UMTALI CARD GAME History

Umtali is a fascinating card game I learned while in Africa in 1979. The game was said to be popular during colonial times and was taught to me by an individual who learned it from an "old timer" in Rhodesia. Today, the game has reportedly died out except for a small handful of elderly players.

The characteristics of Umtali identify it as an offshoot of the Rummy family. The game employs both of the well-known Rummy practices of melding cards and “going out”.

According to Hoyle,

At some time after 1850 a Spanish game, CONQUIAN, crossed the Mexican border into the southwestern United States and became COON-CAN. The game combined two ideas: scoring by melding, and scoring by “going out” (getting rid of all cards in the hand). American players began to develop the crude COON-CAN in two directions, both of which were called RUM or RUMMY. One direction was to emphasize going out, leading to (basic) Rummy, Knock Rummy, Gin Rummy, etc. The other direction was to emphasize melding, leading to Five Hundred Rum, Canasta, Samba, etc. Until about 1910, Rummy was a “minor” game. Then its growth became phenomenal. By 1935, as indicated by a survey, more persons knew the rules of Rummy than of any other card game. One member of each line of development enjoyed a nationwide boom as a “fad game”--Gin Rummy after 1940, and Canasta after 1949. The original game survives as PANGUINGUE.

- Hoyle’s Rules of Games, 2nd Revised ed.

The historical data above emphasizes Rummy’s explosive growth from 1910 to 1935. One can safely assume that its popularity spread throughout the Western nations and their colonial possessions during the same period. Nothing, of course, would have prevented the game from making its way to southern Africa. Umtali appears to be a local variation, that evolved over time, but which exhibits a series of unique characteristics resulting in a new game of incredible speed and rapid action.

The game was said to be popular among railway passengers during colonial times for three primary reasons:

1. The game is limited to two players only.
2. The vertical ranking of melded cards requires minimal surface area for play, and
3. Hands can be played in less than 5 minutes by experienced players.

For historical and geographical purposes, Umtali is the former name of a market town located along the Salisbury-Beira railway line in eastern Rhodesia near the border with Mozambique. The city has since been renamed Mutare.

As a regular player of the game for over 20-years, it is my pleasure to post this online edition of the rules with the hope that it may stimulate interest among card game enthusiasts.

I would like to thank the following individuals for their assistance in refining the final copy of the rules: J.McLeod (UK), A.Gaines (USA), B.Wechner (AUS).

- S. Bagozzi

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