May-I? is a form of contract rummy in which each pair of players uses one deck of cards. According to Pagat.com, the game differs from rummy in that players may lay down all of their cards on a single turn, as opposed to laying them down sequentially.
According to Pagat.com, May-I? prohibits reusing merged jokers. In other words, if a joker has been used as a wild card on a given turn, other players are not permitted to collect it for use on a subsequent turn. May-I? allows contiguous sequences without the restrictions found in other rummy-based card games.
Another distinction is the manner in which round 7 is handled. May-I? does not use the specific rules for round 7 that contract rummy does, and players who ask “May I?” during round 7 are given two additional cards each time they do so. As it is not essential to run through all of the sequences in three meldings, play then continues; however, if the melding player has additional cards, play continues as in previous rounds. Finally, jokers are worth 25 points instead of 15 in rummy.
