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I love playing Rummikub at home. But I also love travelling. And space is always at a premium with an almost 7 year old packing his entire toy, book, and game collection in the bag! But we have found a solution; Rummikub Travel
This is a travel-sized Rummikub Classic and its brill! If you haven’t heard of Rummikub Classic, check out my review and the details for its bigger brother here – there you’ll get the low down on the full-sized set.
Convenient!
But for die-hard Rummikubers, or gamers who fancy something new to pack in their sack, Rummikub Travel is a convenient way to play on the move. With smaller tiles and collapsible racks, it takes up a lot less space but achieves exactly the same brilliant gameplay. And, by using the box lid as a pool for the communal tiles, you have everything you need to start laying sets and runs.
Just like its bigger box cousin, Rummikub Travel is played over a number of rounds (or even a single game if time is tight). To win, you have to be first to get rid of all your tiles (which come in four colours numbered 1-13). And you get rid of them by laying them down in sets (or "runs") of at least 3 tiles which must be either consecutive numbers of the same colour, or multiples of the same number using the four different coloured "suits".
The First Turn…
After the first turn (which must include tiles which total at least 30), you can add tiles from your rack to existing sets or to create new ones. You can mix the tiles around on the table as much as you need in order to fit them in.
But beware – any meddling comes with a 3 tile pick up penalty if you can’t make all the sets obey the Rummikub rule by the time you’re done! There are also two smiley face Joker tiles which are wild and can represent any number or colour. If you can’t lay a tile on your turn, you must pick one from the communal pool.
At the end of the game, the winner’s score is the total of all the tiles left on the other players’ racks. And those jokers are no joke – if you have them on your rack and end-game, that’s a 30 point penalty! Ouch!
This is a great portable option for us. We slide the small box into a side pocket when we head out on a road trip or holiday. Okay, so it will never be as sturdy as the main set. But for its size, we think it is a great implementation. Plus, the little racks also have added stands to offer support as they are collapsible (unlike in the full-sized set). As Rummikub is a game we absolutely love, it’s always a race to unpack Rummikub Travel so that we can get it out and start playing!
