Rack-O
Rack-O Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Object of the Game
To be the first player to replace cards in their rack, by drawing cards from the pile, whose numbers read in any numerical progression from LOW to HIGH. (See Figure 1.)
Setup
Cards
Rack-O cards are numbered from 1 to 60. If 4 are playing, use all 60 cards. If 3 are playing use cards 1 to 50, and if 2 are playing use cards 1 to 40. (See rules for 2 players.)
Racks
Each player uses one rack. The numbers appearing on each rack: 5, 10, 15, 20, 25, 30, 35, 40, 45, and 50 are used for scoring only.
Deal
Cut for the deal. Low card deals first. The dealer shuffles cards and deals out ten cards to each player.
Important Note: As each card is dealt, players immediately place it in a slot in their rack. Each player must insert their first card in slot #50 (the last slot in the rack), second card in slot #45, third card in slot #40, and so on until their rack is filled with all ten cards.
How to Play
The cards remaining after the deal is complete are placed face down in the center of the table. This forms the Stockpile. The top card is laid face up beside it to start the Discard pile. Players take turns, beginning with the player seated to the left of the dealer. A player must take one card, either the top card from the Stockpile, or the top card from the Discard pile. If they take the top Discard, they must exchange it for one card from their rack, which they discard (face up to the Discard pile). If they take the top card from the Stockpile, they may exchange that card for one from their rack, or discard it if they choose.
WHEN CARDS ARE EXCHANGED, THE PLAYER MUST PLACE THE NEW CARD IN THE SLOT FROM WHICH THE OLD CARD IS TAKEN.
If the Stockpile is used up before any player goes Rack-O the Discard pile is turned over, and used as the new Stockpile.
Winning a Round
A round ends when one player goes Rack-O! In order to go Rack-O a player must have all ten cards in their rack reading from a LOW card in the #5 slot to a HIGH card in the #50 slot, in any combination of increasingly higher cards. Figure 1 shows one of the many combinations a player could have to go Rack-O and win a round.
Scoring & Winning the Game
The player who goes Rack-O scores a total of 75 points, (5 points for each of the ten cards in their rack, and 25 points for going Rack-O.)
The other players score 5 points for the cards, in their rack, in LOW to HIGH sequence. Starting with the card in the #5 slot, and ending where the succession of higher cards has been broken. Figure 3 shows a score of 30 points as card 37 in the #30 slot is followed by card 22 in the #35 slot. No points are scored for the last four cards in the rack even though they are arranged correctly. (Sometimes a player may score only 5 points in a round, because the card in the #10 slot is lower than the card in the #5 slot; even though the remaining nine cards are in order.)
The first player to score a total of 500 points or more wins the game.
Rack-O for Two Players
Play is the same with the addition of this rule: A player may not go Rack-O (for a score of 75 points) unless they have a run of at least 3 cards in sequence included in their rack.
Partners Rack-O
Four may play as partners, two against two. The scores of the two partners are added together after each round. The pair scoring 500 points first wins the game.
Bonus Rack-O
The object of Bonus Rack-O is for a player to score 50 to 400 extra Bonus points by including a sequence or runs of 3 to 6 cards in their rack before going Rack-O (see Figure 4). All the rules of regular Rack-O are used. This game is more challenging, as a player must decide to go Rack-O with a score of only 75 or wait to improve their rack for a bonus score. The bonus is scored only by the player who goes Rack-O, their opponents only receiving 5 points for each of the cards in their racks in LOW to HIGH order.
The bonuses scored for runs are as follows:
Three Card Run 75 points plus a Bonus of 50 points = 125 points
Four Card Run 75 points plus a Bonus of 100 points = 175 points
Five Card Run 75 points plus a Bonus of 200 points = 275 points
Six (or More) Card Run 75 points plus a Bonus of 400 points = 475 points
Note: If the player who goes Rack-O has two or more runs in their rack, they receive a bonus for only one of them, the longest if there is a difference.