Scala Quaranta
A game we learned on the Alta Via - the mountains of the dolomites. Basically a card game version of Rummikub.
Decks: 2 → keep jokers
Players: 2 - 6
Shuffle and deal 13 cards to each player
Remainder of cards are placed in a pile in the middle and the top card is flipped over face up!
The Play
The player to the left of the dealer starts and they pick up a card from either pile to start their turn. They can then either begin playing melds or discard to end their turn. To enter the game, similar to rummikub, you must have a minimum of 40 points “quaranta”. You are trying to make sets and runs. Runs must be the same suit, sets can only have 1 card of each suit (maximum of 4 cards in a set!). On your first turn making melds, you cannot play on other player’s melds. However; on your next turn you can begin playing your cards on other players' melds. You can start new melds at any point of the game but need a minimum of 3 cards per meld.
Jokers are wild and can be played as any card.
Scoring:
You can either play this game as a single round game and whoever goes out of cards first wins. Or. you can count points at the end. Cards in your hand are counted against you and you want the lowest score to win.