Tichu – Game Rules
- Overview
Players: 4 (2 vs 2)
Cards: Standard deck with special cards
Tichu is a strategic team-based card game where the goal is to score points and be the first team to reach the target score. Players work in pairs and must coordinate their moves to win tricks and finish their cards before their opponents.
- Dealing & Setup
- Each player initially receives 8 cards
- After this, players receive 6 additional cards
- Before play begins, each player must exchange 3 cards:
- 1 card to each opponent (usually weaker cards)
- 1 card to their teammate (usually stronger card)
- Tichu Declarations
🔴 Grand Tichu
- Declared after receiving the first 8 cards
- If successful → +200 points
- If unsuccessful → –200 points
- Only one player per team can declare
🟡 Small Tichu
- Declared before playing your first card
- If successful → +100 points
- If unsuccessful → –100 points
- Only one player per team can declare
- Gameplay Basics
- The game is played in turns
- The player holding the Mahjong (1) starts the game
- Play continues clockwise
Players can play:
- Single cards
- Pairs
- Three of a kind
- Full house (three + pair)
- Consecutive pairs
- Straights (5 or more cards in sequence)
Each new play must be stronger than the previous one.
- Trick Winning
A trick is won when:
- A player plays the highest combination
- All other players pass
The winner collects all cards played in that round.
- Special Cards
🐉 Dragon
- Highest single card
- Can only be beaten by a bomb
- The trick must be given to an opponent
🐦 Phoenix
- Acts as a wild card
- Cannot be used in bombs
- As a single card: counts slightly higher than the previous card
🐕 Dog
- Can only be played as the first card
- Passes the turn directly to your teammate
🀄 Mahjong
- Lowest card (value 1)
- Allows the player to request a specific card value from others
- Bombs
Bombs can be played at any time, even out of turn:
- Four of a kind
- Straight flush (stronger than four of a kind)
The highest bomb wins the trick immediately.
- Scoring
Points are collected from cards:
- 5 → 5 points
- 10 → 10 points
- King → 10 points
- Dragon → 25 points
- Phoenix → –25 points
Special Outcomes:
- If one team finishes 1st and 2nd, they win:
- 200 points (no counting needed)
- If players finish in mixed order:
- The last player gives all remaining cards and points to the opposing team
- Winning the Game
- Points are added cumulatively per team
- The game ends when a team reaches the target score (typically 1000 points)
On Spectrum Games:
- You can choose target scores between 200 and 1000 points
- Games may include chip-based bets
If a player leaves early:
- They lose their bet
- Their ELO rating is affected
