How to Play Shanghai Rummy

Co-authored by Hunter Rising

Last Updated: October 25, 2022 References

If you’re looking for an exciting card game to play with the entire family, Shanghai Rummy, or “California Rummy,” is so much fun. All you need are 3–8 players, a few decks of cards, and a couple of hours to play. While there are a few terms to learn, the game is super easy to pick up after a few minutes. We know you’re excited to start a game, so keep reading for everything you need to know about setting up and playing Shanghai Rummy!

Things You Should Know

Play Shanghai Rummy with 2 decks of cards & 1 joker if you have 3 or 4 players, or 3 decks of cards & 2 jokers for 5–8 players.
Melds are “sets” of cards with the same value or “runs” of cards in the same suit in numerical order. Each round has required melds you’ll try to form in your hand.
On your turn, draw a card from the top of the deck or the discard pile. If you have the melds required for the round, play them. Then, discard 1 card from your hand.
Score points for any cards left in your hand at the end of the round. The player with the fewest points after 10 rounds is the winner.

Section 1 of 5:

Objective

Play all the cards in your hand and have the lowest score after 10 rounds. Each round in Shanghai Rummy, players try to play all of the cards in their hand. The rounds have specific requirements for what combinations of cards you need to play. At the end of the round, you’ll total up any points left in your hand. After 10 rounds, whoever has the lowest score is the winner.^{[1]
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Section 2 of 5:

Key Terms

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Melds Melds are specific combinations of cards that players try to make in their hands every round. Melds are either “sets” (3 or more cards with the same value) or “runs” (4 or more cards of the same suit in sequential order). Each round has different meld requirements that players need to achieve. The melds you need for each round are:^{[2]
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- Round 1: two sets of 3 cards
- Round 2: one set of 3 cards & one run of 4 cards
- Round 3: two runs of 4 cards
- Round 4: three sets of 3 cards
- Round 5: one set of 3 cards & one run of 7 cards
- Round 6: two sets of 3 cards & one run of 5 cards
- Round 7: three runs of 4 cards
- Round 8: one set of 3 cards & one run of 10 cards
- Round 9: three sets of 3 cards & one run of 5 cards
- Round 10: three runs of 5 cards
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Laying off After you play the required melds for the round, you may still have a few cards left in your hand. On your later turns, instead of playing melds, you can “lay off” any number of cards onto melds that you or any other players have put down on the table.^{[3]
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- Example: If you have a 3 of hearts in your hand, you can lay it off on a set of 3s another player put down.
- Example: If you have a 4 of clubs, you could lay it off on a run that contains the 5, 6, 7, and 8 of clubs.
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Buying If a player draws from the top of the deck on their turn, another player can choose to “buy” the top card of the discard pile to add it to their hand. Any player can announce they’d like to buy the card, but the next closest player in turn order is the only one who gets the card. As a penalty for buying a card, the player also has to draw the top card of the deck.^{[4]
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- Players are allowed 3 buys for each round during the first 9 rounds. In the last round, players can make up to 4 buys.
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Going out Once a player discards the last card in their hand, then they’ve “gone out” and immediately trigger the end of the round. Only 1 player will go out each round.^{[5]
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- If you melded or laid off the last card in your hand, it doesn’t count as going out. On your next turn, you’ll have to draw a card. If you can’t lay off the card, then you can discard it and go out.

Section 3 of 5:

Round Setup

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Shuffle 2–3 decks of cards together. If you’re playing with 3 or 4 people, then use two 52-card decks of cards with 1 joker for a total of 105 cards. If you have 5–8 players, then use 3 decks and 2 jokers for a total of 158 cards. Shuffle the cards thoroughly to create the deck.^{[6]
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- Aces can be used as a high value (coming after the king) or as a low value (coming before a 2)
- Jokers are wild cards, so you can use them in any meld.
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Deal 11 cards to each player. Choose a dealer at random. Start with the person to the left of the dealer and deal clockwise around the table until everyone has 11 cards.^{[7]
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Flip the top card of the deck over to form the discard pile. Set the rest of the deck in the middle of the table so everyone can easily reach it. Take the top card and put it face-up next to the deck. After that, you’re ready to start the round.^{[8]
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Section 4 of 5:

Gameplay

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Draw a card from the top of the deck or the discard pile. You always have to draw a card on your turn, but you get to choose where you take the card from. If you could use the top card in the discard pile to help form a meld in your hand, then take it. Otherwise, you can blindly draw a card from the top of the deck.^{[9]
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- If you take a card from the top of the deck, other players get the option to buy the top card of the discard pile.
2
Play the current round’s meld or lay off cards if you’re able to. If you have the cards to make all of the melds for the current round, you can play them face-up on the table in front of you. On each turn after you play the round’s melds, you can lay off your cards and add them to any meld that’s left on the table.^{[10]
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- If the round requires more than one meld, you have to play them all at the same time. If you only have one of the melds, you have to keep it in your hand until you have the others.
- You have to wait until you play the round’s melds before you can lay off cards, and you cannot play melds and lay off cards during the same turn.
3
Put a card from your hand into the discard pile. Choose one of the cards that you still have left in your hand and set it face-up on top of the discard pile. If you discard the last card in your hand, then you go out and end the round immediately.^{[11]
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- Try to discard a card that doesn’t fit into any melds since it’ll be tougher to play.
4
Shuffle the cards to start the next round. The player to the left of the dealer becomes the new dealer for the next round. Gather all of the remaining cards in each player's hand and shuffle them back into the rest of the deck. Deal out 11 new cards to each player and begin your next round.^{[12]
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Section 5 of 5:

Scoring

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Score points for every card in your hand when a player goes out. Every player reveals the cards they still have left in their hand and tallies up their points for the round. Write each player’s points on a piece of paper so you can keep track of each round. The point values for the cards are:^{[13]
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- 2s–9s: 5 points
- 10s, Jacks, Queens, & Kings: 10 points
- Aces: 15 points
- Joker: 25 points
2
Win if you have the lowest score when you finish the 10th round. Play through all 10 rounds of the game, making sure to add your points to what you earned during the previous rounds. If you have the lowest score at the end of the game, you win!^{[14]
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