Rummikub is a tile-based game for 2 to 4 players, combining elements of the card game rummy and mahjong. There are 106 tiles in the game, including 104 numbered tiles (valued 1 to 13 in four different colors, two copies of each) and two jokers.
Rummikub was invented by Ephraim Hertzano, a Romanian-born Jew, who immigrated to what is now Israel in the 1940s. He hand-made the first sets with his family in the backyard of his home. Over the years, the family licensed it to other countries and it became Israel’s best selling export game. In 1977, it became a bestselling game in the United States.