Gin Rummy

Gin Rummy is a card game about making something out of very little: you draw a card, you discard a card, and the hand in front of you slowly becomes order. There are two things worth building - sets, which are three or four cards of the same rank, and runs, which are three or more of one suit in sequence - and everything outside them is dead weight you are trying to shed one card at a time.

The decision each turn is really about the discard pile. Taking the card on top is a promise that you can use it, and it also tells your opponent something; drawing from the deck is safer and slower. When your hand is tidy enough you knock, and the round is scored on what you are still holding - so the endgame is about reducing what is left over rather than chasing the perfect hand. Get rid of all of it and you can declare gin instead.

It runs in your browser with nothing to download, in landscape, and it is played entirely with the mouse: click to select, drag to discard, and the computer takes the other seat. There is no queue and no timer, so a slow turn costs you nothing.

Tips for a tidier hand

• Keep two plans, not one. A card that serves both a set and a run is worth more than a card that serves either of them well.
• Watch what you throw away. The pile is public, and the card you discard is a card your opponent now knows about.
• Shed the expensive cards first. The high cards cost the most when the round is scored, so lose them while you still have room.
• Knock when the hand is ready, not when it is perfect. A score banked beats a perfect hand that never arrives.

Gin Rummy is a card game made by LEYAN Technology and published on GameDistribution. It plays with a mouse on desktop and by touch on mobile.