Contract Rummy
Contract Rummy Rules: The Seven Contracts, Buying and Scoring
Contract rummy rules: the seven contracts, groups and sequences, buying the discard with “May I?”, jokers and scoring. Also called progressive rummy.
Contract rummy is played over seven deals, each with its own contract — the exact melds you must lay down before you can go out. It starts with two groups of three and ends with three sequences of four. The lowest total of penalty points after seven deals wins. It is also called progressive rummy, and Liverpool rummy is a close variant.
Players, cards and deal
- Three to five players; four is best.
- Two standard decks plus jokers — one fewer joker than there are players (so 3 jokers for 4 players). Jokers are wild.
- Deals 1–3: ten cards each. Deals 4–7: twelve cards each.
- The rest form the stock, with one card turned up to start the discard pile.
The seven contracts
A group (also set or book) is three or more cards of the same rank. A sequence (also run) is four or more consecutive cards of one suit; Aces are high or low but cannot wrap around (Q-K-A-2 is not allowed).
| Deal | Contract | Cards needed |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Two groups of 3 | 6 |
| 2 | One group of 3 and one sequence of 4 | 7 |
| 3 | Two sequences of 4 | 8 |
| 4 | Three groups of 3 | 9 |
| 5 | Two groups of 3 and one sequence of 4 | 10 |
| 6 | One group of 3 and two sequences of 4 | 11 |
| 7 | Three sequences of 4 — all cards at once, no discard | 12 |
A turn: draw, meld, lay off, discard
- Draw the top card of the stock or take the top discard.
- If you can, go down: lay exactly the melds your contract asks for, once per deal.
- On later turns, lay off cards on any melds on the table — yours or other players’.
- Discard one card. The first player to get rid of every card ends the deal.
Buying the discard (“May I?”)
When the player whose turn it is draws from the stock instead of taking the discard, another player may ask “May I?” and take that discard out of turn. The buyer must also take the top card of the stock as a penalty, so buying grows your hand by two cards. If several players ask, the one nearest in turn order gets it. The player whose turn it is can always take the discard first, without penalty.
Scoring contract rummy
| Card left in hand | Penalty points |
|---|---|
| 2 to 10 | Face value |
| Jack, Queen, King | 10 |
| Ace | 15 |
| Joker | 15 |
The player who goes out scores zero for the deal. After all seven deals, the lowest total wins.
Progressive rummy, Liverpool rummy and other names
- Progressive rummy: the same idea of contracts that get harder each deal. Some groups play a longer sequence with more contracts and treat 2s as wild too.
- Liverpool rummy: contract rummy with a bonus for an exact cut before the deal, sold as a boxed game in some countries.
- May I?: a family version where the first melds may include extra cards and jokers count 25.
- Shanghai rummy: eleven cards, Aces high only and a “Shanghai” call that can block a buy.
Rules differ between families, so agree on jokers, buying limits and scoring before the first deal. These rules follow the standard description on Pagat (pagat.com), the reference site for card game rules.
Play rummy online
Contract rummy needs at least three players and two decks at a table. If you want a quick game of rummy for two in your browser, the classic two-player Rummy on this site uses the same draw, meld, lay-off and discard rhythm against a bot or another player.
Frequently Asked Questions
What are the contracts in contract rummy?
1) two groups of 3; 2) a group of 3 and a sequence of 4; 3) two sequences of 4; 4) three groups of 3; 5) two groups and a sequence; 6) a group and two sequences; 7) three sequences of 4 with no discard.
Is progressive rummy the same as contract rummy?
Mostly. Both use contracts that change each deal; progressive rummy is often played with more contracts and extra wild cards.
How many cards are dealt in contract rummy?
Ten cards in each of the first three deals and twelve in the last four.
Can you lay off the same turn you go down?
Not in the standard rules. You go down with exactly your contract, then lay off cards from your next turn on.
Who wins contract rummy?
The player with the lowest total penalty points after all seven deals.