Michigan Rummy? Incorrect Name?

Question

I remember a rummy variant that I played as a child. I was taught it by older family members, who are all long dead. They called it "Michigan Rummy" but it was quite different from the game that I find online by that name on several different sites. Can anyone tell me the correct name of the game I knew, and point me to full rules?

The game was much like many rummy variants, in that the object is to form combinations or Melds. These were of two types: a "Set" composed of three or more cards of the same rank, and a "Run" or "Sequence" composed of four or more cards of adjacent ranks, such as 6, 7, 8, 9 or K, Q, J, 10. Ace could be high or low, but not both at once. I can't recall if a run had to be all of the same suit.

Each hand had a separate goal:

1. In the first hand, the goal was two sets.
2. The following hands were one run and one set,
3. two runs,
4. three sets,
5. two sets and one run,
6. two runs and one set,
7. and finally three runs.

A player could go out only by completing all of the required melds for that round. Extra melds were not allowed, but IIRC one was allowed to "lay-off" cards on the melds of other players.

I think two or three decks were shuffled together. Three players was the minimum, 4-6 more common.

On each turn a player drew or picked up a discard, optionally set down one or more melds, and ended with a face-up discard. Any other player could claim this discard, and picked it up along with the total discard pile. If no player wanted the discard, the player to the right of the previous player drew a card from the stack, and the discarded card remained face up until another discard was placed on top of it.

If more than one player wanted a discard, whoever called for it first got it, leading to fast and raucous play.

To start, each player was dealt a hand of 6 cards. Thus in each round but the first, a player would have to take the discard pile at least once to have enough cards to make the required melds. A player scored positively for cards in melds or laid off, and lost points for all other points. Spot cards were worth there face value two thru ten, face cards ten each, and aces fifteen.

When a player went out, other players were not allowed to meld cards left in their hands -- these counted negatively. The player who went out could make a final discard, or not.

On the last round special rules applied -- no melds might be put down except by going out, and the player who went out had to make a final discard. This was summarized as "down and out with a discard".

All this is remembered from more than 40 years ago, and I may have some details incorrect. Can anyone identify this game and point to full rules?

Answer 1

This is a form of contract rummy called progressive rummy.

(I note that since the contracts you name include ever-increasing ones eventually leading to ones that cannot be met with only seven cards that each deal probably involves an additional card)

Progressive Rummy: Progressive Rummy is played very similarly to Contract Rummy. The main differences are in the number of cards dealt in each of the seven deals. The first deal starts with 6 cards dealt, the second deal 7 cards are dealt, and so on until the 7th deal where 12 cards are dealt. The initial meld requirements are the same as in standard contact rummy. The player generally completes the hand by playing all his cards to the table to meet the contract, as he will usually not have any additional cards in his hand (unless he opted, on another player's turn to take the current upcard, as described in the rules for Contract Rummy, above). If this is the case, the player may play cards to other melds on the table (if any) once they have made their initial meld. A player may also play their last card by discard, at which time they also win the deal. Scoring in progressive rummy is the same as in Contract Rummy, except that jokers are worth 25 points each.