GEM RUMMY  Card Back Artwork

Contact: Jon at  jolocarper@runbox.com for questions

Examples of the Melds, GEM PARTS, and Showdown

MELDS

GEM PARTS

SHOWDOWN

GEM RUMMY Rules

(2 or 3 players - Age 8 and up - 45 minutes)

https://www.bitchute.com/video/p3luGigRENhX/

See video above for demo of a 2-player game

2-PLAYER RULES:
Gem Rummy is like Gin Rummy and uses a Standard 52-card deck, except each card has a background color with a symbol; Kings have two background colors; each group of 8 cards (starting with Aces) includes all 8 gems. (Jokers are included but are not used in hands).
The object is to get your hand down to a few point of Deadwood by getting Melds. There are 3 phases to each hand: 1) Deal & Roll; 2) Card Play; 3) Showdown & Scoring.
Cards in Melds and Lay-offs will not score for your opponent, but have no inherent point values themselves. Cards not in Melds or Lay-offs are called Deadwood and might add point to your opponent's score. There are 4 different Melds available: Sets, Runs, Stashes, and Queen's Diamonds (the latter two are new).
--SET: At least 3 consecutive cards of the same rank (i.e., 5, 5, 5).
--RUN: At least 3 consecutive card in the same suit (i.e., 6, 7, 8, all clubs).
--STASH: At least 4 cards of the same gem color (i.e., 4 Emeralds).
--QUEEN'S DIAMONDS: Any one Queen + one designated Diamond card that is determined by the initial roll number on the dice. Both dice are added to find one number (i.e., 3 and 4 = 7, indicating a 7 of diamonds is the card). An "11" or "12" indicates the Jack of diamonds.
 
Refer to these four definitions as you read through the rules:
-Deadwood -- a player's card value total that is not in Melds or Laid-off cards; the card values may count against that player when differencing total values to determine points (i.e., a player has a 3 of clubs and 7 of diamonds left as Deadwood, so her Deadwood total is "10"). (Thematically, players may choose to refer to Deadwood as "Rough Cuts").
-Laid-off cards -- a player's own cards laid down during Showdown that can extend and opponent's Melds but not their own Melds. Laid-off cards do not count as Deadwood.
-Knock -- when someone has equal to or less Deadwood total card value in their hand than the number shown on the dice, that person may "knock on the table" and cause a Showdown of cards; that person is then the Knocker and the opponent is the Non-knocker.
-Showdown -- this occurs once someone has "Knocked", then players will lay out their cards showing their Melds, Deadwood, and Laid-off cards; Scoring then occurs.
 
Hand Phases
1) Deal & Roll: Randomly select a dealer who deals 11 cards to each player while the non-dealer rolls two 6-sided dice to determine the Knock maximum number/Diamond number; put the rolled dice on the Red Joker. The other cards are set in a face down draw deck, then one is flipped face up to the side of the deck (discard pile); the non-dealer has the option to take the face up card. If she does not, then the dealer has the option. If neither player wants it, the non-dealer takes the top deck card and starts play; the winner of a hand deals the next hand.
2) Card Play: Keeping their cards secret, each player takes turns drawing into their hand either the top face up discard or the next draw deck card, then discards any one cards from their hand face up to the discard pile. In a 2-player game, only the top discard card should be visible/accessible. When a player has non-melded cards in his hand equal to or less than the number shown on the dice (2 - 12) that player may decide to "Knock" on the table -- if they do, this means the hand is over and players will start the "Showdown & Scoring".
3) Showdown & Scoring: Players lay our all of their cards on the table in the Melds described earlier, and put their Deadwood to the side. The Non-knocker then lays off any cards on the Knocker's Melds that he can. King is high; Ace is low (no wrap-around). Value for Face cards = 10; Aces = 1, all other cards are worth their printed value.
There are 5 bonuses that can be earned during scoring: a) GIN; b) BIG GIN; c) UNDERCUT; d) GEM PARTS; and e) MINIMUM SCORE of 11 POINTS.
GIN
and BIG GIN (Knocker only): If a player can manage to "Knock" at the end of their turn after discarding a card, while having no Deadwood cards in hand (all 11 cards in Melds) she can call "GIN" and score a bonus of +25 points. If a player can do the same above but also avoid discarding a card (have all 12 cards in Melds) she can call "BIG GIN" and score a bonus of +35 total. Opponents cannot lay-off cards on GIN and BIG GIN hands.
UNDERCUT (Non-knocker only): If the Knocker claims a Deadwood number that the Non-knocker can equal or get lower than, after laying down Melds and Laid-off cards, the Non-knocker may claim UNDERCUT for a +25 point bonus.
GEM PARTS (All players): If a player has all 8 different gem cards anywhere in their hand in Melds, Deadwood, and/or their own Laid-off cards, during Showdown he may claim GEM PARTS. Cards used in GEM PARTS only, but not in a Meld or a Laid-off card, still count towards Deadwood. If the Non-knocker has GEM PARTS, she scores +8 points, and if the Knocker has it, he scores +16 points. Kings may only count as one of their two gems for the GEM PARTS bonus; Kings that occur in a STASH may use their non-stash color to help get GEM PARTS.
MINIMUM SCORE of 11 POINTS (Knocker only)
: If the Knocker is not Undercut, and did not score GIN, BIG GIN, or GEM PARTS, and also fails to score a total of at least 11 points from the Deadwood difference, she scores a minimum of 11 points. If she is Undercut, she is not eligible for this minimum (in 3-player game this is only true if Undercut by both opponents).
Other Rules:
--When at least one player reaches or passes 110 total points at the end of a hand, the last hand has been played; the game winner is the highest total score after scoring this hand.
--The Knocker may never lay-off his cards on the opponent's Melds.
--No Melds may be split up once established, and each card may only be used in one Meld.
--At the start of a player's turn, if there are only two cards left in the draw pile, the hand is "drawn" and no score or win is awarded; the same player who just dealt deals again and the Knock/Diamond number is re-rolled.
3-PLAYER RULES:

3-player game play -- Use the 2-player rules except for the following changes:

1) Play to 140 points;

2) When discarding, place the newly discarded card so that information on all the previous cards can be seen (scroll down to see graphic below);

3) When selecting a new card, players have the standard choices, or they may choose a card further down in the discard in which case they must also put in hand all cards above this card -- this player will now have more than 11 cards in hand after discarding a card, and in order to call Gin after discarding, they must Meld out all remaining cards in hand ("0" count);

4) The player left of the dealer must draw first;

5) The player left of the Knocker must lay down cards first in any Showdown and may not break up these Melds once they are certain what they want laid.

3-player scoring:

1) The Knocker will score two groups of points, one from each opponent, differencing their Deadwood and/or Undercuts from each opponent separately. Only if the combined total of the two differences is less than "11", and he does not have GEM PARTS, GIN, or BIG GIN, will the Knocker receive the "11 Points Minimum." If the Knocker is Undercut by both opponents, the only points he may score are from having GEM PARTS;

2) Both Non-knockers may continue to lay-off their own cards in alternating succession on all players' Melds until they can no longer extend them in the Showdown;

3) As in the 2-player game, a player may "win" a hand even she is not the Knocker, but only if her total is the highest amongst all three players (including bonuses such as Undercut).

4) A tied hand is won by the Knocker.

5) Any bonus may only be scored once per player per hand.

In a 3-player game the discards will be placed as shown to the left.

Game Designers: Jon, Lori, and Jayden Carper

Copyright 2020 Goal-in-Hat Publishing, LLC -- West Point, NE

Email: jolocarper@runbox.com for questions

Go to: https://boardgamegeek.com/filepage/220180/gem-rummy-rules to download a PDF of the rules.


Boardgamegeek link: Gem Rummy

GEM RUMMY

<-- Card Back Artwork (provided by MakePlayingCards.com, except for game title)