Tonk

How to play Tonk

Get rid of your cards, or catch everyone with the lowest count.

1. Deal. Everyone gets 5 cards. The next card starts the discard pile. The player left of the dealer goes first.
2. Count. Ace = 1, 2–10 = face value, J/Q/K = 10. Your count is the total of the cards in your hand.
3. Big deal.
4. Your turn. Draw the top card of the stock, or the top discard. Then you may:
   • Spread: lay down 3–4 of a kind, or 3+ in a row of one suit (ace is low: A‑2‑3, never Q‑K‑A).
   • Hit: add a card to any spread on the table, yours or anyone's.
   Then discard one card. You can't throw back the card you just took from the discard pile.
5. Tonk! Get rid of every card (by spreading, hitting, or discarding your last card) and you win the hand.
6. Drop. At the start of your turn, before you draw, you can drop: everyone shows their hand. If your count is the lowest, you win. If anyone ties or beats you, you're caught:
7. Getting hit.
8. Stock runs out. Everyone shows; the lowest count wins. A tie for lowest is a push (nobody pays).
9. Chips. Each win is paid 1 chip by every other player (2 for a big deal).

Tips

Throw your high cards (10s and faces) first: a low count wins drops and stock run-outs. Drop early only with a really low count: with 5 cards each, a count under 15 is strong, and the fewer cards your opponents hold the lower you need. Hitting someone's spread stops them from dropping.

Controls

Tap cards to select them. Spread lights up when the selected cards make one. To hit, select a card and tap a glowing spread. Hint suggests a move. Change the rules under New game → House rules.