This article contains everything you need to know about Arkadium’s Gin Rummy Game.
Use the list below to navigate specific topics about Gin Rummy.
Game
Gin Rummy is a fantastic 2-player game that is easy to learn and loads of fun to play. Unlike other card games like Spades that revolve around taking or avoiding tricks, Gin Rummy is a draw-and-discard game. The game's objective is to accumulate melds, as either sets or runs and requires both skill and luck to win.
Here is how the game looks on a typical match. The player is in the bottom, with all of the available cards ready to play.
You can see the username of the player on the left, and the hand score on the right. The center is the player's in-game avatar, which can be changed in the options menu.
NOTE: As the game functions on a different system than standard Arkadium accounts, your username in-game will always be displayed as a variation of "Guest".
Your score and wins are located on the top right, with a color set for each of the players. Red and Blue.
You can see all of the options available to you on the bottom of the table. Here is what each of them represents.
The Table option allows you to see the game's stats, as seen here.
The Pause option allows you to pause the game. This is not allowed in multiplayer games.
The Chat option allows you to type a message to chat with other players.
Using Game will let you quit the table or join a brand new one, with bots or real players. It will also allow you to use the Multiplayer menu.
The Multiplayer Menu gives you more options, to browse the different available tables, host your own, or join a private table with other players you know.
Using Help and Rules allows you to check guides for the game's options and rules, if you need a quick refresher.
The Profile allows you to check a variety of options to do with your chat and player interactions. You can also change the deck you play with, the game's wallpaper, the avatar you use and check your stats.
Main Menu
The main menu of the game will give you a wide range of options to choose from. Gin Rummy can be played in both singleplayer against the computer, and multiplayer against real people. You can see how many players are active at the time next to Play.
The New Game option will allow you to play against the computer, while Join Table will match you up with existing players. Browse Tables lets you check from a variety of tables hosted by different players, each with their own options. You can choose to your liking.
HOST TABLE: Some of the options regarding hosting a game connected to a registry are locked out, due to the game using a different account system that is incompatible with the Arkadium system. Due to this, these options will not be available in our version of the game.
There are several options to choose from.
To learn how to play the game, you can use the interactive Tutorial. This will teach you all of the game's rules. You can also read the game's rules directly.
You can also customize your account and game settings on the bottom.
How To Play
Rank of cards
Cards are ranked from Ace (1 point) to Ten (10 points), with face cards (Jack, King, Queen) also counting as 10 points. Once a player has 10 deadwood points or less, they may "knock," which ends the hand.
Objective
The objective is to be the first player to reach 100 points and win with a high score.
Deal
For the initial hand, a random player is chosen to be the dealer. After the first hand, the dealer is always the "loser" of the previous hand (the player who was not awarded points).
Each player is dealt a hand of 10 cards from a standard deck of 52 cards. The deck is then placed face down on the table. The player opposite the dealer goes first.
Consider Up Card
One card is dealt from the deck face up for all to see.
The dealer's opponent may "Accept" the up card, and take it into their hand or "Pass." When picking the up card, you must finish your turn by discarding some other card - not the up card, which you just picked. After discarding, the other player's turn begins.
If the non-dealer passed, the dealer now considers the up card, either choosing to "Accept" it or "Pass." If accepting, they must discard another card. Then it is their opponent's turn.
If both players pass, then the non-dealer must draw an unknown card from the deck. Then, they must follow by discarding any card from their hand. It is permitted to discard the card that they just picked because it was not the face-up card.
Play
After the initial phase, play continues with each player choosing to pick either the up card or an unknown card from the deck. Notice that there is a slight difference from the initial phase, where the up card is considered by both players before it is allowed to take a card from the deck.
Players must always discard a card after picking. After the discard, it is their opponent's turn to play.
Knocking
If a player has 10 deadwood cards or less upon discarding, they are given the opportunity to "Knock." The knocker displays their melds and their deadwood cards. Their opponent also displays any melds in their hands at that time. If they have any deadwood cards that can be added to the knocker's melds, they may do so, which can reduce their deadwood points. This process is called "laying off" the deadwood.
For example, if the knocker has a meld of three Tens, and their opponent has the remaining Ten, the opponent may "lay off" their Ten against the knocker's meld. This reduces the opponent's deadwood points by 10.
Scoring
At the end of the hand you'll count your Gin Rummy scoring. Deadwood card points are counted for the knocker and their opponent. If the knocker's points are lower, they are awarded the difference in points.
If the knocker has the same or higher deadwood points than their opponent, they have been "undercut." The difference in points is awarded to their opponent, as well as an additional 10-point bonus!
A knocker who has no deadwood is said to have "gone gin," which is especially fortunate. In this case, their opponent is not allowed to lay off deadwood against their melds. The knocker is awarded their opponent's deadwood points, and they also get a 20-point bonus!
Game End
When a player reaches 100 points, the game stops. The final score is computed by adding together the following points for each player:
- Points acquired during the game, +
- A "winner's bonus" of 100 points to the player who reached 100 points first. 200 points are awarded if their opponent does not win any hands at all, +
- A "line bonus" of 20 points per hand won is awarded to each player.