In advance, I beg your forgiveness for not playing the way you and Granny or cousin BuberToober used to play. And worst of all, the interweb tubes cannot agree on any part of the rules. So I pulled out a couple decks of cards not long ago to pass a quiet night, and realized I couldn’t remember a single damn rule. It was competitive and exciting…and it helped pass long blocks of time without counting the cricket chirps.ĭecades have passed and that friend and I had a very ugly falling out long ago, but I still remember loving that card game.

During those days when it poured rain, and late at night when the crickets sung to the stars, we had little to do but play card games, and my friend’s family had a clear favorite: Shanghai Rummy. I was only thirteen, but even way back in those ancient times, this was a vacation free of television, phones, and air conditioning. Many years ago I went on a camping trip with a friend’s family to a remote cabin in the Canadian wilderness where you could see the stars at night and smell the fish during the day. A card game for 3-8 players that is good for a quiet evening at home, or some time ’round the campfire.

Rules for shanghai card game