The Complete Guide to Rummy The card game rummy has been a favorite among players for centuries and has a long history that spans many different cultures and geographical aall new rummyreas. Its beginnings are a little unclear, but many historians believe it developed from earlier 19th-century card games. During the Ming Dynasty, "Concentration," one of the earliest known variations of rummy, is thought to have originated in China. Matching pairs of cards was a feature of this game that would later inform Rummy's mechanics.