The winner gains points. Opponents lose their penalties; opening and using tiles reduces their loss.
Players and tiles
Rummy 101 can be played by 2–4 players. Form valid melds, open your hand and finish before your opponents. The winner gains points and opponents lose their penalties. A higher total is better.
The base set contains 106 tiles: 104 numbered tiles from 1 to 13, in four colors and two copies each, plus two classic jokers. Each player receives 21 tiles; the starting player receives 22 and begins by discarding.
Your turn, step by step
1. Take one tile: draw from the face-down stock, or take the previous player’s last discard if you can use it immediately. The Joker button may replace the stock draw.
2. Lay down melds or add tiles if eligible. A meld is a valid combination moved from your rack onto the table, face up. Adding means extending a meld already on the table.
3. Discard one tile to end your turn. The starting player already has 22 tiles and begins without drawing another.
One draw, then eligible actions, then one discard.
Taking a discard: one tile, not the whole pile
You may take only the last tile discarded by the player immediately before you. Take that one tile, not the whole pile. You cannot choose an older tile from the discard history or a tile discarded by any other player.
If you have not opened yet, use the tile in your first opening on that same turn: at least 101 points or five pairs. Its value counts towards the opening. A small run alone is not enough if your total is below 101.
If you have already opened, use the tile immediately in an allowed meld or add it to a meld on the table. You cannot take it just to keep it on your rack for later.
After taking a discard, you cannot also draw from the stock or use the Joker button on the same turn. If you cannot use the discard immediately, draw from the stock.
Take only the red 6, if you use it immediately. Leave the other tiles where they are.
You have already opened, and the last discard is a red 6: take it and add it to the red 3–4–5 run.
Valid melds
A run contains at least three consecutive numbers of one color. A set contains three or four tiles of the same number, all in different colors.
The 1 goes before 2. The run 12–13–1 is not allowed. A pair contains two tiles of the same number and color; a joker may replace one of them.
Valid: no number is missing and all tiles are red.
Valid: the number is the same, but each color appears only once.
Invalid as a set: red is repeated. The two red tiles can form a pair.
Tile values
A numbered tile is worth its face value. In a meld, a joker takes the value of the tile it replaces.
A joker left in your hand counts as 101 penalty points. A joker obtained through the button has the same values as a regular joker.
| Tile / situation | Points |
|---|---|
| Numbered tile 1–13 | Face value |
| Joker in a meld | Value of the replaced tile |
| Joker left in hand | 101 |
How to make your first opening
Arrange valid runs and sets on your rack. Add the values of all tiles in the melds you want to lay down. You need at least 101 points in a single turn. You cannot lay down 60 points now and another 41 on a later turn.
Lay down all the melds that make up your opening. A run is not mandatory: sets alone are enough if their total reaches 101. Each tile counts once, in the meld where you place it.
After opening, you may add tiles on that same turn. Additions to existing melds do not count towards the 101 points required for your first opening. Keep a tile to discard at the end.
33 + 36 + 33 = 102. You can open. The first two melds alone total 69: not enough.
How to open with five pairs
You may open with at least five pairs: ten tiles grouped into pairs of the same number and color. They do not need to total 101 points. Two tiles with the same number but different colors are not a pair.
A player who opens with pairs cannot later lay down new runs or sets, but may add to other players’ melds. A player who opened with runs and sets may add pairs once another player has opened with pairs.
At the end of the round, a pairs opening doubles the penalty for remaining tiles.
Each pair matches in number and color. For this opening, count pairs rather than 101 points.
Jokers and the Joker button
A joker replaces any tile. After your own opening, you may recover a melded joker by replacing it with the exact tile it represents. The recovered joker remains wild and may represent a different tile.
You may use the Joker button once per round, if you have jokers in your account, only when it is your turn to draw from the stock. You receive the joker in your hand instead of your normal draw; you do not draw another tile on that turn.
You cannot use the button after drawing or taking a discard. A joker obtained through the button is used and scored exactly like a normal joker, including opening, finishing and penalties.
The meld is worth 33. After your own opening, replace the joker with red 11 and recover the wild joker.
Receive one tile. Do not take both a joker and a stock tile.
How to add tiles
You must complete your own opening first. You may then add tiles to your own or other players’ melds, including on the turn when you open.
You can add a red 2 before a red 3–4–5 run, or a red 6 after it. You cannot add a 6 of a different color. You can add the fourth 8, in the missing color, to a set of three 8s in different colors.
Valid only after your own opening. A blue 6 does not fit this run.
Finishing
To finish, you must have no tiles left after discarding your last tile. Always keep a tile to discard: if you only have 7–8–9, you cannot lay down all three and claim a finish without a discard.
Finishing by discarding a joker doubles opponents’ penalties: 404 without opening, twice the remaining values after a normal opening, and four times the remaining values after a pairs opening. The winner gains 202 points.
Finishing in one turn occurs when nobody has opened and a player lays down all tiles and finishes in a single turn. The winner gains 202 points and each opponent loses 404. Discarding a joker doubles these values again: +404 for the winner and −808 for each unopened opponent.
You cannot finish by melding all three: you would have no tile left to discard.
Scoring and penalties
The winner gains 101 points for a normal finish, 202 for a joker finish or a finish in one turn, and 404 for a finish in one turn with a joker. In normal games and Quick Start, round results are added to or deducted from account points. In Arena, round results affect only the standings; the prize comes from the stakes. In tournaments, round results affect only the standings and prizes are awarded at the end.
If you lose without opening, you lose 202 points before finish multipliers. When the stock runs out, the round ends without a winner and each player receives their hand penalty. After opening, the values of your remaining tiles are counted; a pairs opening doubles the penalty.
| Tile / situation | Penalty |
|---|---|
| Without opening | 202 |
| Opening with runs / sets | Sum of remaining values |
| Opening with pairs | 2 × remaining values |
Increasing thresholds
In increasing-threshold mode, the next opening must exceed the previous opening value. After an opening of 116, the next player needs at least 117.
The same rule applies to pairs: after an opening of five pairs, the next opening requires at least six. Fixed-threshold mode keeps the opening at 101 points or five pairs.