Online Card Game

Play Shanghai Rummy Online

Build sets, complete contracts and outplay the table. Free to play against three computer opponents.

Draw Pile (0)

Discard

A You0 cards

Dealing the first hand...

Free to Play

No Download

Play at Your Pace

How the Game Works

Shanghai Rummy is a seven-round contract rummy game for three to five players. Here you play against three computer opponents. Each round sets a target combination you must collect before you can lay your cards on the table.

1
Draw a card
Take the top card from the draw pile, or pick up the face-up discard if it helps your hand.
2
Build the contract
Collect the sets and runs the round demands. A set is three cards of the same rank; a run is four cards in sequence in one suit.
3
Lay down
Once your hand meets the contract exactly, lay it on the table. From then on you can add spare cards to any meld in play.
4
Go out first
Discard one card to end your turn. Empty your hand before the others and everyone else scores penalty points for what they still hold.

Shanghai Rummy Contracts: All Seven Rounds

Every round raises the bar. In rounds one to six you must meet the contract exactly, no more and no less, before laying down. Round seven is the exception: you lay your whole hand down as three runs, so twelve is the minimum and longer runs absorb any extra cards.

Set: three of a kind
Run: four in sequence

Round 1 2 Sets6 cards
Round 2 1 Set + 1 Run7 cards
Round 3 2 Runs8 cards
Round 4 3 Sets9 cards
Round 5 2 Sets + 1 Run10 cards
Round 6 1 Set + 2 Runs11 cards
Round 7 3 Runs12 cards

Shanghai Rummy Scoring

The player who goes out scores nothing. Everyone else counts the cards left in hand. Lowest total after seven rounds wins.

2 to 7 5
8, 9, 10, Jack, Queen, King 10
Ace 20
Joker 50

Played with two full decks plus four jokers. Jokers are wild and stand in for any card in a set or run.

Common Questions

These answers describe the game exactly as it is played here, so what you read matches what happens at the table.

How many cards is each player dealt?

Eleven, in every round. Hands grow through buying rather than through a bigger deal, so a player who buys twice can be holding seventeen cards by the time they lay down.

Can an ace be high and low?

High only. J Q K A is a valid run; A 2 3 4 is not, and a run never wraps past the ace.

Can you buy a discard out of turn?

Yes. You get two buys per round. A buy takes the discard plus two cards from the deck, and you do not discard, so it grows your hand by three.

How many jokers can one meld hold?

One, in any set or run. Two jacks and a joker are a set; one jack and two jokers are not. The deck is two full packs plus four jokers, 108 cards in total.

Do you need a final discard to go out?

In rounds one to six, yes: you empty your hand and the last card goes to the discard pile. Round seven is different, and you must lay your whole hand down as three runs with no discard at all.

What happens when the draw pile runs out?

The discard pile is shuffled and becomes the new draw pile, keeping its top card face up. That can happen twice in a round. If the pile cannot be refilled again, the round ends and every player scores the cards still in hand.

A worked contract

Round two asks for one set and one run. A valid lay-down is 8♣ 8♦ 8♠ as the set, plus 5♥ 6♥ 7♥ 8♥ as the run. That is exactly seven cards, which is the whole contract, so any remaining cards stay in your hand until you lay them off.

A worked score

You empty your hand and score nothing. Another player is still holding K♠, 4♦ and a joker, so they take 10 + 5 + 50 for 65 penalty points. After seven rounds the lowest total wins.