How to Play Tonk

Tonk is a fun 2-6 player card game where everyone tries to be the first one to run out of cards by playing spreads. To play, first deal 7 cards face down to each player. Place the rest of the cards in the middle of the table to make the stock pile. Flip the top card face up next to it to make the discard pile. In Tonk, aces are worth 1 point, face cards are worth 10 points, and the rest of the cards are worth their face value. If the cards in a player’s hand add up to 50 points, they automatically win that round. Otherwise, the player to the dealer’s left goes first. On a player’s turn, they can either draw from the stock pile or take the top face-up card on the discard pile. They then discard one card from their hand. Play continues clockwise around the table. Players are trying to collect cards that help them create “spreads.” A spread can be either a “book,” which is 3 or more cards of the same rank, or a “run,” which is 3 or more sequential cards in the same suit. When a player is able to make a spread, they play the cards in the spread face up on the table in front of them. Players can also play off of existing spreads on the table. For example, if one player plays a book made up of 3 queens, another player could play 1 queen on that book during their turn. Whoever plays all of the cards in their hand first wins the round. The rest of the players add up the point values of all of the cards left in their hands and add that to their total score. Then, a new round begins. Once a player reaches 100 points, they’re out. The last player standing wins the game! To learn how to gamble while playing tonk, read on!