Melds of seven, frozen piles, and a partner you cannot talk to.
The great melding game of the 1950s, and still the best four-player game in the rummy family. Partnerships, two decks, and melds of seven.
Two 52-card decks with four jokers — 108 cards. Eleven cards each in the four-handed partnership game.
Jokers and all twos are wild. A meld may contain at most three wild cards, and never more wild cards than natural ones.
These are not played. Whenever you get one, lay it face up at once and draw a replacement. Each is worth 100 points to your side — or minus 100 if your side has not melded at all by the end.
Three or more cards of the same rank. There are no runs in canasta. Melds belong to the partnership, not the player.
A canasta is a meld of seven or more. Natural, with no wild cards, it is worth 500. Mixed, with wilds, it is worth 300. Your side must have at least one canasta before anyone can go out.
Your side's first melds of a hand have to come to a minimum, and it rises with your own score: 50 while your side is under 1500, 90 from there to 3000, and 120 above it. A side that has gone below zero opens for 15 — so the side that is ahead is the one that finds it hardest to get started.
The heart of the game. You may take the whole pile — not just the top card — if you can use the top card immediately, either by melding it with two matching cards from your hand or by adding it to a meld your side already has.
The pile is frozen when it contains a wild card or a red three, and while frozen you can only take it with a natural pair from your hand.
Meld or discard your last card once your side has a canasta. Ask your partner's permission first — it is the one piece of table talk the rules allow.
Game is 5000 points.