| Marriage | |
| Subtitle: | Rummy |
| Image Link: | File:Tunella.jpg |
| Image Caption: | Three cards of the same suit and rank are a tunnel |
| Type: | Rummy |
| Players: | 2 to 5 |
| Ages: | All but gambling is not legal in Nepal |
| Num Cards: | 3 decks of 52 cards (total: 156) |
| Deck: | Standard |
| Play: | Anti-clockwise |
| Card Rank: | A K Q J 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 |
| Origin: | Nepal |
| Playing Time: | Depends on players |
| Random Chance: | Easy |
| Skills: | Memory, Attention |
Marriage is a matching card game played with three decks of cards in Nepal, Bhutan, Banthara and by the Nepali diaspora. It is based on making sets of three matching cards of the same rank (trials), the same rank and suit (tunnels), or three consecutive cards of the same suit (sequences).[1] [2]
The game uses three standard 52-card decks. Jokers are optional; if jokers are included, they are wildcards. Play consists of five stages:
The overall objective of the game is to arrange all twenty-one cards into sets. The first objective is to make three pure sets. Creating a set of seven pairs (two cards of the same rank and suit) also counts as meeting this objective. The second objective is to end the game. The final objective of the game is to score the highest number of points.
The player to the dealer's right gets the first card (the "offered" or "choice" card). The dealer deals a hand of twenty-one cards counter-clockwise to each player. The remaining cards (known as stock cards) are kept face down in a stack. The top stock card is removed and placed face up; the player on the dealer's right picks it up to start the game.
Players can pick up the top card from the deck or take the offered card. The chosen card is face-up, and the first card in the stock is face-down. After a player takes a card, they will have 22 cards. The player discards a card face-up, the offered card to the next player. Play moves to the right. If the player misses discarding the card or picking up and does only one, the player has to finish the game with fewer cards which is more difficult.
If the player does not want the choice card, they place it on the discard pile (which increases as the number of stock cards decreases). When the stock pile is empty, the discard pile is shuffled and placed face-down to form a new stock pile.
A set is a group of at least three cards. It may contain a:
There are two types of sets:
A dublee is a set of two cards of the same rank and suit, such as . 7 dublees is equivalent to three pure sequences. Fewer than seven dublees are counted as a zero set. Dublees cannot be used by fewer than four players. If a player with a dublee wins the game, they earn an extra seven points.
During each player's turn, they try to make the first three primary (or pure) sets. When a player makes their primary sets, they display the sets face-up and must discard a card. The first player to complete the primary set can select a random card (face-down) from the deck and place it at the bottom of the deck. For the rest of the round, this card is the "Main Maal" and is called "Tiplu". Subsequent players who display the primary sets can look at the Tiplu, but not change it.
If a player has 7 dublees, it is considered a complete primary set. The player must place the 7 dublees face-up and can choose (or see) the Tiplu, depending on the order in which the player completed the primary round.
Players who finish the primary round move on to the secondary (dirty) rounds, and know the Tiplu. The player can now arrange the remaining cards into more sets with wildcards. In the following example, is the Tiplu.
Wildcards can replace any card in the deck. There are two categories of wildcard: point cards (maal) and non-point cards.
Maal cards are:
All cards of the same rank as the Tiplu are wildcards without score values; they can help complete sets to finish the game, but do not contribute to scoring. There are nine ordinary jokers, with no points. If Alter cards are used, there are six jokers (with no points) and three alter cards with points.
The game ends when a player arranges the cards in complete sets with or without wildcards and displays them. The player has one discarded card at the end of the game.
The eighth dublee also ends the game. The player who is playing dublee gets to pick up the offered card only if it forms the eighth dublee to end the game; otherwise, they pick a card from the stock deck. Although a dublee cannot be formed with a wildcard (jokers or maals), two jokers are considered a dublee. When the game ends, players who have not completed pure rounds will know the Tiplu and other points cards. In a typical game, there are three primary sets (nine cards) and four secondary sets (12 cards).
If the stock pile finishes and no players have ended the game, the game is deemed dismissed.
The player who ends the game gets 10 points from each of the players who have not completed primary rounds, and three points from each of the players who have done so.
Each player gets (or loses) points based on:
When the game ends, the round is over and a new deal follows.
Scoring in Marriage involves calculating the total number of points (maal) in the game.[3] Maal cards or tunnels carry points. At the end of a round, each player separates their maal cards from the rest and totals them. The total is the net score of all the players' maal points. Each player's points are based on what they have in their hand, regardless of who ends the game.
| Ordinary card | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| Ordinary joker | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| toplu or jhiplu | 2 | 5 | 10 | |
| Putali or Bhuut or Lamphe | 5 | 15 | 25 | |
| Tiplu | 3 | 8 | N/A | |
| Alter | 5 | 15 | 25 | |
| Marriage (On Hand) | 10 | 30 | N/A |
| Ordinary card | 5 | 15 | 25 | |
| Ordinary joker | 10 | 20 | 30 | |
| Poplu/Jhiplu | 15 | 35 | NA | |
| Putali or Bhuut | 35 | N/A | N/A | |
| Alter | 35 | N/A | N/A | |
| Marriage (face-up) | 15 | 35 | N/A |
Rules and scoring exceptions: