Buzz
Everything you need to know about playing, swapping, and scoring jokers in Rummikub
Across its many versions, Rummikub has evolved, especially when it comes to joker tiles. In today’s rules, you can retrieve a joker by rearranging its meld to form valid sets or runs without needing the joker. Older, more traditional rules require that you substitute the joker using a tile from your hand. We’ve gathered all the different joker rules, including those for Rummikub with a Twist, so you can settle debates and decide which version brings the most fun to your table.
Quick Guide to Rummikub Joker Rules
The joker stands in for any tile and carries the same value when used in your opening meld. You can retrieve and instantly reuse a joker by swapping it with its matching tile, or in some game variations, by legally rearranging the meld it's in.
Instructions
Using the Joker Tile
Substitute any tile with the joker. The joker acts as any number or color and can be used anytime, even during your initial meld (which includes runs and groups). When played on your first turn, it takes the point value of the tile it's replacing.
- As per the official Rummikub rules updated in 2019, jokers can be used in the opening meld, though older rules didn’t always allow that.
- Some rule sets require an opening meld of at least 30 points, while others raise it to 50.
Play freed jokers right away. Once you release a joker from the table, it must be played immediately — you can't return it to your hand. To use a freed joker (or rearrange any melds), you must also play at least one tile from your own hand.
- During your initial 30-point meld, you may not use any tiles from the table — including jokers.
- Stricter rule sets demand the joker be used in a new meld with at least two tiles from your hand.
Joker penalty: 30 points if left in hand. When a player ends the game by calling “Rummikub,” everyone totals the value of their remaining tiles. Since low scores win, ending with a joker in your hand can seriously hurt your chances — it's worth 30 points!
Swapping a Joker
Swap jokers in number runs with their exact match. The easiest method to replace a joker is by exchanging it for the tile it’s standing in for, straight from your hand — this move is allowed in all rule variations.
- Example: In a sequence like blue 1, blue 2, blue 3, Joker, blue 5, you can insert a blue 4 from your hand to take the joker.
Replace jokers in same-number groups with missing colors. Certain rule versions require you to substitute jokers in 3-of-a-kind sets using both missing colors. So, if you have a joker, a blue 4, and a red 4, you'd need to add a black 4 and a yellow 4 to retrieve the joker. Looser rules may let you do it with just one tile.
Freeing a Joker by Rearranging Melds
Split long runs into legal melds of 3+ tiles to grab a joker. Under the latest rules, if removing the joker still leaves behind valid sets, you're free to take it. For instance, from the sequence 1, 2, 3, J, 5, 6, 7, you could lift the joker and be left with two legal runs: 1-2-3 and 5-6-7.
- You can add tiles to extend shorter runs. If the line is 2, 3, J, 5, 6, you could insert 1 and 7 to split it into two complete runs.
- If the joker sits at the end of a run that's already three or more tiles long, you can pick it up without rearranging.
Remove jokers from 4-of-a-kind melds freely. In updated rule sets, jokers can be pulled out of a 4-of-a-kind without needing to play any additional tiles — as long as the remaining meld still qualifies as legal.
Transform runs into same-number sets to release a joker. Got a run like black 1, 2, J? If you can legally move the 1 and 2 into other groups — say, different color 1s and 2s — then you’re free to reclaim that joker for new use.
Legacy Rules
You can't break apart melds containing jokers without replacing them first. Rummikub draws from Rummy but adds its own complexity. If a meld includes a joker, you can’t rearrange it or remove tiles from it until you swap the joker out. You can, however, still extend the meld at either end.
- In the most challenging formats — like tournaments — the replacement tile must come from your own hand. If both replacement tiles are already on the board, the joker is considered locked and untouchable, except to add on.
All missing tiles must be used to replace jokers in same-number groups. In tournament play, if a joker completes a 3-of-a-kind, you’ll need both of the tiles it could be representing. So with a blue 3, red 3, and a joker, you must add the black 3 and yellow 3 to retrieve it.
Jokers could only be replaced using tiles from your hand in earlier versions. Although modern rules let you use either board tiles or hand tiles to swap out a joker, the original rules only permitted joker replacement using a tile drawn or held from your hand.
Only one joker per meld is allowed. A nod to traditional Rummy rules, this restriction has mostly disappeared from modern Rummikub — but in some formats, it's still enforced. You can’t form a new meld using two jokers, nor can you add a joker to a meld that already contains one. For instance, you couldn't extend a meld like red 3, joker, red 4 by adding a red 6 and another joker.
- This rule matters in tournaments, where using a joker locks the meld, raising the stakes of every joker play and preventing easy sacrifices of suits or numbers.
Unique Joker Types
Double Joker This special joker acts as two connected tiles in a meld. In sets of the same number, you’ll still need to add two actual tiles alongside the double joker — since melds must contain at least three tiles. In a run, the double joker fills the space of two consecutive numbers.
- When used in same-number sets, the meld maxes out at three tiles, because the double joker stands in for two out of the four possible colors.
Color Change Joker Only usable in runs, this joker mimics any tile like a normal joker — but once it’s placed, the rest of the sequence must switch to a new color.
- For example, a run could begin with blue 3, blue 4, then a color change joker, followed by red 6 and red 7.
Mirror Joker To play this joker, you must form two symmetrical runs around it. Picture a layout like blue 3, blue 2, mirror joker, blue 2, blue 3. As more tiles are added, the symmetry must continue. Remove a 3 from one side? You must remove the matching 3 on the other.
- The mirror joker scores as 0, both at the start and at game’s end.
- If using a color change joker, the color swap must mirror as well.
- So a sequence like red 6, color change joker, blue 5, blue 4 would need to be mirrored by blue 4, blue 5, color change joker, red 6.
- Standard and double jokers don’t need to be matched with another joker — just the tile they represent.
- Example: yellow 1 and 2 on one side can be mirrored by a double joker on the other.
