Arlington (Oklahoma Rummy)
Overview
Arlington is a classic American melding rummy also known as Oklahoma Rummy
(not Oklahoma Gin). Two standard decks are shuffled together. Players form sets
and runs, use wild deuces carefully around the queen of spades, and may take the
entire discard pile when its top card completes a new set with two cards from
hand. First to 1,000 points wins the match.
Players
2–8 players. Each player plays for themselves (no partnerships).
Setup
1.
Shuffle two standard 52-card decks together (104 cards; no jokers).
2.
Deal 13 cards to each player — 12 each at eight players, since eight
hands of thirteen would use all 104 cards and leave no stock or discard pile.
3.
Place the remainder face down as the stock.
4.
Turn the top stock card face up to start the discard pile.
5.
Player 1 plays first in every hand. The first player alternates between
games: Player 1 opens the first game, Player 2 the next, and so on round the
table.
Melds
A meld is either:
•
Set: 3 or 4 cards of the same rank, or
•
Run: 3 or 4 consecutive cards of the same suit.
Melds may never contain five or more cards. You may only add cards to your own
melds — never to opponents’. With two decks a set may hold both copies of a card
(two 7♠, say), and you may lay off either copy onto a set of its rank. A natural
card may be laid off onto any set of its rank (including one that holds wilds)
or onto either end of a run in its suit. A meld made only of 2s takes more 2s
but no natural cards.
Aces may be high (Q–K–A) or low (A–2–3), but not both in the same run
(no wrapping king–ace–2). In this digital edition, natural ace-high runs
(Q–K–A of a suit) are offered as a separate meld action; other runs use the
engine’s ace-low sequences. Wild 2s may fill gaps in sets and may be added to
existing melds. A natural J may be laid off below Q–K–A, and a natural A above
J–Q–K.
Wild deuces
2s are wild and may stand for any card, with these restrictions:
•
A 2 may not substitute for the queen of spades in a spade run unless it
is the only wild in that meld.
•
A meld of all 2s (no naturals) is allowed and scores specially (see below).
Queen of spades
•
The queen of spades may not be discarded unless it is the last card
in your hand (going out), or your hand holds nothing but queens of spades
(with two decks you can hold both, and must still be able to end your turn).
•
It is worth 50 when melded and −100 if left in hand when someone goes out.
Turn structure
On your turn:
1.
Draw — choose one:
•
Take the top card of the stock, or
•
Take the entire discard pile, but only if you can immediately use
the top discard with two cards from your hand to form a new set
(lay that set when taking the pile). In this digital edition, pile takes
are gated on forming a set with the top card (naturals and/or wild 2s).
When the top card is a 2, the set you lay must include a wild — or be a
set of 2s laid with Meld 2s.
2.
Meld (optional): Lay new sets/runs and/or add cards (including wild 2s)
to your own melds. No meld may exceed four cards.
3.
Discard one card face up onto the discard pile (except the queen of
spades, unless it is your last card or your hand holds only queens of
spades).
When the stock runs out
The first time a player must draw from an empty stock, the whole discard pile is
shuffled to form a new stock. That happens once per hand: if the stock runs
out again, the hand ends at once with no one going out. Every player scores
(meld points) − (deadwood) and nobody earns the go-out bonus. (Melds hold at
most four cards and each player has six meld slots, so a table can reach a point
where nobody can ever empty their hand; this keeps such a hand from lasting
forever.)
Going out
When you empty your hand (after discarding, or by melding your last cards so
nothing remains to discard), the hand ends and scores are totaled.
Scoring (per hand)
Melded cards
Other melded 2s (representing a card)
Deadwood (cards left in hand)
Use the same face values as above, except:
•
2s in hand: 20 each (penalty)
•
Queen of spades in hand: 100 each (penalty)
Each player scores: (meld points) − (deadwood)
The player who went out also adds a 100-point go-out bonus.
Winning the match
Play hands until a player reaches 1,000 or more points at the end of a hand.
The highest score then wins, whoever went out; an exact tie for the highest score
goes to the lower-numbered seat. Every hand is opened by seat 1.
Digital notes
•
Take pile: Requires forming a new set with the top discard plus two
cards from hand (matching naturals and/or wild 2s), then laying that set.
•
Ace-high runs: Natural Q–K–A of one suit can be melded via Meld ace-high.
•
Wild in new runs: Lay a natural run (or ace-high), then Add wild to
your own meld (max four cards). A run is always laid with three naturals and
holds at most four cards, so it can only ever hold one wild — the Q♠
substitution restriction (“only wild in the meld”) is therefore always met.