TonTon Rulebook

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

• I. Overview
• II. Game Setup
• III. How to Play
  • Playing Cards
  • Special Cards
  • Winning the Trick
• Round End
  • Scoring
• IV. Game End
• Advanced Variant Rules
• 2vs2 Team Rules (4-Player Game)
• Mission Cards

I. Overview

Ton-Ton is a trick-taking game. After 3 rounds, the player with the most points wins the game.

II. Game Setup

1. Prepare the cards according to the number of players (the 40 TonTon cards are in 5 colors, numbered 1 to 8; 3 players use 3 colors, 4 players use 4 colors and 5 players use all 5 colors). Return the unused cards to the box.
2. Place the cards on the table, facedown and shuffle them on the table. Then, each player takes 8 cards from the table. These cards will be their hand for the round.
3. Each player then takes 1 score card and 1 score clip.
4. Shuffle the 3 basic mission cards (5, 9 and 12) and place them on the table, facedown. Note: the advanced mission cards (10 and 11) can be added as a variant.
5. Reveal the first mission card that will be active for the first round.

III. How to Play

The player with the "Red 8" card is the first player and takes the First Player Card. There are 7 tricks in a round. Thus, players will only play 7 cards in a round.

Playing Cards

1. Starting with the first player, each player plays, in clockwise order, a card in front of them.
2. The first player may play any card they wish from their hand. The other players, however, must comply with the following rules:
   • If they have a card that is of the same color as the first player's card, they must play it.
   • If they don't have any card of the same color as the first player's card, then they may play any card from their hand.

Special Cards

• The "4": If a player plays a "4", they immediately take the First Player Card. If another player plays a "4" later on, they take it as well so that the last person to have played a "4" ends up with the First Player Card at the end of the trick.
• The "6": At the end of the game, players score 1 point for every "6" card they have collected.

Winning the Trick

After all players have played to the trick, the player who played the highest card wins the trick and takes the played cards.

Note: If there are two or more players tied for the highest card, the last person who played the tied card wins the trick and takes the played cards.

When a player wins the trick, they must organize the cards in front of them according to the following rules:

• Sort the cards so as to create a deck for each color.
• If you have more than one card of the same color, place the lowest number on top. (Example 1, 1st trick: sort the cards by color; there are two red cards, so the lowest numbered red card is placed on top.)
• If you already had a deck of the color, place the lowest numbered card from the cards won during this trick on top. Do not take into account the cards previously won. (Example 2, 2nd trick: the player already has decks of green cards and purple cards; the lowest numbered card for each color from the cards won during this trick is placed on top of the corresponding deck.)

If no one has played a "4" during the trick, the player who played the highest card takes the first player card.

Round End

After the 7th trick, the round is over. So, players do not play the last card of their hand.

Scoring

1. Mission Card Points
   1. Add up the numbers on top of all your decks.
   2. Score the points granted by the mission card.
   3. Bust: If you busted the condition given by the mission card, you receive 0 points.
2. Bonus Points: The "6" - Each player scores 1 bonus point for each "6" card they won during the round.
3. Tally your points and record your score on your score card with the score clip.

Note: Bonus points are added after having scored the mission card points. You can still receive bonus points even if you bust.

After players have scored their points for the round, the next mission card is revealed and a new round starts. Repeat the setup steps as listed above. The player with the "Red 8" in hand starts the new round.

Example of scoring (mission card 12; players bust from 12 and above and receive points according to their rank):

1. Simon has a total of 13, so he cannot receive any point. (Bust) But he has the "6" card in his deck, so he receives 1 point. Total 1 point.
2. Ryan has a total of 9, so he has the highest number under 12. He receives 10 points for winning the 1st place and receives 2 points because he has 2 "6" cards. Total 12 points.
3. Noah also has a total of 9, so he receives 10 points as well. Noah has a "6" card in his deck, so he also receives 1 point. Total 11 points.
4. Tony didn't win any trick, so he has a total of 0. However, he didn't bust this round, so he receives 4 points for winning the 3rd place. Total 4 points.

IV. Game End

After 3 rounds, the player with the most points wins the game. In case of a tie, the player who scored the most points in the last round wins the game.

Advanced Variant Rules

The gameplay is the same as in the basic game. The advanced mission cards are added to the basic mission cards. Shuffle the 5 mission cards face down, and randomly draw the 3 mission cards that will be used during the game.

2vs2 Team Rules (4-Player Game)

The gameplay is the same as in the basic game. However, the game is played in pairs of two partners with the two players of a team sitting opposite to one another. After 3 rounds, the team members add up their respective score and the team with the most points wins the game.

Note: You may want to add the Advanced Mission Cards when playing the 2vs2 Team Game.

Mission Cards

• 9 and 12 (basic): Players receive points according to their rank. The player having scored the most points takes the first place. The one with the second highest score takes the 2nd place, and so on. However, any player whose total is higher than or equal to the value printed on the mission card (9 or 12) busts the round and scores 0 points. If players are tied, they receive the same number of points for the rank.
• 5 (basic): Players receive points according to their rank. The player having scored the least points takes the first place. The one with the second lowest score takes the 2nd place, and so on. However, any player whose total is lower than or equal to 5 busts the round and scores 0 points. If players are tied, they receive the same number of points for the rank.
• 10 (advanced): Players receive points according to the sum of the numbers on top of their decks. All cards are scored positively. They bust if their total is higher than or equal to 10.
• 11 (advanced): Players receive points according to the sum of the numbers on top of their decks. Red, Purple, and Yellow cards are scored positively (+) while Blue and Green cards are scored negatively (-). They bust if their total is higher than or equal to 11.

Note: Players may end up with a round score that is negative. However, their total score for the game cannot be lower than 0.