For generations, chess has been seen as the quintessential game of skill. The skill needed in a rummy game, for instance, was overlooked somewhat unfairly. At least in India, the recent judicial pronouncements confirmed that rummy and poker are essentially games of skill. To that extent, they have a similarity with games like chess.
The judicial verdicts made the poker and rummy app officially legitimate, although these card games have been played in India for decades and even centuries. Chess, too, has been around for a long time. There are some apparent differences between chess and popular card games like rummy. In recent times, the skill factor has managed to partially bridge this gap.
The Apparent Difference
Both chess and rummy are incredibly popular games in India. Local federations estimate that there are over a million chess players who compete in tournaments. More than 50,000 of them are officially registered as chess players with the federations. Rummy, on the other hand, is the numero uno among the real money games in India. It contributes to over 60% of the revenue in this gaming segment.
The most obvious difference between chess and card games is the initial predictability. In chess, you know which chess pieces you will get every time. On the contrary, the shuffle of a deck of cards is a random affair. The players also don’t have any control over the cards they draw from the deck during the game. But that’s where the randomness ends.
It must be noted that the randomness in rummy is a highly coveted aspect among gamers. Rummy apps like RummyTime have taken extra care in installing random number generators that are internationally recognised and certified.
Despite the differences, when it comes to the offline format, both chess and rummy have had instances of foul play. In the online format, necessary precautions are taken to eliminate such instances. Once this is ensured, both the games are predominantly a test of skill. And it is skill alone that has significantly bridged the gap between chess and rummy in recent times.
Skill: The Unifying Element
Whether it is the 8 by 8 squares on the chessboard or the 52 cards on the deck, chess and rummypresent a challenge to the human mind. The only luck you can expect in these games is a weak opponent. But if you are up against an equal or better, you have to rely on your skills and intelligence.
There are innumerable probabilities of your rummy hand being a winning one. Similarly, a single chess game can have 10^120 possible permutations, something which is known as ‘Shannon number’. Therefore, strategic moves are important in both games.
Even within skill and strategy, both rummy and chess demand similar expertise from the players. You need to be good at mathematical and probability calculations, emotional maturity and strategic thinking. Over and above, you must have patience to carry out your strategies during the game. Thanks to these commonalities, online gaming sees a popular demand among players for both games.
This demand continues to strengthen the market presence of these games.
A Strong Offline and Online Presence
While both games are popular as online gaming options, chess has had an organised presence as a sporting discipline. India alone has 85 grandmasters, and the Federation Internationale des Echecs (FIDE) is the globally recognised chess governing body. Rummy games, on the other hand, are governed by various self-governing bodies in India and overseas. Rather than a sporting discipline, rummy came to prominence as a recreation. In recent years, it has taken the online games industry by storm, particularly in India.
To be an expert in both rummy and chess, a player must undergo hours and hours of practice and learning. Half-baked preparation in either of the games is highly likely to end in a defeat. This is why players explore the practice matches so often in online chess and rummy platforms.
The online chess playing and instruction market was valued at $0.21 billion in 2024, and it is growing at a CAGR of over 13%. Overall, the market value of chess as a game was estimated to be around $2.2 billion in 2023. Understandably, rummy has a larger online market size. Its gross gaming revenue in India alone was ₹16,000 crores in 2024!
The Next Move
In chess and rummy games, the players are constantly trying to figure out their and their opponent’s next move. Chess, indeed, comes from a very organised and formal background and has attracted a lot of academic interest. Offline rummy, on the other hand, has been a source of recreation for generations of Indians. However, as both the games emerged in the online gaming scene, they have been able to attract millions of players with sessions of guaranteed skill and intelligence testing.
