Goofy Rummy is a variation of that old favourite 'Rummy'. but with a few twists. Players familiar with Mah Jongg will also find many similiarities. I know many regular MJ players that now prefer goofy. The main twist to goofy, from that of regular rummy is the enforcement of very strict rules, with penalties for breaking those rules. Goofy also has it's own naming conventions, and specific terms that will be explained later in the terminology section. Now on the basic rules of gameplay.

The game can be played with either 2,3 or 4 players. Two decks of cards are used and there are no jokers or wild cards present. A game consists of 7 hands, with the deal rotating clockwise. Each player receives 14 cards, with the player to the dealers left (the first one to act) getting 15 (this is to save time). The idea is easy, get rid of all your cards before any of the other players. The way to get rid of cards is to make 'spreads', that is either a sequential run of suited cards, ie. 7,8,9 of spades, or sets, which are 3 of a kind, but CANNOT be of the same suit. In order to start laying down cards, you must have 51 points. All cards are face value, with all face cards and aces being worth 10 points. There is one exception to this rule. If you lay down a Royal Flush ( 10 , J , Q, K , A of the same suit), that spread is worth 51 points by itself. Once you have gone down, you may now spike cards on other players spreads, assuming anyone else is down.

Starting the game:
Two decks of cards are taken and shuffled together. The cards are then laid face down and each person picks, a.k.a. 'plucks' a card. At this stage, aces are low. The person with the lowest card decides which seat they would like to sit in, and also has the first deal. The remaining players have no choice in seats, they are assigned in ascending order, going clockwise. If two players pluck the same value cards, those players will repluck, with the other players remaining in order. An example is given below.

In this example, two players plucked a 7 (suit is irrelevant). The player that plucked a 3 will get to choose which seat they would like to be in. So the order will go 3, 7, 7, J. Of course the 7's will have to re-pluck. Below is how it would work if the re-plucks were a 6 and 9, and the 3 had chosen seat 4.



I hope this is self-explanatory.

Once seats have been determined. The lowest card ( 3 in our case ) will begin to shuffle. Once shuffled, the cards are offered to player on the dealers' right. They are then cut. The bottom card from the half that is cut, is then flipped face up ( be careful not expose any other cards ). This card now becomes, the Blitz , or 'Wood' card. This card can be used by anyone, in turn to blitz the other players. The dealer now deals each player 14 cards, clockwise, beginning from the dealers' left. That player (to the dealers' left) gets a 15th card. The players now act in turn, plucking from the deck and discarding cards into the 'muck'. The player that has 15 cards DOES NOT pluck. If they do, it's a penalty and will result in that player 'taking a 100'. This will be explained in the penalties section. The idea now is to build your hand so that you have spreads (runs and sets) that equal 51 or more points. At this point you may lay down your hand. After each pluck, you must discard a card, so that a full hand always has 14 cards. If you notice a player that has not laid down, and does not have 14 cards, you may then tell that player to 'take a 100'. In other words, this is another penalty. Any penalty, or '100' will result in that hand being re-played with a new shuffle, but still counts as the same hand ( ie: if this were the 3rd hand of the 7 in a game, it still remains the 3rd hand).

As I alluded to above, a full game of Goofy consists of 7 hands. It is possible to play more hands in a single game but that only occurs when someone fouls their hand, either by accident, or deliberately. After each hand is played, the deal rotates clockwise. If a hand must be replayed, the same player deals again. After someone goes out (gets rid of all their cards), the remaining players add up the points in their hand and informs the scorekeeper. Remember, all cards are face value. If someone gets caught with all of their cards, that simply counts as '100'. The person that got the out, gets 20 points taken off his or her score. Should the hand be a Blitz, the points are doubled. After the game is over, the points are added up and the person with lowest score wins. Assuming there are stakes involved, (it really is more fun to play for something) the game is paid out top down. What this means is that the person with the highest point total has to pay 3 each player that has a lower score than them. In a four player game that means the they would have to pay 3 people. 2nd high of course pays only 2 people and gets paid by one. This will be fully explained in the scoring section. For now, please proceed to the rules section to have all the rules, terms and penalties explained.