California Rummy is a 3 – 8 player variant of the standard deck playing card game Contract Rummy. Seven hands are played with each initial meld requirement of “sets” and/or “runs” getting progressively harder each time. As the requirements go up so do the number of cards dealt.
The game uses “draw and discard” mechanics as well as the ability for anyone in the game to “buy” a card if the player whose turn it is does not want the card. The card is purchased by also taking a “penalty card” from the unused stock.
An individual hand ends when one player goes out by either melding or “laying off” all of their cards in hand. All others count their hand point totals against them. At the end of the 7 rounds, the player with the least amount of total points is the winner.