Tong It (Tong Its)

Number of decks: 1
Number of cards in the deck: 52
Number of players: 3
The seniority of the cards: T, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, B, D, K.
Purpose of the game: to win the most chips.
Rules of the game. The rules of this game are based on the information of Dave Holdsworth and Adva Dar. The game is popular in the northern Philippines in the late 20th and early 21st century. 3 players play the game. They play without limits in the number of games. The winner can be in one game, or in several, if he wins two games in a row. In order to play, you need chips that can cost a certain amount of money, if the game is for money, or just to indicate in the game. Before the game, each player makes two chips into the pot. The cards have their value in glasses: the king - 10 points, the lady - 10 points, the jack - 10 points, the ace - 1 point, all the other cards in their meaning. Each player must make sets of cards on the table to get rid of all his cards as quickly as possible. A set of cards consists of 3 or 4 cards of the same value. A card can belong to a set only once, and this card can not be used to compile another set. The first deliverer in the game is determined by lot. In the following games, players pass cards in turn counter-clockwise. The deck is thoroughly worn by the handler and each player is dealt 12 cards one at a time, the dealer hands over 13 cards, the cards are dealt counter-clockwise. The remaining deck is placed in the center of the table in a closed form, this is the stock. The first move in the game belongs to the deliverer, who must begin the discard pile with any card that is placed in the open in the center of the table next to the stock. Each following player counter-clockwise on his turn must:

1. Take one card from either the stock or the top of the drop. With a reset, you can only take a card if the player has a set of cards.

2. If the player took the card from the reset, then he must show the received set of cards to all players, laying this set in front of him in clear. Then turn the set of cards face down.

3. If the player took the card from the stock, then he must fold one card into the reset.

The game continues until the following happens:

The stock is over. If the stock cards are finished, the game ends and the player who did not make any sets is considered a loser. Other players count the points for the cards that remained in their hands. The player who has fewer points becomes the winner. If the draw is scored, then the player who takes the last card wins, if there is no such player, then the player who was to take the card wins.

The player announces Tongit. If the player is able to use all of his cards in the set, he declares Tongit and shows the set by putting the cards on the table.

The player declares a draw. A player before his turn can declare a draw if he believes that other players have a higher set of cards. If a player declares a draw, then the other players can fold their cards or contest a draw. A player who challenges a draw must open his hand, throw off a set of cards, if any. If the player declared a draw and none of the players opened the cards to contest, then the player who declares a draw becomes the winner. A player who has not opened a card to challenge a draw must pay an additional penalty to the winning player.

Scoring. After each game, the winner receives from each loser:

1 chip for the victory,

1 chip for each ace that the winner has in his hand or is in the set,

1 penalty chip is burned,

3 chips per set,

3 chips instead of 1 for winning Tongit,

3 chips on winning when a draw is announced.

The chips in the bank go to the player who wins two games in a row.

Note. There is a variant of the game where some players pay 2 chips instead of 3 per set and 4 chips per Tongit and 4 chips per victory when the draw is announced.

The game is translated from English, there may be inaccuracies in the translation.