Tongits is a three-player rummy-style card game from the Philippines played with a standard 52-card deck. Each player is dealt 12 cards (the dealer 13) and the remaining 15 form the stock. On your turn you draw from the stock or take the top discard — only if you can use it immediately — lay down melds (sets of a kind and same-suit runs), sapaw extra cards onto any exposed meld, and discard one card. Empty your hand to win with Tongits; when the stock runs out, the lowest deadwood total wins the deal, and three deal wins take the match.
Play now — it's freeTongits needs exactly three players, each playing for themselves — there are no teams. It uses a full standard 52-card deck: all four suits from Ace to King.
Each player is dealt 12 cards; the dealer receives a 13th and opens the play by discarding one. The remaining 15 cards sit face down as the stock, and turns then follow a fixed order: draw or take, sapaw, discard.
Points only matter when the stock runs out: at the showdown each player totals the value of the cards still in hand that are not part of a meld:
| Card | Value |
|---|---|
| Ace | 1 |
| Number cards (2–10) | Face value |
| Face cards (J, Q, K) | 10 |
A meld is a group of three or more cards laid face up on the table for everyone to see. There are two kinds:
Set: three or four cards of the same rank in different suits, like 7-7-7. Since no card appears twice in the deck, a set can never exceed four cards.
Run: three or more consecutive cards of one suit, like the 5-6-7 of hearts. The Ace plays at both ends — A-2-3 low and Q-K-A high — but a wrap-around like K-A-2 is not a valid run.
The site lays down the best melds in your hand automatically after every draw, so a playable meld is never missed.
Each turn opens with a choice: draw the top card of the stock, or take the top card of the discard pile. Taking carries one condition — you must use the card immediately, either to complete a new meld with your hand or to sapaw it onto one of your own exposed melds.
After drawing or taking you may sapaw any eligible cards, then you discard exactly one card onto the discard pile and the turn passes on.
Once the stock is empty, drawing is no longer possible — the deal is decided right after that turn's discard.
Sapaw is adding a card from your hand to any meld already on the table — yours or another player's.
A set accepts only its fourth card (a suit not yet used in it); a run grows at either end as long as the sequence stays unbroken.
You sapaw during your own turn, before discarding. Every laid-off card leaves your hand, so sapaw is the fastest route toward a Tongits.
Tongits: get your hand to zero — every card melded or sapped onto exposed melds, including dropping your last card as a discard — and you win the deal on the spot with zero deadwood.
Stock-out showdown: when the stock runs out, everyone counts their deadwood and the lowest total wins the deal. Ties go to the fewest cards in hand, then to seat order.
The match: the first player to win three deals wins the match.
A built-in turn cap also guards against stalemates: if play somehow runs impossibly long, the deal is decided by deadwood exactly as in a stock-out.
Meld early: cards on the table can never count against you at the showdown.
Watch the discard pile: taking is only legal with immediate use, so a discard that helps an opponent usually signals a meld being built.
Keep your deadwood light: face cards cost 10 points each — don't hoard them hoping for a run that may never come.
Sapaw everything: laying off onto any meld — even an opponent's — empties your hand and moves you toward a Tongits.
Three, each playing for themselves — there are no partnerships.
12 cards per player from a standard 52-card deck; the dealer takes 13 and opens with a discard, and 15 cards remain as the stock.
Laying off: adding a card from your hand to an exposed meld — a set takes its fourth card, a run extends at either end. You may sapaw onto other players' melds too.
Two ways: empty your hand to call Tongits, or hold the lowest deadwood points when the stock runs out. Ties go to the fewest cards in hand.
Aces count 1, number cards count their face value, and face cards (J, Q, K) count 10. These values are tallied only at a stock-out showdown.
The deal goes to a showdown: everyone totals the deadwood left in hand and the lowest total wins.
The first player to win three deals wins the match.
Yes — play Tongits online free at tongits.yeeqia.com, right in your browser with no download or sign-up needed.
Yes, the site is mobile-first and runs in any modern Android or iPhone browser, with full Arabic and English support.