP for now.

Once the newbies get the hang of the first three hands, they will be ready to move onto the other, more complicated, rounds of the game.

SHANGHAI EXPRESS – Sometimes playing an entire game may be a bit much. A full game can take up to two hours to play. So, if time – or attention span – is limited, you can just play Shanghai Express which starts with the LIGHTNING ROUND (SET SET SET) and moves onto the final three hands of the game. All other rules and aspects of play stay the same.

ISRA BACKGROUND

In 2003 a group of friends from various parts of the United States came together to play cards. Turns out that Shanghai Rummy was a common game that all the players knew – BUT each player had a different version of the game in mind. Different numbers of cards, rounds, scoring, rules etc. It was quite a conundrum.

So, the group had a series of meetings forming the International Shanghai Rummy Association - whose main goal was to come up with a final and formal “Official” set of rules and regulations for playing Shanghai Rummy. 

We do apologize to the dozens of other versions of the game floating around out there – but the ambiguity needs to end, and somebody needed to finalize and formalize Shanghai Rummy – the greatest card game ever created. 

Over the past 22+ years, our members have played virtually thousands of games, and we can assure you that the version you are about to experience is by far the most excellent. 

The International Shanghai Rummy Association also holds both local and regional tournaments. Check www.shanghairummyassociation.com  website for further information. 

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