KNOCK RAMI (Grenoble Knock Rummy) 

OBJECTIVE OF KNOCK RAMI: The objective of Knock Rami is to be the last player remaining. 

NUMBER OF PLAYERS: 2 to 5 players 

MATERIALS: A standard 52-card deck plus 2 jokers, chips or money for betting, and a flat surface. 

TYPE OF GAME: Rummy Card Game 

AUDIENCE: Adults 

OVERVIEW OF KNOCK RAMI 

Knock Rami is a rummy card game for 2 to 5 players. The goal is for you to win the pot by being the last player eliminated.  

Knock Rami is a betting game. Players should determine before the game begins how much a stake will be worth.  

SETUP 

Players will all pay an equal stake into the pot before the start of the game.  

The dealer first dealer is chosen at random and passes to the left for each new round. The dealer will shuffle the deck and allow the player to their right to cut the deck. The dealer will then deal each player a hand, one card at a time. For 2-player games each player receives 10 cards each. For games with 3 or more players 7 cards are dealt to each player.  

The rest of the deck is placed centrally as a drawing pile. The top card is revealed and placed next to the draw pile to start the discard pile.  

Card Ranking, Point Values, and Combinations 

The ranking is ace (low), 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, Jack, Queen, and King (high). Jokers are wild cards and can be rank and suit of card.  

The value of each card is as follows. Aces are worth 1 point, 2s through 10s are worth their numeric value, and Jacks, Queens, and Kings are all worth 10 points each. Jokers are worth 25 points if unmatched.  

The point of the round is to form as many cards in your hand into valid combinations as possible. The types of combinations that can be made are as follows. Players can make sets or runs.  

A set is 3 to 4 cards of the same rank. A run is 3 or more cards of the same suit in ranking order. Ace is always low for runs and cannot be used to bridge between King and 2. Only one joker can be used in any one set or run.  

GAMEPLAY 

The game begins with the player left of the dealer, and passes clockwise from them. On a player’s turn they will draw either the top card of the draw pile or the top of the discard. This card is added to their hand. Then a player must either discard one card form their hand face up to the discard pile or knock.  

If a player chooses to knock, they will discard one card from their hand face down to the discard. This ends the game.  

If drawing the top card form the discard pile, you may not discard the same card again. A player may not knock until their second turn. All players must have had at least one turn before anyone can knock.  

If the stockpile is empty and the next player to draw does not wish to draw from the discard pile the round will end, and scoring begins. This does not count as a knock for scoring.  

SCORING 

When the round ends player reveals their hands. All players sort their hands into valid sets and runs and leave any unmatched cards to be scored. Players score their unmatched cards, also known as deadwood.  

Each player will keep a cumulative score. After each round the score of their deadwood is added to their cumulative score. If a player ever has 0 deadwood, the subtract 10 points from their cumulative score.  

When a player has a score of 100 or more deadwood they are eliminated from the game. An eliminated player may buy back into the round once. They pay into the pot half of what the pot is currently worth, and are back int h game with a score equal to the highest score amongst remaining players.  

END OF GAME 

Once all but one player is eliminated, that player is the winner and collets the whole pot.  

Amber Crook
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