TONK RULES
Anthony Kajjouni
Does anybody know the rules for the card game "Tonk", or where I might
find them?
bush
Anthony Kajjouni <a...@istar.ca> wrote:
>Does anybody know the rules for the card game "Tonk", or where I might
>find them?
I think I remember this game from when I was a kid. It's a great
game, as I remember, but I, too, have forgotten the rules. I'd like
to have them before the holidays, if you find them.
Thanks
BBUSH
John Hay
bjb...@atl.mindspring.com (bush) wrote:
Here is the version of Tonk that I have seen played. I believe it is
quite a bit different than the rules usually given in rule books.
Tonk
Deck: Standard deck of 52 cards
Number of Players: Any number (best for 4 or 5)
Value of Cards: Aces count 1 point, 10's and Face cards 10 points,
all other cards count their face value.
Deal: Each player is dealt 5 cards. (Rule books say 7, but I have
never seen it played that way.) The next card is turned face up and
placed next to the deck.
The play: Beginning with the player to the dealer's left and
continuing clockwise each player has a choice. The player may knock
(by saying "I knock"), thereby declaring that they believe they have
the lowest point total in their hand of any player in the game. If
the player does not knock they may pick up the face up card that is at
the top of the discard pile. If they do this, they must immediately
use the card in a "rummy spread" (at least three cards of the same
rank or at least three cards of the same suit in consecutive order).
They place these 3 (or more) cards face up in front of themselves.
They then discard a card from their hand to the top of the pile of
face-up cards. If the player does not wish to knock or pick up the
uppermost face-up card, they draw the top card from the face-down
deck. They may place this card in their hand or use it in a rummy
spread. The player then either discards one card to the face-up stack
or plays a single card to continue a sequence that has been played (by
anyone) or finish a set of 4 cards.
Please note that a player may only knock before taking any other
action during their turn.
Scoring: Tonk is a gambing game with each hand played at an agreed
upon stake. If the player who knocks has the lowest total of point
cards in their hand, they win the amount of the stake from every other
player. If the lowest scoring player is not the player who knocked,
the low scorer collects the stake from every other player and double
from the player who knocked. (Alternate version: If the knocker is
not the low scorer, the knocker pays everyones stake to the low
scorer).
I realize the rules above may not be the most readable since I just
typed them off the top of my head. If there are any questions, please
feel free to post or e-mail me.
Also, if you play any variation of the above, I would appreciate an
e-mail explaining the variation. I would like the information for a
book I am working on.
bush
That's the version I remember. Unfortunately, I also remember losing
quite a few dollars over a couple of summers when I was younger.
Thanks for the help.
BBUSH
Arkady
This is a direct dump of the Tonk txt file I've been using for the
last while.
ENJOY...
TONK
Here are the rules of Tonk according to John P. Speno. I would like to
thank him personally for writing them. Thank you very much.
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A card game for two or more players.
Setup: Using a standard 52 card poker deck, the dealer deals each player
five cards. The remaining cards become the draw pile. The top card from the
draw pile is placed face up next to the draw pile to become the discard
pile. Determine the amount of the payoff. This can be whatever the players
wish, i.e. a chip, a quarter, 10 jellybeans, nothing, etc.
Play: Immediately after the deal, all players check for TONK. A player has
TONK if the total of the cards in their hands is 15 or less, or greater
than 48, i.e. 49 or 50. Each face card [jack, queen, or king] is worth 10,
aces are worth 1, and all other cards have a value equal to their number,
e.g. a Three of Spades is worth 3. If any person has TONK now, they must
yell "Tonk!" and drop their cards to show the other players. Each of the
players that doesn't have TONK must pay the player(s) with TONK twice the
agreed upon payoff. If no players have TONK, then normal play proceeds to
the left of the dealer. N.B. A player can only get TONK immediately after
cards have been delt. Later in the game, the value of their hands may be
less than 15 or greater than 48, but it isn't a TONK.
Once play has begun, a players has two options to choose from, and can
choose one or the other, but not both during their current turn. The first
option is called Going Down, and is an attempt to win the game. To go down,
the player drops his cards and announces the total value of his cards. If
that player has the LOWEST point value, he wins, and all other players pay
him the payoff amount. If, however, he doesn't have the lowest point value,
then he must pay each player who has a point value that is equal or lower
than his own DOUBLE the payoff. Everyone else must pay the person, or
persons in case of ties, with the lowest total the normal payoff.
In the second option, the player must take either the top card from the
draw pile or the top card from the discard pile into his hand. Afterwards,
if a player has three of a kind, four of a kind, or a spread of three or
more cards of the same suit in numerical order [order is Ace One Two...Ten
Jack Queen King] (like a straight flush) he may put those cards out of his
hand in front of him. Cards put out in this manner no longer count towards
the total value of the player's hand. Also, a player may add to any spreads
already on the table at either end of the spread, even other those in front
of other players. A player may not add to three of a kinds already on the
table. If a player manages to get rid of all his cards during his turn, he
is the winner and all other players pay him the payoff. If any cards
remain, the player discards a card onto the discard pile. If discarding
leaves the player with no cards, he wins. If he hasn't won, play proceeds
to the next player.
Example of Play
After dealing we have:
Croaker: 10s 8d 8h 5s 4c = 35
Goblin: Kc 10c 3c 2s Ah = 26
Elmo: Qh 8c 6d 2d 2c = 28
discard: 5c
After Elmo deals, everyone checks for TONK, but nobody has it. Croaker
doesn't want the 5c on the discard pile so he draws from the draw pile
getting a 6s, discards his 10s. Goblin draws the Ac, discards his Kc. Elmo
draws a 7s, discards Qh. Now we have:
Croaker: 8d 8h 6s 5s 4c = 31
Goblin: 10c 3c 2s Ah Ac = 17
Elmo: 8c 7s 6d 2d 2c = 25
discard: Qh
Croaker draws the 8s, giving him three of a kind. He puts down the three
8's, and dicards his 6s. Goblin grumbles at Croaker's luck, and draws a 3s.
He then discards his 10c. Elmo draws the 7h, discards the 8c. We now have:
Croaker: 5s 4c = 9, On the table: 8h 8d 8s.
Goblin: 3s 3c 2s Ah Ac = 10
Elmo: 7s 7h 6d 2d 2c = 25
discard: 8c
On his next turn, Croaker announces he is going down with 9. He wins since
his total is lower than both Goblin's and Elmo's. They both pay Croaker his
money.
Example Two
Here we have the following hands after a few rounds have gone by:
Croaker: Qc 10s 9s 6h 5h = 40
Goblin: Jc 10c 4s 4c As = 29
Elmo: 8s 7h 5d 2d Ad = 23
discard: Qd
Croaker draws a Js, giving him a spread of Js 10s 9s which he puts down. He
discards his Qc. Goblin takes Croakers Qc from the discard pile and puts
down his spread of Qc Jc 10c and discards his 4s. Elmo draws a 10h, drops
his 8s onto the end of Croaker's run, then discards the 10h he just drew.
Now we have:
Croaker: 6h 5h = 11, On the table: Js 10s 9s.
Goblin: 4c As = 5, On the table: Qc Jc 10c.
Elmo: 7h 5d 2d Ad = 15
discard: Qd
Croaker doesn't think he can beat Goblin since he saw him discard a 4, so
he draws and gets the 9h which does him no good so he discards. On this
turn, Goblin goes down and wins. Elmo curses his luck.
John P. Speno, sp...@swarthmore.edu, Swarthmore College Computing Center
"There is no wisdom greater than kindness."
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