Types of Rummy: 14 Rummy Games Compared by Players, Cards and Melds

By Edwina Larkspur · house pen name of the Rulenook editorial team · how we write
Updated Oct 10, 2026 · Rule source: Bicycle published rules

Every rummy game uses the same engine: draw a card, try to make sets and runs, discard a card. The types differ in four places: how many cards you hold, whether you meld as you go or all at once, whether the required melds change each hand, and how the game is scored.

The table below compares 14 games on those points. If you just want to start playing, the plain version is on our rummy rules page. Names vary by region, so a game your family calls "Rummy 500" may be someone else's "500 Rum."

A set of three 7s and a run of 4♥ to 7♥ on felt above five rummy names: gin rummy, 500 Rum, Liverpool, Canasta, Hand and Foot

The 14 games side by side

Game	Players	Cards	Dealt to each	What makes it different	How it ends
Basic rummy (Rum)	2 to 6	1 deck	10 (2 players), 7 (3 or 4), 6 (5 or 6)	The base game: meld and lay off on any turn	Target score set in advance
Gin rummy	2	1 deck	10	No melding during play; you knock with 10 or fewer points of unmatched cards	100 points
Oklahoma gin	2	1 deck	10	The first upcard sets the knock limit; an ace usually means gin only	Agreed target
500 Rum	2 to 8	1 deck (2 for big groups)	13 (2 players), 7 (3 or more)	You may take several discards at once; melds score plus, hand cards score minus	500 points
Contract rummy / Liverpool	3 to 8	2 or more decks with jokers	10 to 12	A different required meld each hand; out-of-turn "buying" of discards	After 7 hands, lowest total wins
Shanghai	3 to 8	2 or more decks with jokers	11	Contract game with a limited number of buys per hand	After the last contract, lowest total wins
Aggravation rummy	3 to 7	2 decks plus 4 jokers	Varies by table	7 contracts that each player must complete in order	First player through all 7 contracts
Dummy rummy	2 to 4	2 decks plus jokers; 2s wild	13	12-hand contract ladder; you must end with a discard	After 12 hands, lowest total wins
Canasta	4 (2 partnerships)	2 decks plus 4 jokers, 108 cards	11	Melds of 7 cards ("canastas"); a frozen discard pile	5,000 points
Hand and Foot	4 or more, in partnerships	About 1 deck per player, plus jokers	2 packets, usually 11 each	You play your "hand," then pick up your "foot"; books of 7	After a set number of rounds
Tonk (Tunk)	2 to 4	1 deck	5	Tiny hands; you may "drop" and end the hand when your count is low	Per hand, or a points target
Conquian	2	40 cards (8s, 9s, 10s removed)	10	You never take cards into your hand; you must meld 11 cards	Per hand
Rummikub (tile rummy)	2 to 4	106 tiles: 2 x 52 plus 2 jokers	14 tiles	First meld must total 30; you can rearrange melds on the table	First to play every tile
Indian rummy (13-card)	2 to 6	2 decks plus jokers	13	You need 2 sequences, 1 of them with no joker ("pure")	Per hand, or a points target

Choosing a rummy game: start with the number of players, then how long you want to play.

Which rummy should you play?

Your table	Try	Why
2 players, short session	Gin rummy	Fast hands, one deck, game to 100
2 players, want more scoring	500 Rum or Oklahoma gin	Points for melds, or a knock limit that changes each hand
3 to 6 players, new to rummy	Basic rummy	Fewest rules
4 players, partnerships	Canasta or Hand and Foot	Team play with big melds
5 to 8 players, long evening	Liverpool or Shanghai	7 hands with set contracts and buying
Mixed ages, no shuffling	Rummikub	Tiles, no cards in hand to hide

Seven of the 14 games need at least 2 decks: Liverpool, Shanghai, Aggravation, Dummy rummy, Canasta, Indian rummy and Hand and Foot, which can take 5 or more for a table of 4. Check your card supply before game night; our playing card guide explains how many decks each game needs.

How do the scoring systems differ?

Rummy games score in one of three ways, and the choice changes how you play the last few turns of a hand.

System	Games	Who scores	Winner
Winner collects	Basic rummy, Tonk	The player who goes out scores the cards left in other hands	Highest total, or first to the target
Difference	Gin, Oklahoma gin	The knocker scores the gap between the 2 hands' unmatched cards	First to 100 (gin)
Plus and minus	500 Rum, Canasta, Hand and Foot	Everyone scores melds; cards left in hand count against you	First to 500 or 5,000
Penalty only	Liverpool, Shanghai, Aggravation, Dummy rummy	Everyone adds their own leftover cards	Lowest total after the last hand

Worked comparison. You're caught holding K♠ 7♦ 7♣ A♥ when an opponent goes out. Counting face cards as 10 and the ace as 1, that's 10 + 7 + 7 + 1 = 25.

In basic rummy, the player who went out adds your 25 to their score.
In a contract game like Liverpool, you add 25 to your own score, and low total wins.
In gin, suppose your opponent knocks holding 6 points of unmatched cards and you can't lay off any of yours. The knocker scores 25 − 6 = 19.

Same 4 cards. Three different results. That's why players who switch games mid-evening often throw away the wrong cards.

Which games use tiles instead of cards?

Rummikub, mainly. It uses 106 tiles: numbers 1 to 13 in 4 colors, twice over, plus 2 jokers. Each player draws 14 tiles, and your first meld must add up to at least 30. A run of 10-11-12 in one color, worth 33, is enough on its own. After that you may rearrange any melds on the table as long as every group is legal when your turn ends.

How is gin rummy different from regular rummy?

Timing. In basic rummy you meld and lay off on any turn, so everyone can see your sets building. In gin rummy you keep every card in your hand until you end the hand by knocking, and only then does your opponent find out what you were building.

	Basic rummy	Gin rummy
Players	2 to 6	2
Cards dealt	10, 7 or 6	10
Melding during play	Yes, any turn	No
Laying off	On any meld, any turn	Only on the knocker's melds, after the knock
Ending a hand	First player to run out of cards	Knock with 10 or fewer points of unmatched cards, or go gin with 0
Score	Value of cards left in other hands	Difference in unmatched cards, plus bonuses

Full rules are on our gin rummy page.

What are contract rummy games?

The target moves. In a contract game the required meld changes each hand: in hand 1 you might need 2 sets of 3, and by the last hand you need several runs at once. You can't lay down anything until you meet the contract for that hand. Liverpool, Shanghai, Aggravation and Dummy rummy all use this idea, with different contract lists and different numbers of hands.

Contract games also add buying: when you want a discard out of turn, you take it plus a penalty card from the stock. Most tables limit buys to about 3 per hand. The details are on our Liverpool rummy page.

What are "calling rummy" and "floating"?

These are features, not separate games, and you'll mostly see them added to basic rummy and 500 Rum.

Calling "Rummy!" If a player discards a card that could be laid off on a meld, another player may call "Rummy!", take the card and play it. Tables differ on whether the caller must also discard.
Floating. If you meld all your cards and have nothing left to discard, you "float": you stay in the hand with 0 cards and draw on your next turn. You go out by drawing a card you can discard.

Announce both before the first deal.

Where do canasta and Hand and Foot fit?

Both are partnership games. Big melds drive them. A canasta is a meld of 7 cards, and you need at least 1 to go out. Hand and Foot grew from canasta: each player gets 2 packets, plays out the first, then picks up the second. Both use 2 or more decks plus jokers. See canasta rules and Hand and Foot rules.

What to read next

Sources: Bicycle published rules for Rummy, Gin Rummy and Canasta; commonly published rule summaries for the other variants. Player counts and deal sizes are the most common published values; regional versions differ and are labeled where we know of them. Last updated 2026-10-10.

Sources

Bicycle published rules: Rummy, Gin Rummy, Canasta
Commonly published rules for the remaining variants (Pagat-style rule summaries); house variations labeled