Kalooki

The idea

Get rid of every card in your hand by laying down melds. The first player out ends the hand and everyone else is penalised for what they are still holding. The match ends when somebody reaches 150. A low score is a good score.

Melds

There are only two kinds, and both need at least three cards.

• Set — the same rank in different suits, like 9♠ 9♥ 9♦. Four at most, since there are only four suits, and two identical cards never count.
• Run — a sequence in one suit, like 5♥ 6♥ 7♥. The ace sits above the king, so Q-K-A is a run and A-2-3 is not, and a run may not turn the corner.

A set is not a run. Three nines are a set however you look at them.

The deal

2 decks are shuffled together — 106 cards, including 2 jokers. The player to the dealer’s right cuts, choosing how far down to take it. Everyone gets 13 cards.

Your turn

1. Draw one card — from the face-down stock, or the top of the discard pile. Click the stock to draw.
2. Lay down what you can — new melds, cards added to melds already on the table, or a swap for a joker.
3. Discard one card to end your turn. Drag it onto the discard pile, or select it and press Discard.

Opening

Before you can put anything on the table you must open: one lay-down, worth at least 40 points. Until then you cannot meld, add to anyone else’s melds, or take a joker off the table.

Jokers count as whatever card they stand for towards that total.

Jokers

A joker stands in for any card, 1 per meld at most. Once you have opened you can hand over the real card it represents and take the joker back, but you must play it again the same turn.

Left in your hand at the end, a joker costs you 15 points — the most expensive card in the game.

Going out and scoring

You go out by getting rid of everything, finishing with a discard.

Everyone else counts what is left in their hand: pip value for the numbers, 10 for a picture card, 11 for an ace, 15 for a joker. A player who never opened takes a flat 50 instead.