At this swanky L.A party, grab a martini, vibe to music and ... play Rummikub?
On a Saturday night in Beverly Hills, nearly 150 stylish people filter into a grandiose ballroom for an exclusive event. Martinis are flowing and skinny French fries are arriving on small plates. Upbeat music booms over the speakers, and laughter fills the lively space, which is adorned with marble walls, a massive wine cellar and a nearly $2-million Swedish sports car on display.
But these guests aren't just here to mingle and sip on fancy cocktails. They're here to play Rummikub.
Hosted by friends Marnie Wekselblatt and Laura Galvan, RummiKlub is the latest tabletop game club to pop up in Los Angeles at a time when people, particularly Gen Z and millennials, are seeking alternative ways to connect with others outside of bars and nightclubs. While some people have found community through physical activities such as run clubs, others are gravitating toward gatherings centered on nostalgic games and simpler times. Other popular game clubs include the Venice Backgammon Club; Love, Peace & Spades; Mahjong Mistress; and the L.A. Chess Club. Camber, a popular platform that highlights things to do and places to visit in L.A., occasionally hosts Rummikub events in L.A. as well.
About a year ago, after discovering and falling in love with Rummikub — a decades-old tile-based strategy game that's a mix between the card game Rummy and Mahjong — Wekselblatt and Galvan started bringing the game with them to bars around L.A.
'People were always coming up to us like, 'Can I get in? Can I get in?' and we'd literally have crowds of people wanting to play,' says Wekselblatt, 29, an account director. 'And we were like, 'Wait, why don't we build on this momentum and make something bigger?'
Wekselblatt and Galvan, who moved to L.A. from New York, hosted their first RummiKlub event in late February at a cozy coffee shop called Bravo Toast in West Hollywood. Fifty people showed up and 40 others were on the waitlist for the sold-out gathering that benefited the Madhappy Foundation's fire-relief efforts. Rachel Friedman, an influencer and host of Sirius XM show 'Dialed In' posted a raving review about RummiKlub on TikTok — saying a lot of 'hot, normal, smart' people attend — which helped spark more interest in the game club.
Rummikub was created by Ephraim Hertzano in Romania in the 1940s, when card-playing was outlawed under the Communist regime. The goal of the game, which uses small, domino-like tiles instead of cards, is to be the first player to clear all your tiles from your rack by forming valid combinations of sets (either three or four tiles of the same number in different colors) and runs (three or more consecutive numbers all in the same color). While some people grew up playing this multigenerational game, some folks — particularly Gen Z and millennials like Wekselblatt and Galvan — are just now learning about it. RummiKlub's core audience is a combination of the two age groups.
'Game culture is having a moment,' says Wekselblatt. 'I think this game in particular is trending right now because you can play with multiple people. It's like strategy, it's fun [and] you can still be social while you play. So I think it's unique from the other games and it's easy to learn.'
Galvan, 31, says RummiKlub differs from other game clubs because it's adjacent to nightlife but still maintains a nostalgic and wholesome vibe.
'I think people are just craving connection,' says Galvan, who is the director of social media for clothing brand Favorite Daughter. 'People aren't really looking to get wasted and go to a club all night. There needs to be other elements to going out and socializing, especially as you get past the 20-party stage. You can still get dressed up, wear a pointed heel, go out and meet a cute boy, but you're playing a game.'
Inside the Beverly Hills RummiKlub event, which had a $50 entry fee, just about everything is branded with RummiKlub's logo, from drink coasters to customized Rummikub sets, to complimentary matches and goodie bags, which are filled with sponsored items like skincare and perfume.
All skill levels are welcome to RummiKlub, and most veteran players are eager to teach newbies how to play. An instruction sheet for the game is placed on every table, and the founders walk around the room to help out and answer questions as well. But even if you're not interested in playing Rummikub at all, you can still attend and hang out at the bar where there are RummiKlub-branded decks of cards and puzzles. Once the match is over, guests are invited upstairs to a lounge area, which is fully equipped with a stage and a live DJ, to continue hanging out.
Cailen Krasnoff, 29, of Santa Monica, attended the March event with her boyfriend, who's obsessed with the game. 'They are making Rummikub chic,' she says. 'They're making it cool. Rummikub is not a chic game, but they're making it fun.'
Mark Adams of Long Beach, who was visiting Gravitas to inquire about becoming a member, stumbled upon RummiKlub's event and decided to hop into the game.
'I grew up playing this game with my aunts,' says Adams. 'It's probably been 20 years since I've played it. We'd stay until 4 a.m. playing it.'
He was surprised by the crowd that RummiKlub attracted. 'I'm impressed by how sophisticated the people are that are playing it. It was just a backyard kind of family thing,' he adds.
As the demand for their club continues to grow and more people discover or rediscover Rummikub, Wekselblatt and Galvan say they are looking forward to hosting monthly gatherings and collaborating with well-known brands. They also hope to expand RummiKlub to other major places like the Hamptons, New York City and Chicago, they say. The next L.A. event is April 24 at 7:30 p.m. at Gravitas in Beverly Hills. Tickets start at $35 for people who just want to hang and $50 for attendees who want to play Rummikub.
'We want people to leave [RummiKlub] and feel like they just experienced something that was elevated and cool,' says Galvan. 'That they felt confident and got to get dressed up and have a fun night out.'
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