Tong-its

Tong-its is a three-player rummy type of game that gained popularity in the 1990s in Luzon^[1], the largest island of the Philippines.

This game is played using the standard 52 deck of cards. Its origin remains unknown^[2] but the game rules and the very name can be associated with the American card game, Tonk.^[1]

Rules

Note: Like many popular card games, there are variations to these rules. Rules with variations are noted where possible.

Objective of the game

The objective of the game is to empty your hand of all cards or minimize the count and the scores of unmatched cards that are still on the player’s hand by forming card sets (melds), dumping cards and calling a draw. The player who gets rid of all the cards or has the least number of total points wins the game.^[3][4]

How to Play

The game begins after the dealer dumps a card. The next person can either pick up the disposed card or get one from the central stack. Collect hand combinations and dump unnecessary cards. The picking and discarding of cards goes on until someone wins by Tong-its, calls a draw or until the central stack runs out of cards. If this happens, the players tally the points of the cards they have at hand.^[3][4]

Meld

Meld is a set of cards of matching cards a player needs to collect in order to win the game. When a player collects a meld, he has the option to either lay it down, or keep it. However, a player must expose at least one meld to call or challenge a draw. If a player fails to lay down a meld and the game ends, the player is considered “Burned” and will not be able to challenge a draw.^[4][5]

Three-of-a-kind: three equally ranked cards (7♣ - 7♦ - 7♠)
Four-of-a-kind: four cards of the same rank/number, also called “Secret” (J♣ - J♦ - J♠ - J♥)
Straight Flush: at least three sequential cards of the same suit (3♠ - 4♠ - 5♠) (8♦ - 9♦ - 10♦ - J♦ - Q♦)

Straight flush composed of 5 or more cards is also called “Escalera."^[5]

Ending the Game

"Tong-its"

If the player is able to use all of his or her cards in combinations, by connecting to opponents’ or your exposed card sets (sapaw), or if the player gets rid of all his cards, then the player wins by Tong-its.^[6]

Draw

A player with at least one exposed meld and has low points can call a draw before his turn given that no other players connected to his exposed meld before that. Otherwise, the player will have to wait for his next turn to call a draw.^[6]

Once a player calls for a draw the opponents can either fold or challenge the draw. Only players who have exposed melds are given this opportunity. A player cannot call for a draw if his exposed hand(s) has been melded (sapaw) by any opponent within the round. Players with no card ets exposed are automatically folded. When a draw has been called, the points are computed and tallied. The person with the lowest points wins. If a tie occurs, the challenger wins. In the event of a three-way tie, the player to the right of the challenger wins.^[6]

Deck pile runs out

When the central stack runs out of cards, the game ends. A player with no exposed melds automatically loses. The player with the lowest points in total wins. If there is a tie for the least points, the player that picks up the last card from the deck wins.^[4][6]

A player who does not expose any melds before an opponent calls Tong-its or Draw is considered burned or “sunog”. Burned players at the end of the game automatically loses.^[6]

Card Points

All the cards have corresponding points. The Rank goes: Ace 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Jack Queen King. Ace is considered one point. All the Jacks Queens and Kings are 10 points each. All the other cards (namely, 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10) match their value.^[5]