Let's Play! Card Game Ideas!

1 Deck of cards
2 to 4 Players

Tonk is similar to Rummy and is often played for money. To save your pocketbook, we recommend playing with poker chips or candy. Better yet, candy poker chips!

Deal: Each player is dealt 5 cards. The rest of the deck is placed face down to form the draw pile. The top card is flipped to start the discard pile.

Card Values:

• Ace: 1 point
• Number cards: Face value
• Face cards (J, Q, K): 10 points

Gameplay:

1. Starting a Round: Players check their hand. If a player’s initial hand totals exactly 49 or 50 points, they immediately declare “Tonk” and win the round.

2. Turn Actions:

   • Draw: On your turn, draw a card from either the draw pile or the discard pile.
   • Play or Discard:
     • If possible, you can "lay down" sets or runs (3 or 4 cards of the same rank, or 3 or more consecutive cards of the same suit).
     • Add cards to existing sets/runs on the table (your own or others').
     • Discard one card to the discard pile to end your turn.

3. Going Out:

   • If you can play all your cards by forming sets/runs and laying them down, you go out, ending the round.
   • If you can’t play all your cards but have the lowest hand value, you can "knock" to end the round.

4. Ending a Round:

   • When a player goes out or knocks, the round ends.
   • Other players reveal their hands. If someone has a lower point total than the knocker, they win; otherwise, the knocker wins.
   • If no one knocks and all cards are drawn, the player with the lowest hand value wins.

Winning the Game:

• Players agree on a target number of rounds or a point total to reach. The player with the most wins or points at the end is the overall winner.

4+ players (best with 6 or more)

1 card deck, pen and paper to track scores
Objective: the mafia kills off the townspeople or the townspeople kill off the mafia.

• Roles:
  • Mafia (1-3 depending on the group size)
  • Detective (1)
  • Doctor (1)
  • Townspeople (all remaining players)
  • Assign roles by dealing cards secretly to each player. The number and types of roles depend on the group size.

• Gameplay:

  1. Night Phase:

     • All players close their eyes.
     • Mafia: The facilitator asks the Mafia to open their eyes and silently choose one player to eliminate.
     • Detective: After the Mafia closes their eyes, the Detective opens their eyes and points to one player to identify their role.
     • Doctor: After the Detective closes their eyes, the Doctor opens their eyes and selects one player to save.
     • The facilitator notes all choices and ends the night phase.

  2. Day Phase:

     • The facilitator announces who (if anyone) was eliminated during the night.
     • Discussion: All players, including the Mafia, discuss who they suspect is in the Mafia. The goal is to uncover the Mafia members.
     • Voting: After the discussion, players vote to eliminate one player. The player with the most votes is eliminated and reveals their role.

  3. Repeat:

     • The game continues with alternating night and day phases until either all Mafia members are eliminated (townspeople win) or the Mafia outnumber or equal the townspeople (Mafia wins).

  Winning the Game:

  • Mafia wins if they successfully outnumber or equal the number of townspeople.
  • Townspeople win if they eliminate all Mafia members.

3+ players
1 card deck, pen and paper to track scores
Objective: be the first to get rid of all your cards.

Deal: Deal the entire deck of cards as evenly as possible among players. Some players may have one more card than others.

Gameplay:

1. Starting the Game:

   • The player with the Ace of Spades typically goes first, but any player can start.
   • The first player plays face down one or more cards, announcing them as a specific rank (e.g., "two Aces").
   • The rank must be in sequence, starting with Aces and moving up to Kings (Aces, Twos, Threes, etc.).

2. Next Player:

   • The next player continues by playing one or more cards face down, announcing them as the same rank or the next rank in sequence.
   • For example, if the first player played Aces, the next player must play Twos, and so on.

3. Calling “I Doubt It”:

   • Any player can call "I Doubt It" if they think the cards just played do not match the announced rank.
   • If "I Doubt It" is called, the played cards are revealed:
     • If the bluff was successful (the cards do not match the announced rank), the bluffer must take the entire pile of played cards.
     • If the bluff was not successful (the cards match the announced rank), the player who called "I Doubt It" must take the pile.

4. Continuing Play:

   • After the pile is taken, the next player starts a new round, beginning with the rank of their choice.
   • Play continues until one player runs out of cards.

Winning the Game:

• The first player to get rid of all their cards wins the game.

Variation:

• Multiple Decks: For larger groups, or to extend play, use two or more decks shuffled together.