Talabis, Krischelle Anne V.

Anabo, Rachel Ann A.

TONGITS
MATERIALS NEEDED
Cards (52)
VENUE
Indoors preferably, but can also be played outside
NO. OF PLAYERS
Three (3)
BACKGROUND
Tong-its or Tongits is a 3 player rummy type of game that gained popularity in the 1990s in Luzon. .
Both the name and the structure of the game suggest a relationship to the American game Tonk. Tong-
Its appeared in the late 20th century and seems to be an extended version of Tonk, played with 12 card
hands.
OBJECTIVE
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 players hand by forming card sets (melds, also called a
"Bahay"(pronounced Ba-Hi), or "Buo" in some dialects), dumping cards and calling a draw. The player
who gets rid of all the cards or has the least number of total points at the end of the game (when the
central stack is empty) wins the game.
TERMS
MELD (bahay/buo)- To Meld is to put down at least 3 cards onto the table that make a combination. The
3 cards must be 3 or 4 cards of the same value, i.e. three 4s, three Queens etc. (known as 3 or 4 of a
kind), or 3 cards of the same suit (known as a straight flush) in consecutive order
TONGITS- If you win by Tongits, this means that you have drawn a card from the deck or the dump, then
created melds using every card in your hand except for one; the last unused card is the discard to the
dump; When your the first one to run out of cards
STRAIGHT FLUSH- Three sequential cards of the same suit
THREE-OF-A-KIND- Three cards equally ranked
BURNED (sunog)- A player is considered Burned if the player is unable to form a meld or set at the end
game.
DRAW- To initiate a Draw is to challenge the other players in the game to a contest of remaining points;
in a Draw, whoever has the least amount of points in their hand is the winner
FIGHT- To accept the challenge when a player issues a draw
CHOW- Take a card from the discard pile if you are able to create a meld with it
SAPAW- Add cards to sets or runs previously melded by yourself or others
MECHANICS
Each player is dealt 12 cards while the dealer gets 13 and the rest of the cards are left as a central stack.
The game begins when the dealer dumps a card. The next person can either pick up the disposed card if
that card makes a set or adds to a set he has already 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 and the one with the lowest wins. In case of a draw the last
person to take a card from the central deck wins.
NOTE: The first dealer is chosen randomly. Thereafter the dealer is the winner of the previous hand. The
cards are dealt one at a time counterclockwise, starting with the dealer: thirteen cards to the dealer and
twelve cards to each of the other players. The remainder of the deck is placed face down to form the
stock.
1. The dealer starts the play. The dealer may optionally expose one or more sets or runs face up on
the table, thereby opening his or her hand, and must then discard one card face up to the centre
of the table to start the discard pile.

2. The next player may CHOW the card or PICK from discard pile. You may only take a card from
the discard pile if you are able to create a meld (a set or run) with it, and you are then obliged to
expose the meld.

3. Laying off. (sapaw) This is also optional. If you wish, you may add cards to sets or runs
previously melded by yourself or others. There is no limit to the number of cards a player may
lay off in one turn. A player need not have opened their hand to lay off. Laying a card off on
another player's exposed meld prevents that player from calling Draw on his or her next turn.

4. Discard. At the end of your turn, one card must be discarded from your hand and placed on top
of the discard pile face up.

WINNING THE GAME

"Tong-its" or Tongits

If the player is able to use all of his or her cards in combinations, by connecting to opponents or the
exposed card sets (sapaw), or if the player gets rid of all his cards, then the player wins by Tong-its. A
person can discard of his cards by forming melds and laying it down or making a "sapaw" on one of the
other players' laid down meld. A meld consists of at least three cards (three-of-a-kind or straight flush)
and a sapaw would be the fourth of those three, or the continuation of that straight flush.

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.
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 sets 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.

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.

A player who does not expose any melds before an opponent calls Tong-its or Draw is considered burnt
or sung. Burnt players at the end of the game automatically lose.

Winning the Jackpot or "Two Hits"

Bets are added to a pot. The winner who wins two consecutive games collect the pot money. This can
also be changed to 3 consecutive games wherein upon the second win the player gets an additional
payment.

CARD POINT VALUE

Ace = 1 point Cards 2-9 = Face value points Card 10-KING = 10 points

POINTING SYSTEM

1.0 for the most number of wins

1.25 for the 2nd lowest number of wins

1.50 - for the least number of wins

VALUES AND SKILLS NEEDED

Honesty, Mind and eye coordination, Sportsmanship, Diskarte, Patience, Ability to read other players.

REFERENCES

Tong-Its rules on Pinoygame.net. (2016, January 29). Retrieved from

https://www.pinoygame.net/news/detail/4/Tong-Its-rules-on-Pinoygame-net.html

History of Tongits. (2017, September 20). Retrieved from https://www.tongits.net/History_of_Tongits

Tong-its. (2017, September 11). Retrieved from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tong-its