Aggravation
Contributed by Bette Procter (bobandrobinp@yahoo.com)
This is a variation of Contract Rummy, played with 4 decks including jokers. Each player plays for themselves and you can play any number from 3 (not much fun) up to 6 with the four decks - above 6 add another deck.
- jokers and 2 are wild.
- jokers = 50
- 2 and A = 20
- face cards and 10 = 10
- all others = 5
10 cards are dealt to each player.
To meld you must have the following :
| hand | meld |
| 1 | 3 of a kind (e.g. KKK 666 etc.) |
| 2 | 2 sets of 3 of a kind |
| 3 | 4 of a kind |
| 4 | 2 sets of 4 of a kind |
| 5 | 5 of a kind |
| 6 | 2 sets of 5 of a kind |
| 7 | 6 of a kind |
| 8 | 2 sets of 6 of a kind |
You must have 2 naturals then you can play as many wild cards as you would like. Once you have made your meld you can play cards on anyone elses cards when it is your turn. Also once you have made your meld you can then play sets of 3 of a kind. The object is to get rid of all your cards - the cards left in the others' hands count against them; and the winner of that hand gets a -25 score until the last hand where the winner gets a bonus of -200.
Each player starts with 10 chips (each worth whatever stakes you set). At your turn you can draw one card or take one, two or three of the top discards. For each card you take from the discard pile you must give up one of your chips into a pot (that will go to the winner) AND you must draw an additional 3 cards from the deck. So if there are 3 cards (or more) in the discard pile you can get those 3 plus 9 additional cards. Be aware that you MUST buy some cards for the final hand since you only have 10 dealt and you need 12 to meld (2 sets of 6).
Note that runs are nothing in this game - only sets of equal cards.