Solving Rummikub problems by integer linear programming

The Rummikub problem of finding the maximal number or value of the tiles that can be placed from your rack onto the table is very difficult, since the number of possible combinations are enormous. We show that this problem can be modeled as an integer linear programming problem. In this way solutions can be found in 1 s. We extend the model such that unnecessary changes of the existing sets on the table are minimized.