Colonel

Overview

Colonel is two-handed rummy, a close cousin of Gin. It is played with one 52-card pack, ten cards each, and the first player to reach 100 points wins the match.

The deal

Ten cards each, dealt one at a time. The next card is turned face up to start the discard pile and the rest of the pack is the stock. The non-dealer plays first, and the deal alternates every hand.

Your turn

Draw one card, either the top of the stock or the top of the discard pile. Then meld and lay off as much as you like, and finish by discarding one card. A card you have just taken from the discard pile cannot be thrown straight back the same turn.

Melds

A set is three or four cards of the same rank. A run is three or more cards in sequence in one suit. The ace is always high: Q-K-A is a run, A-2-3 is not.

Laying off

You may add cards to any meld already on the table, including the melds your opponent laid. This is what makes Colonel different from Gin, and it is why melding early has a cost: every meld you put down is somewhere for your opponent to get rid of cards too.

Going out and scoring

Play every card from your hand, by melding, laying off or discarding the last one, and you win the deal. You score 10 for every ace, king, queen and jack left in your opponent’s hand, plus the face value of their other cards. Melds on the table count for nothing; cards still in hand all count, even ones that would have made a meld.

The challenge

On your turn you may challenge instead of playing on. If your opponent accepts, both hands are counted and the lower hand wins the deal, scoring the other hand’s full total. Equal hands score nothing. If your opponent rejects, nothing happens and play carries on, and you cannot challenge again until your next turn.

When the stock runs out

If nobody has gone out when the stock is empty, the lower hand wins and scores the difference between the two totals.

Strategy tips

• Count what you are holding. Unlaid melds still cost you their full value if your opponent goes out.
• Watch the table. Before you meld, check what your opponent could lay off onto it.
• Challenge when your hand is small. A low hand against an opponent sitting on court cards is a cheap win.
• Shed high cards early that are not part of a meld.

Play Colonel online

Choose Play Online to join the Colonel lobby. Tap Quick Match to play the next available player, or challenge someone in the list. Browser players and the Old Maid & Colonel Android app share the same lobby.

Controls

• Tap the stock or the discard pile to draw.
• Tap cards to select them, then Meld, Lay Off or Discard. Buttons light up when that move is available.
• Drag a raised card left or right to rearrange your hand; drag elsewhere to scroll it.

If you like Colonel

Gin Rummy is the classic two-player knock game, Canasta is the bigger game of melds and canastas, and Rummymates is 13-card Indian Rummy.