Mechanics in one line: Tongits is a race to arrange thirteen cards into melds before somebody else goes out - and because you draw, arrange and discard every turn, it is the rare lobby game where choices genuinely matter.
The deal: each of the three players receives twelve cards, the dealer thirteen. The rest of the deck becomes the draw pile, with one card flipped to start the dump pile.
Melds: three or more cards of the same rank (a set) or three-plus consecutive cards of one suit (a run) lay face up on the table. Melded cards stop counting against you, which is why quick opening melds calm a hand fast.
Draw, arrange, dump: each turn you take one card - from the deck or the top of the dump - then discard one. Reading which discards your opponents refuse is half the game on jl29 link Tongits tables.
The fights: calling Tong immediately after the opening meld wins outright; a fold challenge compares remaining hands; and if the deck empties, the lowest deadwood takes the pot. When you want pure number-slip pacing between hands instead, the draw-and-guess rounds of Keno reset the pace nicely.
