Rummikub: Superb Tile Swapping Action

Rummikub for the iPhone is a recreation of the classic tile based game that has been played since its invention in the 1930’s. You will need all your neurons firing and all synapses active if you hope to master this game. A combination of rummy, dominoes and chess, this game will keep you entertained if you let it. So whats the deal with this game? I’ll tell you.

Rummikub is based on the official rules for the ‘real world’ version of the game. Each player in the game (2-4, single player only) draws 14 tiles from the pool and places it on their rack. The pool is made up of four sets of numbered tile ranging from 1 to 13 and an extra two jokers, 54 tiles total. The object is to clear your rack of tiles. To do that you must combine your tiles into sets of sequential numbers or matching numbers of different colors. If you can’t do that on a turn you have to draw another tile. There are other rules involved but the game provides them within. I would have liked to have seen an interactive tutorial though instead of or in addition to the rules being displayed as text.

The translation to the iPhone has been handled well in certain aspects and poorly in others. The dedication to bringing the beauty of this game to the iPhone has been marvelous but it seems perhaps someone may have forgotten what iPhone gamers expect out of their paid apps. The price for this game at the time of this writing is $4.99(USD). The game offers only a single player experience, which can pit you against 1 to 3 CPU’s. There is no multiplayer, no bluetooth connectivity, not even pass-n-play. However, I have yet to get bored of it, though eventually not having multiplayer will hurt a lot more. The Single player experience can be tailored to three difficulty settings though and they do scale quite nicely. Also you have the ability to change the time limit for each turn.

When the game starts, you will notice immediately the care that went into the recreation of the game. The tiles look beautiful and the sound effects are genuine, except for a few that seem somewhat spacey. The Computer is quick to move, you will never feel like there is a poor AI engine behind it because it keeps pace. Moving of tiles is as simple as touching on it and dragging it around. You can reorganize it on your rack, you can move it into the ‘build area’ where you can try to put sets together, or you can put it straight out onto the board to attach it to another set. There sometimes creeps up the problem of how can I see where I’m putting the tile if my thumb is covering it? Though this happens rarely and usually by the edge of the screen.

The game can get hectic really quickly, what with 10 tile maneuvers just to free up the red ten so you can match it your blue and yellow and then win. Rummikub® does a lot to help you along the way. During any turn, for every move, you can see where the tiles are going. The game doesn’t just show you the end result, it shows you how you got there, which leaves players a lot less confused. You can keep track of that yellow 12 as it is being moved around the board. The game also has sorting for your rack which can help you see sets you may have missed. Its as easy as hitting the menu button and picking a sort method. It can sort by color or numbers among other methods.

The game also comes up short in a few areas. For one, bringing up the menu doesn’t pause the game. Now, I understand this was a choice the developer made to keep the game going and not allowing people to pause and study the board without a time limit, but its almost instinct for a gamer to assume a menu button pauses the game and therefore it is a counter-intuitive design. I have drawn many accidental tiles by letting the clock run down. The game offers no customization of any kind. There is no option to change the tile color or playing surface or even the players names. All of these things are such a shame, because the game itself is rather good.

Oh, also there is no background music, which seemed like an odd choice at first but actually works quite well. The sound effects are pleasant enough to keep you interested in them and if you feel you need music the game can be played over your iPod app music.

All in all, If you enjoy the brain twisting mental exercise of Rummikub you will find more than five dollars worth of fun in this package. But considering it’s drawbacks with regards to the tutorial and the lack of multiplayer or customization, the casual iPhone gamer will find it difficult to justify the purchase. So for all those uninitiated out there who have yet give Rummikub a try but want to, Saddle up and draw your tiles.