Rummikub

You hold a rack of numbered tiles in four colours and race to lay them all down. Tiles go out as runs of three or more consecutive numbers in one colour, or sets of one number in different colours. Empty your rack and the round is yours; everyone else counts their leftovers against them. On your turn you either add tiles to the table or draw one. Your first play must total at least 30 points; after that you may break up and rebuild any group on the table, provided everything is legal when you finish. Two jokers stand in for any tile, and prising one loose often decides a round. It is the tile version of the rummy games many of our members grew up with, so parents and grandparents need no convincing. Plays best with exactly four, and a set of rounds fills an evening.