How to play Gin Rummy
- Play the computer or a friend on the same device. Each player gets ten cards. On your turn, take the face-up card or draw from the stock, then click a card in your hand to discard it.
- Build melds: sets of three or four of a kind, and runs of three or more in a row in one suit. Your hand sorts itself into melds, with unmatched cards at the end.
- When your unmatched cards add up to 10 points or less, press Knock and pick your discard. With no unmatched cards at all you go gin. The first to 100 points wins.
Tips for winning at Gin Rummy
- Keep cards that work two ways. A 7 of hearts next to a 6 and 8 of hearts and another 7 can join either a run or a set, so it’s twice as likely to be useful.
- Throw high cards early. Kings and queens cost 10 points each if you’re caught with them, and they’re harder to fit into runs.
- Watch what the computer takes. A card picked up from the pile tells you what it’s collecting. Avoid throwing cards that would fit.
- Knock early, or wait for gin. Knocking quickly with a low count often wins the hand. Waiting for gin earns a bonus but risks being undercut or knocked first.
About the game
Gin Rummy is a two-player card game from the rummy family, played with a standard 52-card deck. Each player tries to arrange ten cards into sets and runs and to be the first to knock with a low count of unmatched cards, or to go gin with none. This version plays the common rules against the computer or a friend on one device, works out melds and layoffs for you, and plays to 100 points.