How to Play Tongits

What is Tongits?

Tongits (also written Tong-its or Tong its) is a rummy game for exactly three players and one of the most played card games in the Philippines. You build sets and runs, lay them on the table, and try to be the first to get rid of every card.

It has two twists that ordinary rummy doesn't. You can add your cards to anyone's melds (that's sapaw), and you don't have to empty your hand to win: if you think you hold the fewest points, you can call Draw and dare the others to fight.

The rules on this page are the ones the game at bs.fyi uses. They follow the standard rules published by pagat.com, and the house-rule choices are listed near the end.

Tongits rules at a glance

Players

Exactly 3

Deck

One 52-card deck, no jokers

Deal

13 cards to the dealer, 12 to each other player; the other 15 cards are the stock

Card points

Ace 1, 2 to 10 at face value, Jack, Queen and King 10

Melds

Sets of 3 or 4 of a rank; runs of 3 or more in one suit, ace low (A-2-3, not Q-K-A)

Your turn

Draw (or take the discard into a meld), meld and lay off, then discard

Win

Empty your hand (Tongits), win a Draw call, or hold the fewest points when the stock runs out

How to play Tongits, step by step

1. 1

   Deal

   The dealer gets 13 cards and the other two players 12 each. The rest of the deck goes face down as the stock.

2. 2

   The dealer starts

   The dealer doesn't draw on the first turn. They may lay down melds, then discard one card face up to start the discard pile.

3. 3

   Draw or take

   On your turn, draw the top card of the stock, or take the top discard. You may only take the discard if you meld it straight away with at least two cards from your hand, and lay that meld on the table.

4. 4

   Meld and lay off

   Lay down as many sets and runs as you like. You can also add cards to any meld on the table, yours or another player's. That's called sapaw.

5. 5

   Discard

   End your turn by discarding one card face up. Play then passes to the next player.

6. 6

   End the game

   The game ends as soon as someone empties their hand (Tongits), when someone wins a Draw call, or after the turn of the player who draws the last stock card.

Opening, and why you want to

You have <strong>opened</strong> once you have at least one meld face up on the table (or a secret set of four face down, see below). Opening matters: only opened players can call Draw or fight one, and a player who still hasn't opened when the game ends is <strong>burned</strong> (sunog). Burned players lose automatically and pay an extra chip.

Every card still in your hand counts against you at the end, even a meld you kept back. Points are simply added up: a hand of 2, 7 and King is 19 points.

Sapaw: laying off on other players' melds

Any player can add cards to any face-up meld during their own turn: the fourth card of a set, or the next card at either end of a run. There's no limit, and you don't need to have opened first.

Sapaw has a sting. <strong>If someone lays off on one of your melds, you can't call Draw on your next turn.</strong> The same goes if you lay off on your own melds: you can't call Draw on your following turn. So a well-timed sapaw stops a player who was about to call.

Calling Draw and fighting

At the very start of your turn, before you draw, you may call <strong>Draw</strong> if you have opened and nobody has blocked you with a sapaw since your last turn. Calling Draw says: I think my hand is the lowest.

The other two players then answer in turn. Each one either <strong>folds</strong> or <strong>fights</strong>. Only opened players may fight; anyone who hasn't opened has to fold. If both fold, the caller wins.

If anyone fights, the hands are shown and the lowest total wins. A fighter who ties the caller wins the tie. If two fighters tie, the one whose turn comes first after the caller wins.

When the stock runs out

The player who draws the last card of the stock finishes their turn, and then the game ends. Anyone who hasn't opened loses. Of the rest, the lowest hand wins.

Ties go to the player who drew the last card. If the other two tie with each other and both beat that player, the one whose turn comes first after them wins.

Secret sets of four

If you have all four cards of a rank in your hand (and didn't need the discard to complete them), you may lay them on the table <strong>face down</strong>. That opens you without showing your cards, and it keeps the secret-set bonus. Four of a kind still held in the winner's hand counts as a secret set too.

Scoring: who pays what

Win

Each loser pays the winner 1 chip

Tongits

3 chips instead of 1, from each loser

Draw won after a fight

3 chips instead of 1, from each loser

Aces

1 more chip per ace in the winner's hand or the winner's own melds

Secret sets

3 more chips per secret set of four the winner has

Burned

A burned loser pays 1 extra chip

House rules at bs.fyi

Tongits is played many ways at home. At bs.fyi each game is a single hand, so there's no side pot or jackpot for winning twice in a row. The dealer is chosen at random. If nobody has opened when the stock runs out, the lowest hand still wins, using the same tie rule. We don't use jokers, a bonus for long runs, or an instant win for a hand that's all melds at the deal.

Tongits tips

• •Open early. Being burned costs you the game and an extra chip, and you can't fight a Draw without an open meld.
• •Dump high cards. Kings, Queens and Jacks are 10 points each if you're caught with them. Discard them unless they're close to a meld.
• •Watch the discards. A card whose partners are already in the discard pile or on the table can't help anyone. It's a safe card to throw.
• •Use sapaw as defence. If an opponent is down to a few low cards, lay off on their meld. They can't call Draw on their next turn.
• •Call Draw at the right moment. A low hand is not enough on its own. Count the cards your opponents hold, and remember that a fighter wins ties.

Frequently Asked Questions