Just as in the American version, you need to make an initial meld of a certain amount of points. In this case, the initial meld must add up to 30 points or more. This may consist of one or more sets. Once you have made your initial meld you are able to not only to make melds of any value, but to “play the table” which is in this case, the most exciting part of the game. In addition to adding on to existing melds, you can perform all sorts of intricate manipulations which will be talked about later when we get to strategy.
The jokers are still wild and can be used to represent any missing tile in a set. In the initial meld, the joker’s numerical value is the same as the value of the missing tile, whichever tile it may be. A joker can be replaced just as in American, by a player who has the tile that the joker represents. He must then use the joker immediately in a new meld for himself. He cannot place it in his rack to use for a later meld. The only exception to the rule of replacing a joker with his own tile is that it cannot be done in order to form his initial meld.
Although this next rule is not “official” it is commonly none that many players have put a table rule restriction on the joker in Sabra. They think it adds interest to the game, and makes it a bit more difficult. The rule is simple; a joker may be retrieved as usual from a run of any length or a group of four tiles, but a joker in a group of three tiles cannot be retrieved or replaced except by supplying both of the missing tiles to form a complete group of four. For example, if you have a group of 3, 3, Joker then you can only replace the joker if you also have the other 3 making it 3, 3, 3, 3. Again, this is not an official rule, but many people play this way in this version of the game.
There are certain penalties when it comes to Sabra. One of these penalties is for the player who persists in playing past the two minute time limit. They must draw one tile from the pool each time after you think that they are doing it too often. Another penalty is for the player who misplays by physically manipulating the tiles unsuccessfully, ending up with incomplete melds on the table when the two minutes are up. They must replace the tiles in their original positions, take back the tiles he has melded, and draw three additional tiles from the pool as a penalty.
Scoring in Sabra is exactly the same as in American. Each loser adds up the values of the tiles left on his rack, counting 30 points for a joker and face value for all other tiles, and scores this as a negative amount. The total of all the scores of the losers is credited to the winner as a plus or positive amount. At the end of the session, each player’s final score is totaled for the final result. The total of the plus scores should be equal to the total of the minus scores if all the mathematics has been done correctly.
In the rare case that all of the tiles are used up before anyone goes Rummikub, the player with the lowest count remaining on his rack is considered to be the winner. The losers then total up the remaining tile value and subtract the winner’s total. That is scored as a minus amount, and the winner gets a plus score by totaling the loser’s score.