Juniper Gin Rummy

Six card rooms across town, from a corner diner with a jukebox to a brass-lamp lounge where the best player sits every night. Each room has one regular with a way of playing you learn to read, and a win at the table sends you to the next address.

Gin rummy against the computer: knock, gin, big gin, undercuts and layoffs, Oklahoma and corner-run tables, a six-room ladder and a daily deal.

You and the computer get ten cards each. On your turn draw one card, from the stock or the top of the discard pile, then discard one: tap the stock or the pile, then tap the card to throw. Build melds: three or four cards of one rank, or three or more in a row in one suit, with the ace low. The game groups your melds for you and shows your deadwood, the value of the cards outside them (aces 1, faces 10). When your deadwood is at or under the knock limit, usually 10, the Knock button appears: your opponent then lays off loose cards on your melds and you score the difference. If their deadwood is equal or lower, they undercut you and score 25 more. Gin, a hand with no deadwood, scores 25 plus the opponent's deadwood; big gin, all eleven cards melded after the draw, scores 31. The match ends at 100: the winner adds 100, each player adds 25 per hand won, and a shutout doubles the winner's total. The ladder has six rooms, each with its own opponent and one more table rule: round-the-corner runs, Oklahoma (the first upcard sets the knock limit and a spade doubles the hand), a knock at 5, gin only, and a final room to 150. The friendly table lets you pick the opponent's level, the length and the rules; the daily deal gives everyone the same three hands. Keys: Tab and the arrow keys move between cards and buttons, Enter plays.