The sounds of laughter and conversation filled the room Thursday as residents from all over Tellico Village gathered to play Rummikub at Chota Recreation Center.
Tom and Suzy Holcomb have been playing the game since moving to the Village 13 years ago.
“We have a lot of different organizations within the Village, and one of these is playing games,” Suzy said. “Someone started Rummikub here, and we used to meet in peoples’ homes. After a few years, they decided to meet here at the Chota Rec Center. When we met in homes, it was a lot of food and preparation, so rather than worrying about food and all that, we can just meet here and play.”
Rummikub is a variation of rummy and Mah-jong and is played with two to four players. The game uses numbered tiles instead of cards, which makes it easier to calculate points.
The game was developed by Ephraim Hertzano in the 1930s and became a best-seller in the United States in the late 1970s. Rummikub won the German Game of the Year award in 1980 and the Dutch Game of the Year award in 1983.
“We don’t keep score, and we like to change tables after a while to meet everybody,” Suzy said. “You have to start with three tiles, and you have to have at least 30 points to put down. If you have 30 points, you can put down as many tiles as you want, as long as you have three to put down. All the colors have to be the same as a run or three in a row. There’s a lot of strategy to make it all work.”
The game continues until all tiles are used in the rack, which is known as Rummikub. Once the winner is declared, the losing player’s points are added to the winner’s cumulative score.
Before moving to Tellico Village, Tom Holcomb had never heard of Rummikub, but it’s become a game he’s thoroughly enjoyed and has helped teach others.
We never played before until we moved into the Village,” he said. “I didn’t realize there were so many games offered here. I mean, I had never heard of Rummikub or Hand and Foot. It’s not competitive because you don’t keep score or anything. There’s a couple of new people here tonight, and we’ve taught them how to play. People from this table go over there and some come over here, so you may end up playing with 10 different people by the end of the night.”
Tom enjoys the game due to the strategy involved with counting and making moves.
“Some games, everything is luck of the draw,” he said. “This game is the same way to some extent, but there’s some thought process involved there. There might be a run and you have to think how you can split that or how you can add to it. In the early years, there used to be some people that played this a lot and it would baffle me because they could move and think so quickly. The more you play, the more you see it in there. There’s a lot of thinking going on. It’s an enjoyable time.”
Tom and Suzy have also enjoyed making new friends through the group.
”It’s a fun game,” Tom said. “You meet new people, and you make new friends. It also helps you get out of the house sometimes.
Children can play this, too, so it’s a good, family game,” Suzy added. “It works really well. Anyone is welcome to join us.”
The group meets the third Thursday of the month at 6:30 p.m. at Chota Recreation Center. For more information, contact Suzy Holcomb at ourheaven@charter.net.
