How to keep score in Tongits | Tallynight Games

In Tongits, the winner of each game collects from both losers: 1 for a win, or 3 for a tongits or a challenged draw, plus extras for aces and secret melds. A burned player pays 1 more. Every game balances out to zero, and the highest total when you stop wins.

At a glance

Players: 3
Who wins: Highest total when you stop
Each game: Losers pay the winner, so it adds up to zero
Deal: 13 cards to the dealer, 12 to each other player

What each loser pays the winner

Count it in chips or points, as your table plays. Add up everything that applies, and each loser pays that much to the winner.

For	From each loser
Winning the game	1
Winning by tongits: every card melded or laid off	3 instead of 1
Winning a draw after someone challenged	3 instead of 1
Each ace in the winner's hand or own melds	1
Each secret meld: four of a kind face down or in the winner's hand	3
A burned (sunog) loser, who never laid down a meld	1 more

Some tables pay 2 instead of 3 for a tongits, a secret meld and a challenged draw. Agree before the first deal.

Three ways a game ends

Tongits: a player melds or lays off every card in their hand. They win straight away.
Draw: a player who has laid down a meld calls draw at the start of their turn. The others fold or challenge, and the lowest count of cards left in hand wins. A challenger who ties with the caller wins.
The stock runs out: the player with the lowest count of cards left in hand wins. Burned players lose.

To count a hand, aces are 1, jacks, queens and kings are 10, and every other card is its number.

Burned, secret melds and aces

You're burned (sunog) if you haven't laid down a meld when the game ends. You can't call or challenge a draw, and when you lose you pay 1 extra.

A secret meld is four of a kind kept face down or hidden in your hand. Laid face down, it counts as opening, so you're not burned. If you win, each loser pays 3 for it.

Aces pay only when they're in the winner's hand or the winner's own melds. Aces laid off on someone else's meld don't count, and the losers' aces don't count at all.

The pot

Before each deal, everyone puts 2 into a pot in the middle. Whoever wins two games in a row takes it. Some tables make it three in a row.

Keep the pot off the score sheet, in chips or coins, so each game's payments still balance out to zero.

Agree before you deal

How much a tongits, a challenged draw and a secret meld pay: 3 or 2
Whether a run of five or more cards in the winner's hand pays 3 extra
Whether the pot needs two wins in a row or three

A scoring example

Ana, Ben and Cleo, three games. Each row shows what the winner collected and what the losers paid, so every row adds up to zero.

Game	Ana	Ben	Cleo
1	7	−4	−3
2	−3	−3	6
3	−7	14	−7
Total	−3	7	−4

Game 1: Ana won with two aces in her melds, so each loser paid 1 + 2 = 3, and Ben, who was burned, paid 1 more. Game 2: Cleo won by tongits, 3 from each. Game 3: Ben won a challenged draw (3) holding an ace (1) and a secret meld of four kings (3), so 7 from each.

Ben leads with 7, and the three totals still add up to zero.

Keep score in Tallynight

Tongits is set up for you: rounds, highest total wins. After each game, type what the winner collected and what each loser paid on one keypad, minus signs included. The table keeps the totals and who deals next.

Tallynight checks that every game balances out to zero, so a payment written down wrong shows straight away.

Checks that every game adds up to zero
A minus key for the losers' payments
Tap any game to fix it
Tap End game when you stop, and see who came out on top

Get Tallynight on the App Store: free, no ads.
Print a Tongits score sheet if you'd rather keep score on paper.

Questions

How do you score Tongits?

After each game, each loser pays the winner 1, or 3 for a tongits or a challenged draw. Add 1 for each of the winner's aces, 3 for each secret meld, and 1 more from a burned player.

How many cards does each player get in Tongits?

The dealer gets 13 and the other two players get 12 each. The rest of the deck is the stock.

What does burned (sunog) mean in Tongits?

You're burned if you haven't laid down a single meld when the game ends. You can't challenge a draw, and you pay the winner 1 extra.

What is a secret meld in Tongits?

Four of a kind kept face down or hidden in your hand. If you win, each loser pays you 3 for it.

Who wins a draw in Tongits?

The player with the lowest count of cards left in hand, between the caller and whoever challenged. If a challenger ties with the caller, the challenger wins.

Why should Tongits scores add up to zero?

Every point the winner gets is paid by a loser, so each game's numbers add up to zero. If they don't, someone has written a payment down wrong.

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