Photo: Alessandro Bogliari on Unsplash
How rummy scoring works
Rummy comes in dozens of versions, and they don’t all score the same way. This page covers penalty-point rummy, the way it’s played across France (where it’s called rami) and at plenty of kitchen tables elsewhere: points are penalties, so the fewer you have, the better. Each round ends as soon as one player gets rid of their last card. That player scores 0. Everyone else adds up the cards left in their hand. Cards already melded on the table don’t count.
The most common values:
- cards 2 through 10 are worth their number: a 7 is worth 7 points;
- face cards (jack, queen, king) are worth 10 points;
- the ace is worth 1 point at some tables, 11 at others;
- the joker is worth 20 points at some tables, 25 at others.
For the ace and the joker, habits vary from one family to the next: decide before the first deal, and don’t change it afterward. In our examples, the ace is worth 1 and the joker 20.
From round to round, everyone adds up their penalties. The game ends at the end of the round in which someone reaches or passes the limit: 100 points most often, sometimes 200 or 500. That player loses, and the lowest total wins.
Playing Gin Rummy or Rummy 500? Those score the other way around: in Gin Rummy, the player who knocks or goes out collects points, and in Rummy 500, you score the cards you meld, minus the ones left in your hand, and race to 500. For those, use the score sheet with “highest total wins.”
Worked examples, round by round
A simple round. Emma lays down her last card: she scores 0. Ben is left with a 7, a 9 and a king: 7 + 9 + 10 = 26 points. Priya holds an ace, a 3 and a 4: 1 + 3 + 4 = 8 points (18 if the ace is worth 11). Jake holds a joker, a queen and a 5: 20 + 10 + 5 = 35 points.
A round with a bonus for going out. At a table that gives −10 to the player who goes out, Priya lays down everything and scores −10. Emma holds a 4 and a king: 4 + 10 = 14 points. Ben holds an 8 and two jacks: 8 + 10 + 10 = 28 points. Jake has only a 2 left: 2 points.
A round where someone goes rummy. Ben lays down all his cards in a single turn, without having melded before, and the table doubles everyone else’s penalties. Emma has an 8, a jack and a 2: 8 + 10 + 2 = 20, doubled, 40 points. Priya has two 6s: 12, doubled, 24 points. Jake has an ace, a 10, a king and a joker: 1 + 10 + 10 + 20 = 41, doubled, 82 points. Ben scores 0.
A game to 100 points, with the basic rule. The first round is the top row:
| # | Went out | Emma | Ben | Priya | Jake |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Emma | 0 | 26 | 8 | 35 |
| 2 | Priya | 14 | 31 | 0 | 9 |
| 3 | Jake | 22 | 12 | 17 | 0 |
| 4 | Emma | 0 | 38 | 5 | 27 |
| Total | 36 | 107 | 30 | 71 |
Marcus crosses the 100 line with 107 points: the game ends at the end of this fourth round. He loses, and Priya wins with the lowest total, 30 points, ahead of Emma (36) and Jake (71).
With the Buzzloo score counter
At the top of this page, type the players' names and set the limit: 100 points by default, or 200, or 500. Create the game and you get a link to send on WhatsApp, by text message, or to copy.
Everyone opens the link on their phone and sees the same scoreboard, updated live. Only one person keeps score: whoever created the game. They can hand over the pen to someone else with a separate link, and take it back whenever they like. Everyone else just watches.
For each round, type each player’s points: 0 for the player who went out, the total of their hand for everyone else. The counter doesn’t see your cards: you do the counting, your way. A bonus? Type −10, negative points are accepted. Before you confirm, the site shows you the calculation. Made a mistake? You can undo the last round, and fix a name.
At the end, the winner appears in big letters, with the ranking. You can share the result in the group chat, or start a new game with the same group. Your group keeps its game history: who wins most often, how many wins for each name.
It’s free, nothing to install, no account and no email address: first names are enough. A game is deleted 30 days after its last round, a group’s history 6 months after its last game.
Common mistakes
- Thinking the highest score wins. With penalty points, it’s the opposite: the lowest total takes it.
- Counting cards melded on the table. Only the cards left in your hand count.
- Changing the value of the ace mid-game. If it was worth 1 in the first round, it’s worth 1 until the end.
- Forgetting the joker at the back of your hand. At 20 or 25 points, it’s often the card that hurts most.
- Doubling the wrong player’s points. When someone goes rummy, it’s the other players' penalties that double: the player who laid everything down still scores 0.
Variations
Every table has its habits:
- the ace at 1 or 11, and the joker at 20 or 25;
- a bonus for going out: the player who ends the round scores −10 instead of 0;
- going rummy: when someone lays down everything in one turn, the other players' penalties are doubled;
- the 51-point opening: each player’s first meld must be worth at least 51 points, which changes the play but not the scoring.
Our counter follows the basic rule: 0 for the player who goes out, the total of their hand for everyone else, game over at 100 points (or the limit chosen at the start), and the lowest total wins. For a bonus or a doubled round, just type the total you worked out, even if it’s negative.
The end of the game
The game always ends at the end of a round, never in the middle of one. If two players reach the limit in the same round, they both lose, and the lowest total wins. A tie at the very bottom of the board? Two winners, sharing first place.
Fancy a rematch with other cards? Belote, Uno and Skyjo can also be scored with our score counter. To decide who deals first, draw a random order. And to wrap up the evening, bring out the quiz buzzer. For what comes next, read how to plan a game night with a quiz or explore all the Buzzloo tools.