Word Rummy Card Game Review
We happen to find the Word Rummy card game so naturally we had to give it a try. Since we love card games and word games this was a no brainer for us… and we loved it.
Word Rummy combines Rummy and Scrabble. If you know how to play rummy then you’ll be ahead of the learning curve. Scrabble is just making words of the letters you’re given. So having a large vocabulary helps.
Either way, this is a great game for people who enjoy word games. It’s a card game with fairly quick rounds. Keeping score is easy. So it’s flexible enough to play to a certain score or set time.
Overall, Word Rummy seems awkward the first round. However, everyone quickly caught on. It turned out to be quite the competitive game for our local wordsmiths.
How to Play
Word Rummy play is similar to Rummy. Players are dealt cards. They draw and discard one card per turn. Players lay down sets or runs. When a player runs out of cards the round is over. The main difference is players assemble words instead of sets or runs.
Word Rummy begins by dealing out 7 cards to each player. Then place the deck face down and flip over the top card. The player to go first has the option of drawing one card from the deck or picking up the card showing.
The player lays down any words they can form with the letters in their hand. If they use every card (letter) in their hand the round is over. If they have leftover cards, can’t, or won’t form any words then they discard a card. Then the next player has the choice to pick up the discarded card or draw from the deck.
Play continues until a player runs out of cards. Players can use their cards to build words from other players words to use up their cards.
We found many times players could go out on their first play, leaving everyone else with negative scores. Leftover cards deduct points from a players total. Players score points for every word they form, including the ones from other players even if they only added one letter.
Why Would Anyone Want Word Rummy?
Anyone who enjoys word games would love this game. You don’t necessarily need to be a fan of card games appreciate Word Rummy. At it’s core this game is about forming words with the random letters you are given. Or forming new words of the ones in play.
If you’re a fan of Scrabble, Boggle, Words With Friends, Word Wheel, or any other word jumble game then it’s a good idea to check out Word Rummy.
Similar Card Games
Word Rummy is similar to Scrabble and Words With Friends. As for Rummy, I don’t consider them similar beyond the card mechanics. Rummy uses numbers while the other is a word game.
Word Rummy is all about forming words for points. Instead of tiles of a board in Scrabble, this game is just cards laid out in front of each player. There aren’t any double or triple scores in Word Rummy.
As odd as it sounds getting a letter such as the Q is bad in this game. In Scrabble it’s an opportunity for a high point word. In Word Rummy a high point letter usually counts against you. If I couldn’t play it immediately, it was my first discard.
Word Rummy is quicker and simpler than Scrabble in my opinion. We found many rounds were over within the first or second play. A player rarely had four opportunities to draw before someone went out.
Pros and Cons
The only drawbacks I noticed were the first round was awkward. I’m thinking I’m playing Rummy, but instead of kings and aces I’m looking at letters. Deciding whether to draw up the letter showing or pick up a random letter was bewildering. Of course, once the other player played all their cards the first try I caught on.
Scoring is a bit complicated. They suggest using Scrabble tile points. However, using 10 points for X, Y, Z, & Q while all other letters score 5 points did simplify things.
I enjoyed the quick pace compared to Scrabble. Those can be long games figuring out the best play for the highest points. Word Rummy is about dumping all your cards before you eat them in points. Discarding high point letters would be unheard of in Scrabble. It was common to discard the Q in this game. Different but good.
Summary
For this review, we give Word Rummy 9 out of 10 stars. We’re a bit biased since we love word games but this game was a lot of fun. It was quick. Simplified scoring was an improvement. Creatively building off other players words. Everything about this game is fun.
Word Rummy Card Game Review brought to you by: David M.
I’m David M. I’ve been playing video games a long time, my pong game was fire. Now, my kids run circles around me but we always have a good time. We mostly play party and family games. Strategy and battle games are still among my favorites. I like writing about games almost as much as I do playing them. My favorite games are: Moving Out 2, Out of Space and Overcooked All You Can Eat.
