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For all you Rummikub lovers like me, there seems to be a disagreement in the rules. Lets say for example you have a sequence of 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7 and the 4 is a joker. If you want to use that joker do you HAVE to replace it with a 4 or can you just make it into 2 separate sequences, one being 1, 2, 3 and the other being 4, 5, 6?
You absolutely dont have to replace it (why would you?)
however you cant put the joker in your rack
You must replace the joker with a 4. After that you can separate the run as you please:
1,2,3,4
5,6,7
or
1,2,3
4,5,6,7
or
1,2,3
4,5,6
take the 7 and add other tiles for a third meld
A combination which contains a joker can have further tiles added to it, but nothing can be taken from it, nor can it be rearranged in any way while there is a joker in it. For example if a run has a joker at one end the joker cannot be moved to the other end in order to add a tile. However, a player who has in hand the tile which is represented by a joker on the table, the player can substitute the real tile for the joker and then re-use the joker in some combination on the table. A joker released in this way cannot be taken into the player’s hand for later use. In the case of group consisting of two equal tiles and a joker, the joker can be replaced by a matching tile of either of the missing colors.
We play that you can reorganize however you want, but to change what the Joker is you need to have the identical piece to what the Joker is currently representing. (e.g. If it’s a green 4 you can do whatever you want with it as long as it stays a green 4. If you want to change it to something else you must replace it with a green 4 from your own rack.)
“If the run would still work even without the joker why can’t you just take it??”
You can
however it seems there are a different ways to play (note how there are 4 different responses above)
The rules my set have have it my way but online there are a variety of rules most of which say it has to be replaced.
It seems in tournament games (presumably this is the most “official” way when part of a run it cant be replaced and when part of a group it must be replaced by the two mising colors (note how this is a 5th set of rules)
(Eg if group is red 8 black 8 and joker for the joker to be removed it must be replaced by yelow AND blue 8’s)
Depends on house rules. But the way I’ve always played it is that as long as everything on the board is legal (i.e. no pieces without a place) you can re-arrange whatever you want.
While we’re at it, I’d like to take a poll of how people pronounce “rummikub,” because it’s not so pashut.
Well?
We say rummy-cube
Are the rules different for the joker than for any other tile?
(other than the fact that it can be used as any tile)
I always assumed not
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