Tổ Tôm

4 players · You against 3 AI · Single deal

1. 1

   Objective

   • To win, all twenty cards must form ten pairs, at least six of which are identical pairs. An identical pair is called Chắn. A pair of the same rank but different suits is called Cạ.
   • Four identical cards form Chíu and count as two Chắn pairs. An existing identical pair cannot be split to form Cạ.
   • When Chi chi is the winning card, the hand must contain exactly six Chắn pairs and four Cạ pairs, rather than merely at least six Chắn.
2. 2

   Setup

   • The library retains all 120 cards. This table uses ranks 2–9 in Vạn, Sách and Văn, plus Chi chi, four copies each: 100 cards. All rank-1 cards, Ông cụ and Thang thang are excluded. Choose a random dealer: twenty cards for the dealer, nineteen for each other seat, and twenty-three in the stock. The dealer discards first. Turns follow You, AI 1, AI 2 and AI 3.
3. 3

   Playing a turn

   • First consider the preceding player’s card. You may combine it with one card from your hand to expose a Chắn or Cạ pair, then discard one card from your hand.
   • If you pass the preceding player’s card, reveal a stock card in your own gate, the play area in front of you. You may use it to form a pair and then discard, or pass. A revealed stock card cannot simply enter your hand.
   • The next player may pair a stock card you passed. If they also pass, they reveal the next stock card. Winning and Chíu claims can interrupt this flow. Their priority is explained below.
   • If an identical hand card exists, capture as Chắn. Do not break identical pairs to discard or form Cạ. A triple can lose one card while preserving its pair. Declining an available identical capture prevents later discarding that face or using it in Cạ. A face previously discarded, or played from hand into Cạ, cannot later be captured.
   • Do not capture Cạ in a rank already containing a Cạ in hand, or when only one unpaired card remains. Discarding both different suits of a Cạ prevents future Cạ captures. Once a Cạ has been captured, discarding both cards of a Cạ is forbidden. A normal capture must leave a legal discard.
   • Any player holding three identical cards may Chíu the public fourth card out of turn. Resolve wins on a stock reveal first, then Chíu, then normal captures. Equal-priority claims follow seat order starting at the exposed door. After Chíu, discard once. An out-of-turn Chíu returns its replacement discard to the interrupted door, whose player resumes capture or draw. Play does not jump to the claimant’s next seat.
   • Win only on a revealed stock card. An ordinary hand discard cannot directly win, but a Chíu may immediately complete a win. A qualifying dealer’s initial twenty cards can win as Thiên ù. Illegal moves are prevented automatically. Offline accusation penalties are absent. A dealer with neither a legal opening discard nor a heavenly win becomes a dead hand, drawing only and unable to capture or win.
4. 4

   Scoring and ending

   • An ordinary win without special bonuses, Ù xuông, scores 2 points. Each bonus has a main value and an additional value called dịch. Normally use the main value of the highest bonus and only the dịch of the others. Thập thành, ten Chắn pairs, is an exception.
   • 3 points / dịch 1: Ù chì, winning at your own gate. Thiên ù, the dealer’s opening win.
   • 4 points / dịch 1: Tôm, one each of Three of Myriads, Three of Coins and Seven of Coins. Bạch thủ, exactly six Chắn pairs and no Cạ at the winning rank.
   • 5 points / dịch 2: Lèo, one each of Eight of Strings, Nine of Myriads and Chi chi. Thiên khai, four identical cards dealt initially. Chíu ù, winning by completing an opening triplet into four identical cards. Bòn, an opening pair becoming four identical cards. Multiple Tôm and Lèo sets count, without reusing a card within sets of the same kind.
   • Color bonuses: Bạch định, all black, 7 points / dịch 4. Tám đỏ, exactly eight red cards, 8 / 5. Kính tứ chi, four Chi chi and all other cards black, 12 / 9. Eights and Nines of Myriads and Strings, plus Chi chi, are red. All other cards are black.
   • Thập thành: all ten pairs are Chắn, 12 points / dịch 9. For this hand, add the main values of every applicable bonus instead of using the highest main value plus the remaining dịch.
   • Ordinary scoring example: with only Ù chì and one Tôm, use Tôm’s main value of 4 plus Ù chì’s dịch of 1, for 5 points. If main values tie, choose the bonus with the higher dịch as the main bonus.
   • Each of the three losers pays the calculated score, so the winner receives three times that amount. If the stock runs out without a winner, the deal is a draw and all four settlements are 0.