People who are passionate about the card games especially, rummy are likely to love some interesting facts about this game shared in this blog. While these facts have been in the public domain for a long time now and even been documented a few times since the online rummy game became popular but are still not known by most rummy cards game players. These facts are about various theories related to the origin of the rummy cards and where rummy rules stemmed from.
Today the online rummy game is the most played form because of the boom in the smartphone market and good internet connections with a lot of people mostly playing this game on a variety of rummy apps. If we look into the history of this card game it’s documented that this card game has variations that are different around the world. The basis of all rummy card games be it offline rummy or online rummy is the same, which is to meld the cards in hand into sets and sequences by picking and discarding cards
So, let’s delve into some very interesting facts about how the rummy game came about.
Spain is where it all began?
Among a lot of rummy enthusiasts it is widely believed that the rummy cards game owes its origin from ‘Conquian’ which is a game played in Spain and Mexico. Many are of the opinion that it originated in Spain then began to be played in America with the migration of some Spanish people in the nineteenth century.
The Asian Theory
Like the European and North American claims about the online rummy game which is the tech version of offline rummy game was first discovered on their land, there is China as well which claims that rummy originated from a card game called ‘Mahjong’ in China almost a thousand years ago. The Chinese claim that Mahjong was also played with the same pick and drop style as rummy. In the nineteenth century, the same game also became popular with names such as ‘Khanhoo’ and ‘Kon Khin’. From China the game is believed to have moved to India. That’s not all, even Japanese have also put their hat in the ring when it comes to rummy cards, claiming that they have a game called ‘Hanafuda’, which was developed by the Portuguese who visited Japan.
The Trippy Theory
The name ‘rummy’ is said to have come from the word rum. Rum is a British slang used to describe things that are odd, peculiar, strange or queer probably because how the Britishers earlier saw the game. Then another reason believed for this name is that there were rummy competitions between two people, and the loser had to treat the winner with an alcoholic beverage called rum.
Descendent of the Poker family
There are plenty of theories that rummy is part of the poker family and in fact it is believed that it is the Whiskey Poker version of the card game that evolved into rummy with a set of rummy rules that are still followed. Rummy many say was first Rum Poker and then the name rummy came about.
The World War connection
In Hungary during the first World War many newspapers reported that rummy cards were used by soldiers as a leisure activity during the time of the first World War. It was also said, around the year 1915 this game came into existence at coffee shops in the Pest division of Budapest city.
The Hollywood Angle
Cinema has always been a popular medium of entertainment and it is documented that a considerable number of movies shot in Hollywood during the 1930s had shown many stars playing the game then. Probably in order to follow their favourite movie stars people took to the rummy cards as a leisure activity and then loved it.
Great Depression & Rummy
During the great economic depression from 1929-1939 many people preferred staying in their homes and in that phase of gloom it was the rummy cards that came to their rescue as a form of a leisure activity and from there the game became an instant hit.
Facts That Really Matter
While all the facts shared above about rummy and its origin are true in one way or the other, one fact that matters the most is that it is a really popular game and the online rummy game has made it even more popular. It is here that that credit should go to the rummy rules which are very simple to understand and follow. Even the really popular rummy apps mostly follow the same rummy rules making the game a perfect tool to de-stress and entertain yourself.
If you are someone who enjoyed reading this blog then we suggest you go a step further and download India’s most trusted rummy app and play the best online rummy game now.
