Tonk

TONK

GENERAL CONCEPTS

Tonk is a betting game for any number of players, though most games involve three or four players. It uses a standard deck of 52 cards—discard the jokers.
Before dealing a hand, players agree on the stakes, which is the amount to be paid to the winner
The goal in Tonk is to win in one of three ways. First, if you’re dealt all face (or royal) cards (jack, queen or king), you declare “Tonk!” and immediately win a double payofffrom each player. Second, you can “go down,” putting all your cards face-up on the table and counting up their point value. Aces are worth 1 point, royal cards are worth 10, and all others are at face value. All other players must do the same. You win if you have the lowest total value of cards—or if someone else goes down andjww have the fewest points! Third, you win if you discard or use all the cards in your hand.

THE DEAL

Deal five cards to each player, clockwise, one at a time. When each player has a five-card hand, turn the next card face-up next to the deck. The face-up card is the discard pile. If you have nothing but royal cards, immediately declare “Tonk!” before play begins. If you’re the only one with Tonk, you win the game and every player must pay you double the stakes. You also win if your hand totals 49 or less than 15, but in these instances it is a single payoff. If more than one player has Tonk, however, it’s a draw, shuffle and deal again. The player to the left of dealer plays first, and turns pass clockwise. On your turn, you must choose to either play your hand or go down.

GOING DOWN

If you choose to go down, say so at the beginning of your turn. Don’t draw or discard any cards. Lay your cards face-up on the table and count their point value. Every other player must immediately do the same. If the total value of your cards is lowest, you win—each player pays you the stakes. Going down is risky, though. If any other player has the same or fewer points, you get burned: You must pay double the stakes to each player who burned you. The other players pay the regular stakes to the player with the fewest points. If it’s a tie for fewest points, the others pay the stakes to each player tied for fewest. When a player goes down, the game ends.

PLAYING YOUR HAND

If you didn’t get Tonk and you aren’t going down, play your hand. First, draw one card either from the discard pile or the deck—your choice. NEXT, you can drop any and all cards from your hand that make or extend spreads. A spread can be a straight or “run” of three or more cards in the same suit (such as the 5,6, and 7 of hearts or a “book” of three or four of a kind (such as three aces). If you have a spread, lay it face-up on the table. You can lay down more than one at a time if you have them. If you have a card that fits into a spread that’s already on the table, no matter who laid it down, you can drop it into that spread. For example, if another player laid down the 5,6, and 7 of hearts, and you have the 8 of hearts, you can extend that spread by dropping your 8 of hearts on top of the 7. Or if another player laid down three jacks and you have the last jack, you can drop it into the spread of three. Again, you can drop multiple cards into existing spreads if you have them. Finally, discard one card from your hand—put it face-up on the discard pile. If you drop or discard all the cards in your hand, you win the game. Each player must pay you the stakes. Otherwise, your turn is over and play passes to the player on your left. If you draw the last card in the deck, finish playing your hand, and then the game ends. All players count the points in their hands. The player with the fewest points wins the stakes. If there’s a tie, all players pay the stakes to each player tied for fewest.

EXAMPLE OF PLAY

THE DEAL

Nomenclature: A = ace, J = jack, Qj= queen, K = king, c = clubs, d = diamonds, h = hearts, and s = spades. Croaker sits down with Goblin, Elmo, and One-Eye for a round of Tonk. One-Eye deals Croaker As, 7h, 10c, Jh, and Qh. Goblin gets Ah, 2c, 2d, 7d, and 9c. Elmo gets Ac, Ad, 2h, Kd, and Kh. One-Eye deals himself 3h, 5s, 6c, 6s, and lOh. One-Eye places 3c face-up for the discard pile.

ROUND 1

Croaker draws 8c from the deck. He discards 7h—it’s not the lowest card in his hand, but he hopes to later make a spread by drawing lOh, Kh, 9c, or Jc. He now holds As, 8c, 10c, Jh, and Qh. Goblin draws Ks from the deck and discards it. He still holds Ah, 2c, 2d, 7d, and 9c. Elmo draws Goblin’s Ks from the discard pile and drops his three kings in a spread. He now holds Ac, Ad, and 2c. One-Eye draws the 9s from the deck, scowls fiercely, and discards lOh. He now holds 3h, 5s, 6c, 6s, and 9s.

ROUND 2

Croaker pulls One-Eye’s lOh from the discard pile and drops a spread, lOh-Jh-Qh. He discards 10c, leaving him with As and 8c. He smirks, hoping it will keep Elmo from going down. Goblin draws 4h from the deck and discards 9c. He now holds Ah, 2c, 2d, 4h, and 7d. Elmo goes down, ending the game. Croaker never was much good at bluffing.

AND THE WINNER Is . . .

Croaker holds As and 8c. Total points: 9. Goblin holds Ah, 4h, 2s, 2d, and 7d. Total points: 16. Elmo holds Ad, Ac, and 2h. Total points: 4. One-Eye holds 9s, 6c, 6s, 3h, and 5s. Total points: 29, and a mighty stench comes wafting up from the suddenly putrescent pile of cards. Croaker had fewer cards, but Elmo had the lowest point total. He rakes in his winnings.