I, too, have not had that experience.

It appears under Winning the Game

To win the game, a player needs to place all tiles in the hand to the board. As soon as someone manages to do this, the game is over and this player is a winner. Placement of the remaining players is decided by the value of tiles left in their hands - each numbered card incurs as many penalty points as its number is, while Jokers incur 30 penalty points.

If the pool runs out of tiles, players can pass their turn instead of playing tiles on the board. If all the active players have passed their turn in sequence, the game ends in a draw.

I will make that proposal.

not sure I've come across an opponent passing, why would they do that? I thought their tactic was to hoard as many tiles as they can.
Were are the rules around passes listed?

as rummikub is such a controversial game and the only variant available to guest player, I would also suggest that American rummikub is made the "base" variant, it's certainly an easier game for newbies to learn and most of the other variants (group, straight) are based on it anyway

That's a thought.

As an alternative to Full Deal I think, excepting Jokers, if you can make your first meld, you could be forced to. That way there are tiles in play so it’s less likely someone would want to waste time picking all the times until the bag has run out

I've been following this board on and off and registering the unhappiness about the state of Rummikub.

Know this- It would be a logistical nightmare to change the rules of Rummikub since there are so many games going on it and a major change could throw them into mayhem. Thusly, that is not an option.

Q-1 Once it gets to the point where the opponent, holding a load of tiles, passes, have any of you passed back? Did that end the game? It should. If you've put down more cards than these opponents do, there is a good chance you would have fewer points. If passing back doesn't end the game, we should know about that.

Q-2 I was pretty sure there were recommendations made, but since the last time I looked at the board, all have timed out and there are only the below few to see.

I am looking for ways to create an alternative (variant) for those who are very unhappy with the game as it is played now. I've already noted the Full Deal suggestion.

Are there any others?

Thanks!
marc

I get you point

I agree...but the current alternative is spending days of game time to get to the same point! Personally I wouldn't play it, but some people seem to like that tactic, so why not just speed up the process?

Sounds like a pointless game to me, one player is likely to end the game in the first couple of moves with absolutely no enjoyment or skill

I think I've mentioned elsewhere that I really don't enjoy playing Rummikub when it just turns into a waiting game to draw all the tiles before anyone plays

Getting to the point where someone plays takes and eternity, and when you get there it's a solved game.

You know exactly what you're got and what your opponent has so it's just glorified tic-tac-toe. You only lose if you make a mistake

It's also complete impractical as a way to play if you were playing the actual game on a table.

I propose a variation called something like Rummikub: Full deal, where all the tiles are dealt out to both players at the start of the game saving a whole load of time!

I'd also add to the standard Rummikub game a requirement that you MUST play an initial meld as soon as you can, as long as that meld doesn't include a Joker

I've previously asked players if they're waiting for a full deal and then resigned if they are. I just can't be bothered to play a pointless waiting game...and I've had abuse directed at me by some players for asking.

Give me all the tiles straight away, or play...