One Saturday evening in Beverly Hills, nearly 150 elegant people filter in a grandiose ballroom for an exclusive event. The Martinis flow and lean fries arrive on small plates. Optimistic music makes fun of the speakers, and laughter fills the living space, which is decorated with marble walls, a massive wine cellar and a Swedish sports car of almost $ 2 million exposed.
But these guests are not only there to mingle and sip fantasy cocktails. They are there to play Rimyub.
Nearly 150 people attended the Rummiklub match evening in March in Gravitas in Beverly Hills.
(Alex Papke / for time)
Hosted by badly promised friends and Laura Galvan, Rami club is the last table game club to appear in Los Angeles at a time when people, especially generation Z and millennials, are looking for other ways to connect with others outside bars and nightclubs. While some people have found a community through physical activities such as racing clubs, others climb to gatherings centered on nostalgic games and simpler times. The other popular game clubs include the Venice Backgammon Club; Love, peace and spikes; Mistress Mahjong; and the Failure club. CurvatureA popular platform that highlights things to do and places to visit in Los Angeles, sometimes organizes Rummikub events in Los Angeles.
About a year ago, after having discovered and fell in love with Rummikub – a strategy game based on old tiles which is a Mix between the Rum and Mahjong card game – Wekselblatt and Galvan began to bring the game with them in the bars around the
“People still came to us like:” Can I enter? ” Can I enter? And we literally have crowds of people who want to play, ”explains Wekselblatt, 29, account manager. “And we said to ourselves,” Wait, why not build on this momentum and do something bigger? ” »»
After falling in love with Rummikub a year ago, the hosts Laura Galvan, on the left, and Marnie Wekselblatt launched their game club at the
(Alex Papke / for time)
Wekselblatt and Galvan, who moved to New York, organized their first Rummiklub event at the end of February in a comfortable cafe called Toast bravo in West Hollywood. Fifty people introduced themselves and 40 others were on the waiting list for the closed counters that took advantage of The relief efforts of Madhappy Foundation. Rachel FriedmanAn influencer and host of Sirius XM Show “Dialled in” published a delirious criticism on Rummiklub on Tiktok – Say many people “hot, normal and intelligent” – which has helped to arouse more interest in the game club.
Bummikub what Created by Ephraim Hertzano in Romania in the 1940s, When the card game was prohibited under the communist regime. The objective of the game, which uses small domino type tiles instead of cards, is to be the first player to erase all your tiles from your rack by forming valid combinations of sets (three or four tiles of the same number in different colors) and races (three or more consecutive numbers in the same color). While some people grew up playing this multigenic game, some people – in particular the Z generation and generation Y like Wekselblatt and Galvan – learn about it. The main public of Rummiklub is a combination of the two age groups.
“The culture of the game has a moment,” explains Marnie Wekselblatt, co-founder of Rummiklub.
(Alex Papke / for time)
“The culture of the game has a moment,” says Wekselblatt. “I think this game in particular is tending at the moment because you can play with several people. It's like a strategy, it's fun (and) you can always be social while you are playing. So I think it's unique to other games and it's easy to learn.”
Galvan, 31, says that Rummiklub differs from other game clubs because he is adjacent to nightlife but still maintains a nostalgic and healthy atmosphere.
“I think people just want to connection,” said Galvan, who is the social media director for the favorite girl of the clothing brand. “People are not really trying to waste and go to a club all night. There must be other elements to go out and socialize, especially when you pass the 20 games scene. You can always dress, wear a pointed heel, go out and meet a cute boy, but you play a game.”
Rummiklub host Marnie Wekselblatt and Laura Galvan have made personalized rummiklub kits, which they plan to sell in the near future.
(Alex Papke / for time)
Inside the event of Beverly Hills Rummiklub, which had entry fees of $ 50, almost everything is marked with the Rummiklub logo, drinks with personalized Bummikub sets, additional matches and gift bags, which are filled with sponsored items such as skin and perfume.
All skill levels are welcome in Rummiklub, and most veteran players are impatient to teach beginners how to play. An instructions for the game is placed on each table, and the founders walk in the room to help and answer the questions. But even if you are not at all interested in playing Rummikub, you can always attend and spend time at the bar where there are decks of Rummiklub brand. Once the match is finished, the guests are invited upstairs to a lounge area, which is fully equipped with a scene and a live DJ, to continue hanging out.
Saad Nori and Amanda McCants were one of the guests of the Rummiklub match evening in Gravitas in Beverly Hills.
(Alex Papke / for time)
Cailelen Krasnoff, 29, of Santa Monica, attended the March event with his boyfriend, obsessed with the match. “They make chic Rummikub,” she says. “They make him cool. Rummikub is not a chic game, but they make him fun.”
Mark Adams of Long Beach, who visited Gravitas to find out about becoming a member, tripped on the Rummiklub event and decided to jump into the game.
“I grew up playing this game with my aunts,” explains Adams. “I haven't played it for 20 years. We will stay until 4 am. ”
He was surprised by the crowd that Rummiklub attracted. “I am impressed by the sophistication of people who play. It was just a kind of family in the garden, ”he adds.
After playing Rummikub for an hour, the participants went upstairs to enjoy a live DJ and signature cocktails.
(Alex Papke / for time)
While demand for their club continues to grow and more and more people discover or rediscover Rummikub, Wekselblatt and Galvan say they are looking forward to organizing monthly rallies and collaborating with well -known brands. They also hope to extend Rummiklub to other major places such as Hamptons, New York and Chicago, they say. The next Los Angeles event is April 24 at 7:30 p.m. in Gravitas in Beverly Hills. Tickets start at $ 35 for people who just want to hang and $ 50 for participants who want to play Rummikub.
“We want people to leave (Rummiklub) and have the impression of living something that was high and cool,” explains Galvan. “That they felt confident and had to dress and spend a fun evening.”
