The benefits of playing Rummikub

When Ephraim Hertzano created Rummikub during the 1940, he probably did not intend to make an educational game. After all, Ephraim’s only intention was to create a card game without using any cards. Any sort of playing cards were banned in Romania, Ephraim’s home country, so Ephraim was bent on creating a game that can replace card games. From that concept, Rummikub was created. Instead of cards, Rummikub uses colored tiles with numbers that range from one to thirteen. There are 106 tiles and four colors (blue, red, black, and yellow) used in Rummikub. Each number and color combination is used twice. Like the typical Rummy and Gin Rummy games, Rummikub uses the concept of runs and sequences—or melds—in the game. Using the numbered tiles on their hand and on play, the players have to create melds using their tiles while adding to the tiles already in play. The rule for a meld in Rummikub is the same with rules for melds in Rummy games: a meld is either a sequence of consecutive numbers of the same color (as supposed to consecutive numbers of the same suit) or a group of tiles with the same number value regardless of color (although the color in a group meld cannot be repeated). A player wins if he or she used all of the tiles in his or rack. So how is this educational? Rummikub requires players to use different skills and mental capacities. Although it not purely a strategy-based game (since the tiles given to each player at the start of the game are at random), it mostly requires players to strategize—much like the board game chess, which is widely known to educational because of its strategic nature (many school around the world have chess in their curriculums because of this). This is why many parents buy Rummikub for their children in the hopes of squeezing in some quality games into a typical kid’s daily regimen of mindless entertainment. Rummikub has several other benefits, which is not surprising since Rummy games (from which the tile-based board game was probably based) are said to be a good mental exercise.

Develops problem-solving abilities

Perhaps one of the most acknowledged skill Rummikub develops is a person’s analytical and cognitive skills. This is the same skill that Mathematics fosters. Of course, it isn’t unknown to parents that Mathematics is one of a child’s least favorite subjects in school. Rummikub develops one’s problem-solving abilities because a Rummikub player has to think of ways to use his tiles in the existing tiles at play. While it does not require advanced Mathematical skills, it requires one’s attention to be focused. It also helps boost memory and responsiveness. But this benefit of Rummukub is not simply for kids. When a person—an adult or a child—plays games like Rummikub, he uses a part of his brain that is normally inactive. When one uses these parts of the brain regularly through cognitive games like Rummikub, it enhances one’s memory, preventing ailments like dementia and even Alzheimer’s disease in the future. 

Builds connections and relationships

In some countries, the social health of a child is one of the parents’ main concerns. According to recent reports, constant social interactions as a child are important for their overall growth. Most of the games today do not require children to interact directly with other children. With Rummikub, however, children are forced to play with other people. This helps children develop their social skills when interacting with new friends. This also helps them strengthen their relationships with their family and existing friends. Games like Rummikub can serve the bridge for families to stay connected during a time when it hard to understand each other due to age and culture gaps. When family members play games, however, they bond in ways not possible through other medium.

Increases math skills

Math skills are necessary in life. Unfortunately, not everyone is adept with math and number solving. Fortunately, games like Rummikub enhance one’s Math skills. Math is not a skill where the concepts have to be memorized—it requires one to have top-notch skills in analysis and guessing probabilities. Using games to teach child skills used in school—and, ultimately, in real life—are not uncommon, the same way teachers relate the subjects of geometry to billiards and golf. Like Math, Rummikub is the application of one’s problem-solving skills. What makes Rummikub effective as an educational tool is that it inserts its benefits in a way that the players will not notice. Rummikub is still one of the most enjoyable games around, even if it is also one of the most educational.