All fourteen contracts printed in order — no more "what round are you on?" — with score columns for five players and the wild-card rule that stops most arguments.
| # | Contract | P1 | P2 | P3 | P4 | P5 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 3 sets of 3 | |||||
| 2 | 1 set of 3 + 1 run of 4 | |||||
| 3 | 2 sets of 3 + 1 run of 4 | |||||
| 4 | 2 sets of 4 | |||||
| 5 | 2 runs of 4 | |||||
| 6 | 4 sets of 3 | |||||
| 7 | 1 set of 3 + 1 run of 7 | |||||
| 8 | 3 sets of 4 | |||||
| 9 | 3 runs of 4 | |||||
| 10 | 2 sets of 5 | |||||
| 11 | 2 runs of 5 | |||||
| 12 | 2 sets of 4 + 1 run of 4 | |||||
| 13 | 2 runs of 4 + 1 set of 4 | |||||
| 14 | 1 set of 3 + 1 run of 9 | |||||
| TOTAL | ||||||
Frustration is contract rummy at marathon length: fourteen contracts, completed in order, and you cannot move to the next until you've laid down the current one. Players end up rounds apart — which is where the name comes from.
Deal thirteen from a double deck with jokers. Each turn: draw (stock or discard), meld if you can complete your contract, lay off on the table once you're down, discard. Sets are three-plus of a rank; runs are four-plus in one suit. Wilds — jokers, and deuces where your family plays them wild — may never outnumber the natural cards in a meld.
The sheet's columns track both the contract each player is on and their points. When someone goes out, the others count their hands against themselves — the common values are 5 for cards up to 9, 10 for 10-through-king, 15 or 20 for aces and more for wilds, but families differ, so agree first. The first player through contract fourteen wins outright; points break ties and settle bragging rights.
This is the part to say plainly: Frustration is a folk game, and the fourteen contracts printed on this sheet are one widely played list, not scripture. Some families run ten contracts, some twelve, some swap a run of nine for two sets of five. If yours differs, cross out and write over — the sheet's job is ending the "what's round eight again?" argument, whatever your round eight is.
Can you complete two contracts in one round? No — one contract per round, then you're laying off, not advancing.
What if you fail a contract? You attempt the same one next round while everyone who made theirs moves on.