Rack-o: Rules??
dimock
Anyone know where I might find them? It's a Milton Bradley game.
ACTSEARCH
>I found this game at Goodwill for 75 cents, but it's missing the rules.
>Anyone know where I might find them? It's a Milton Bradley game.
Rack-O, huh? Geez, that takes me back. Played that when I was a kid. Don't
remember the rules but I remember the name. Would probably remember the game
if I saw the set.
Tom
Mergle29ub
Most older Racko games have the rules written on the
inside cover of the box, in case you haven't looked there.
Otherwise, here are the rules, in slightly abridged form...
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RACKO (Parker Brothers, reprint 1992 et. al.)
OBJECT
Be first to score 500 points in a match made of several
hands where a player arranges their rack of cards from
lowest to highest by numerical progression.
DECK: 60 cards 1-60.
EQUIPMENT: 4 Racks.
PLAYERS: 2-4. Rules stipulate you should only use
cards 1-40 for 2 players, 1-50 for 3, and all 60 for 4...
we use all 60 for all games.
DEAL: 10 cards, face down to each player, one at
a time. First card given to each player must go into
the backmost slot, #50, second into second slot, #45,
etc. until everyone has 10 cards. Dealer turns over
one card to start the discard pile, places the rest for
the stockpile.
PLAY: Leftmost goes first. Play is like rummy--
a player may opt to take a card from the stock OR
the discard pile. If the player draws from the discard
pile (top card only) he must switch it with any ONE
card from his rack, and must discard the unwanted
card. If he draws from the stock, he may choose
to switch it with a single card in his rack, or discard it.
TWO CARDS FROM THE RACK MAY NOT BE SWITCHED
FOR EACH OTHER AT ANY TIME. Nor may any multiple
or combination switches be made at any time.
When the drawpile is exhausted, turn it over and resume
the game.
RACK-O: One player instantaneously wins the game
when, by switching cards one at a time on his turn, they
all are sorted from lowest to highest. An example , of
course, is:
3, 10, 13, 19, 22, 23, 41, 47, 55, 57.
Winning player scores 50 for all cards being sorted
(according to the scoring guides on the sides of the
racks) and a 25 point bonus for a total of 75. All
other players score 5 points for every card sorted
in order starting from the beginning at the #5point-
slot. Thus, a losing hand of:
13, 8, 22, 24, 33, 34, 46, 51, 52, 59
only scores 5 points since the 10-point slot card is
lower than the first. Hand
1, 12, 13, 16, 34, 22, 4, 54, 31, 60
scores 25 points.
BONUS VARIATION: Extra bonuses may be
won BY THE WINNING PLAYER if he/she
has a run of 3 or more cards in his winning rack.
Such as:
2, 7, 13, 14, 15, 21, 28, 34, 40, 50.
Bonus points are:
3-card run 50 bonus 125 total
4 card run 100 bonus 175 total
5 card run 200 bonus 275 total
6 card run 400 bonus 475 total
Only one run may be scored in one hand,
of course, the longer. Plus, a player may wait
before calling "RACK-O" to try and make
a run. If someone else calls rack-o, losing
players only score 50 points even if all their
cards are in order.
Some may variate you cannot even call
Rack-o UNTIL you have a run of 3 or more
cards.
HINTS, STRATEGY:
Concentrate on the first few slots of your rack,
if you can. One out-of-turn card in the second
slot is worse than three out-of-order cards at
the end scoring-wise.
Use the out-of-order cards in your rack and
yours/others discards to find which 'gaps'
between cards may be wider or contain more
available cards.
Watch where other people play their cards
in and out of their racks. If the player after
you switches a few cards in back, you can
discard higher numbers more freely. Same
for the front of racks and low numbers. If the
player before you hasn't switched a back card
yet, chances are there are some low cards there
and you'll be getting one soon. Expect high
ones when the player before you hasn't
exchanged in the front of his rack yet.
Try to create what I call a double-gap:
Just because a drawn card doesn't fit in your
hand doesn't mean it can't make it easier
for you next time around. For instance,
you have:
... 9, 18, 56, 30, 46, 48, .....
Sure you want a card between 18 and 30.
Let's say, however, you draw 37. At first
glance, you might want to discard it or
switch it with 30 so you make the gap of
18 and 30 wider by 6 cards. BUT-- if you
switch it with the 56, you can then accept
the cards between 19 and 29 AND 38 to 45. A card
19-29 will go where the 37 was. 38-45
can go where the 30 was, then. If you just
switch 37 for 30, you miss out on two extra
usable cards. (These possibilities change
if the 56 was 38-44 already. )
CORRESPONDENCE:
For questions or extra decks:
CONSUMER RELATIONS
PARKER BROTHERS
P.O. BOX 1012
BEVERLY, MA 01915
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I love this game--it's probably the
first ever commercial game I ever learned
back in 1978 or so.
There is also a SUPER RACKO game out.
It features double racks, two suits of cards
(red-blue numbers 1-40) and wild cards.
Racko is much tougher to find than in recent
years, but several stores here in the Buffalo
area still sell the game, re-printed in 1997.
One is PAWCO, (716) 823 - 0353. Best
to call 9-1 EST, they close early some days.
Hope this helped.
William Priester Jr.
Buffalo, NY USA
Disclaimer: RACKO is a copyrighted product
of Parker Brothers. This post not intended to
violate any laws.