Super Custom Rummikub Set

My grandmother, whom we call Nana, just turned 90.
No easy feat, so I decided that I had to make her something amazing for her birthday gift.
She’s really into Rummikub, so I made her a custom Rummikub set.
A few important notes:

  • There are 104 standard tiles + 2 jokers.
  • The front of a standard tile usually has the number plus a symbol below it that helps everyone know which side is up. Don’t forget that it’s hard to tell a 6 from a 9 otherwise.
    The #1 Nana symbol I used is actually a vectorized image of a necklace that she wears everyday. The necklace itself was a gift from many years ago.
  • My Nana is super proud of her family. So, I engraved the names of all her children, grandchildren and great grandchildren on the back of all the tiles.
  • Turns our that painting the tiles was a real pain. I first tried nail polish, but the color didn’t pop enough. I ended up using spray paint and made a custom jig out of MDF to make painting the tiles easier. Despite leaving the masking on before painting, some of the paint still seeped through. So, I ended up having to sand all of the tiles. Not fun.
    I came up with a new method that I would use on the NEXT Rummikub set, but I haven’t implemented yet.
  • For the box, I cheated slightly. I bought a wood Rummikub set and just engraved the #1 Nana symbol on all the tile racks. Because the tile racks also serve as the lid, it looks like I engraved the box itself. I got lucky that all the tiles fit. If I do remake another set, I’d make the tiles 0.5mm less tall so they fit into the box less snug.
  • For the jokers, I engraved a picture of my son and called it “Haiden the Jokester” instead of joker. Also, Rummikub is supposed to have 2x jokers. I included 4x because the joker is my favorite piece. I figured that if she’s using her own set, she’s free to make up her own rules, right? As long as everyone agrees at the start of the game, everyone has the advantage and it’s not cheating.
  • My Nana LOVES her gift. That makes me very happy.
    Here are the results:

    ![image|666x500]
    (upload://6I5NuZsTs4sEO8NO2TELVqzLQdX.jpeg)


    Best picture for last:
  • Jason
48 Likes

Wow 90 is awesome! Whenever I tell people I want to live to 100 they think I’m crazy. My wife says I’m gonna make that journey alone :stuck_out_tongue_winking_eye:

I also call my grandma Nana, and just made her a sign, but she’s nowhere near 90. Great work, can tell there’s a lot of love in this project.

3 Likes

Happy birthday Nana! What an excellent birthday gift. Very nicely done.

2 Likes

Beautiful gift for a beautiful lady. I hope she enjoys her Rummikub set for many, many more years.

1 Like

Oh my goodness this melts my heart! What a perfect gift! Love it and thank you for sharing your story!

1 Like

That’s amazing. HAPPY BIRTHDAY NANA! And can you please tell me about the game? What other game would you compare it to?

1 Like

Such a cool gift! You knocked it outta the park. And tell Nana happy birthday!

2 Likes

Fanfarkintastic! And I love that game!

1 Like

Nice job! I love how it looks in wood!

I made mine with acrylic.

2 Likes

Happy 90th birthday! What a beautiful rummikub set. Great work.

1 Like

My favorite kind of project! Very well done. :sunglasses:

1 Like

Thank you for sharing this – you brightened my day!

I have memories of playing rummikub with my own grandmother during the family reunions. She went “home” shortly after my daughter was born while in her 80’s. This post brought back wonderful memories. Thank you!

A very thoughtful gift.

Are you planning on submitting this to the catalog or selling the pattern at all? I have some family members who would love to receive this as a gift!

1 Like

The last time this guy posted anything was in 2020.

1 Like

I am happy to provide the file,
But I must point out that editing that file is more work than creating a new one yourself.
You’ll have to replace #1 Nana 144 times!
Rummikub is a rectangle with rounded edges.
The time consuming thing isn’t making the file; it’s figuring out how to mask the parts successfully for painting.
I’ll upload my file when I get to a computer.

5 Likes

That’s very kind of you!