Tonj is a head-to-head game for two players with two full decks. Both players build on foundations and houses shared on the table, and the goal is to empty your reserve, your hand and your waste pile before your opponent does. You can also load cards onto your opponent's piles. Here is the guide step by step.
What you need
- Players: two, each playing for themselves, no teams.
- Cards: two 52-card decks, which makes 104 cards with no Jokers.
- On the table: 8 houses (4 from each player) and 8 foundations, built on by both players.
Setup
Each player starts with:
- Reserve: 13 cards, 12 face down with one face-up card on top.
- Houses: 4 face-up cards, each one starting a house.
- Hand: 35 face-down cards.
- Waste pile: empty.
The player whose exposed reserve card is higher starts: A is highest, then K down to 2, and if ranks are equal the suits rank ♠, ♥, ♦, ♣.
Building rules
- Foundations: an empty foundation accepts only an Ace, then it is built in the same suit upward: A, 2 up to 10, then J, Q, K. A card placed on a foundation never moves again.
- Houses: built downward, one rank at a time, alternating colours (red on black and the reverse).
- Available cards: the face-up top of your reserve, the outer card of every house, and the card you turned from your hand this turn.
- Loading the opponent: you may place an available card on the top card of your opponent's reserve or of their waste if it is the same suit and exactly one rank above or below.
The compulsory priorities
These priorities are compulsory, in this order:
- If your reserve top can go to a foundation, do that first.
- If any available card can go to a foundation, that is compulsory before any other move.
- If a house is empty and your reserve is not, fill the house from the reserve before turning a hand card.
How a turn runs
On your turn you make your legal moves from the reserve and houses, then turn a hand card when the priorities allow. The card turned from your hand must be played if it can be; if it cannot be played legally, you throw it onto your waste pile and your turn ends. When you need a new card and your hand is empty, your waste pile is turned over to become your new hand with no shuffle. The game does this by itself at the start of your turn, or if your hand runs out in the middle of it.
Calling TONJ
In the digital version a move that breaks a priority or a building rule is never committed. The attempt opens a claim, and your opponent has a short window to call TONJ. With a valid call, the illegal attempt is cancelled, or the omitted compulsory move is performed, and the turn passes to the caller. If the window expires with no call, the illegal placement stays rejected, an omitted priority is corrected automatically, and play continues.
Scoring in numbers
A hand ends in a normal win when your reserve, hand and waste are all empty. The winner scores:
| Item | Points |
|---|---|
| Win bonus | 30 |
| Each card in the opponent's hand | 1 |
| Each card in the opponent's waste | 1 |
| Each card in the opponent's reserve | 2 |
If both players reach a deadlock where neither can progress, each player's burden is counted: hand cards + waste cards + twice the reserve cards. The lower burden wins and scores the difference between the two burdens, with no 30-point bonus. Equal burdens mean a drawn hand.
Common beginner mistakes
- Turning a hand card before filling an empty house from the reserve when that is compulsory.
- Skipping a move to a foundation even though it comes first.
- Thinking your waste pile is a source to play from; its cards can only be played after it returns to the hand.
- Expecting to take a card back from a foundation; it never moves again.
- Loading a card of the wrong suit or two ranks away; the rule is the same suit and exactly one rank apart.
Quick FAQ
Can I move several cards together between houses?
Yes, if they form a properly built run and enough empty houses are available; the server checks this.
Is a match a single hand?
Yes, unless the room sets a target score, in which case hands continue until it is reached.
When is a stalemate declared?
When it is established that neither player can progress, for example when the same position occurs three times with no card reaching a foundation.
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