Does anybody know the name of this game?

I have the good fortune to be connected to a surprising collection of wonderful people. One of them, Jan Nickerson, wrote me about a game that her daughter's friend learned in Peru - and they love it so much that they've been playing it "at breakfast, lunch and dinner!"

The Unknown Rummy Game

Object of the Game. Each player tries to get rid of all of his cards by laying down sets of three or more matched cards (e.g. 3 K’s) or sequences of three or more cards in the same suit (e.g. 3, 4, and 5 of Hearts). The player to earn the most points during the 9 deal-game wins.

Number of Players Two to five players or more

The Pack 2 packs, each with 2-3 jokers (true of Congress card packs)

Five or more players may use a triple pack. All the cards are shuffled together.

Card Values Jokers and 2s are wild and count as 25 points. Aces are 15 points, 8-K are ten points each; 1-7 are five points each.

Rank of Cards Aces are high or low, so may "turn the corner" at the king of the same suit (e.g. K, Ace, 2) enabling players to regard it as the start of low numbers (Ace, 2, 3, 4 etc)

Chips: Each player receives 8 chips. A chip buys the top card discarded in the discard pile, AND the next two cards in the stock.

The Shuffle and Cut. The dealer shuffles, may have another player help shuffle before packs are combined. The player to the dealer's right cuts.

The Deal. Each game consists of nine deals, the turn to deal passing from player to player to the left. Cards are dealt clockwise face down, one at a time, beginning on the dealer's left. Each player receives eleven cards. The remainder of the pack is placed face down in the center as the stock, and the top card is paced face up to begin the discard pile next to the stock. If the top card is a 2, buy it in the stock and replace it with the next top card.

The Play. Any player may call out they want to buy the top card in the discard pile. Whoever calls out first wins that card plus the 2 top cards in the stack. The cost is one chip.

The player to the left of the dealer then “goes” by drawing a card from the stock, laying down a meld if he can (see Basic Contracts), playing on his own and on opponents’ previously played cards (Only IF the player has already melded), including substituting cards for wild cards), and then discarding. Each player must discard at the end of their turn, and may not discard a wild card (including a 2).

The player to the left now executes his turn. Play continues until the first person “goes out” having laid down all his cards and discarding his last card.

Basic Contracts.

· First Deal: One set of three or more matched cards (e.g. 3, 3, 3) which a player must lay down face up in front of him – during his turn - before he lays down further sets or sequences.

· Second Deal: Two sets of three or more matched cards (e.g. 3, 3, 3; 5, 5, 5)

· Third Deal: Three sets of three or more matched cards (e.g. 3, 3, 3; 7, 7, 7; K K K)

· Fourth Deal: One set of four matched cards (e.g. Q, Q, Q, Q)

· Fifth Deal: Two sets of four matched cards (e.g. 9, 9, 9, 9; K, K, K, K)

· Sixth Deal: One set of five matched cards. (e.g. 7, 7 , 7, 7, 7)

· Seventh Deal: Two sets of five matched cards. (e.g. 5, 5, 5, 5, 5; 3, 3, 3, 3, 3)

· Eighth Deal: Six matched cards. (e.g. Q, Q, Q, Q, Q, Q)

· Ninth Deal: Seven cards of same suit in sequence. (e.g. Q K A 2 3 4 5 of Clubs)

Wild Cards. Jokers and 2’s are wild. 2’s may be wild or used as 2’s. A wild card may be used to stand as any card in a matched set or a sequence, but two wild cards may never be next to each other. When a wild card has been laid down, any other player in his turn may replace the wild card from his opponent’s played cards by substituting the card it represents, in order to use that wild card during that turn to play. There must be more “real” cards than wild cards in each set or sequence. For example, I may have # # J, or # # # J (but not # # J J) or # # # J J (but not # # J J J).

Wild cards taken must be used that turn.

· When a wild card has been laid down as part of a sequence, any card not already in that sequence may be added to the sequence and the wild card is moved to either end. For example: If Joker 7 6 are shown, you can add a 5 and remove the joker.

· If joker, 7, 6 are shown, you may also replace the joker with the 8 of that suit.

· OR you may add the 9 of that suit, leaving the joker holding the 8 spot in the sequence.

· You can, of course, also substitute a card for the joker in a set. In K K Joker, you may play another K and pick up the Joker to use in another set or sequence.

· You may choose any specific card for your substitution; it doesn’t have to be a joker. For example, in 8H, 8H, 8D, 8C, I may replace the 8D with an 8 of any suit. I might do this when I need the 8D for a sequence

· You may substitute cards for jokers in more than one set or sequence from any or all players within a turn, in order to generate more of the cards you need for a set or sequence.

Scoring. In each deal, play ends when any player gets rid of his last card. Each other player is then charged the value of each card in his hand. The player having the lowest total score at the end of the ninth deal is the winner.