Tonk with Twists™ Rules & Game Guide

Goal: Be the first player to reach 250 points.

The first player to reach 250 points must yell "Tonk with Twists."

Tonk with Twists is played with a 52-card deck and up to 12 optional twist cards (Dealer's Choice: 4 Wild, 4 Cross, and 4 Skip).

Card Rank & Values

Cards rank from highest to lowest: K, Q, J, 10 through 9 thru Ace (low).

·    Face cards = 10 points

·    Number cards = 5 points

·    Ace = 5 points (low)

·    All Twists (Wild/Skip or Block/Cross) cards left/caught in hand = 10 points. Skip/Block and Cross have no value once discarded.

·    Wild cards take the value of the card they replace

·    Trips take the value of the matching cards

Setup

·    Determine first dealer (high card); rotate clockwise thereafter

·    Dealer selects twist options (Wild, Cross, Skip, Combo, or none)

·    Shuffle deck (include twists if selected)

·    Player to dealer's right may cut the deck

·    Deal 5 cards to each player

·    Place remaining deck in the center (draw deck)

·    Player to the left of the dealer goes first and must draw from the deck.  Unless a player decides to Run or qualify with Bonus hand (13/49/50).

TURN FLOW

·    The first discard creates the discard pile

·    Draw from the deck or pick up the top card from the discard pile

·    Before discarding, lay spreads and/or hit

·    A player may choose to hold spreads for a later turn

·    Discard ends the turn

·    Only the player to the left may take the top/last card from discard pile, unless a Cross Card is played

·    When a player has no cards left in hand, the round ends immediately

·    That player wins the round and scores all remaining hand held points from all players. All spreads and hits remain with the respective player for scoring purpose

Valid Spreads (Same Suit)

·    Cards must follow sequence and be the same suit

·    May be ascending or descending

·    Any suit may be used, but all cards in a spread must match

·    Note: All cards in a spread must be the same suit

·    Scoring example using a wildcard: 4♦-5♦-Wild takes as 6♦  = 15 points

                                                  Wildcard: Wild+ 4♠️+5 ♠️ Wild takes as 3♠️=12 points

Spread Examples (not all-inclusive)

·    4♦-5♦-6♦ | 7♠-8♠-9♠

·    A-2-3 | 4-5-6 | 7-8-9 | 10-J-Q

·    3-2-A | 6-5-4 | 9-8-7 | Q-J-10

Trips (Any Suit)

·    Three of the same rank (example: 4♣ + 4♠ +4♦)

·    Suits do not matter

·    May only be hit by the same rank or wild card

Tonk with Twists™

Rules & Game Guide - Continued

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·    A player may hit any spread

·    Hits must follow suit and sequence

·    Points from hits belong to the player who placed the hit

·    A player may hit out to end the round (no discard required)

Cycle Hold Rule

·    When a player is hit, a one full cycle hold is applied unless you have a skip/block card for that round.

·    The player cannot participate (run, draw or pickup from the discard pile) until their next turn cycle is complete. 

·    Multiple hits within the same turn count as one hold

·    Once the cycle is completed, a new hold only applies if hit again

·    Another player may hit your spreads while you are still on a one full cycle hold

·    A player may hit out to end the round (no discard required)

Skip / Block Card

·    A player may use this card on any player and place it face-up in front of them

Option 1: Skip

·    That player's next turn is skipped

·    After the skipped turn, the card is discarded

Option 2: Block

·    Block hit penalty hold for one full cycle on that player

·    Spreads may still be hit

·    After one full cycle, the card is discarded

Cross Card

·    "CROSS" must be called before the next player draws

·    The player to the left has first priority to take the discard

·    If not taken, a Cross card may be used to take it out of turn

·    Must be immediately used in a spread displayed for all to see.

·    If not called in time, the opportunity is lost and can't be used at this time. However, can be used at next opportunity.

·    Using Cross card allows a player to act out of turn. Other Players may be skipped!

·    The player to the left (clockwise always) of the discard has priority over the Cross card

Wild Card

·    May be used in any spread to replace a missing card

·    Must be part of a valid spread

·    Takes the value of the card it replaces

·    A player must lay down all cards to run

·    A player may not hold cards in hand and run

Successful Run

·    The player scores points from their cards, spreads, and hits

·    Add all other players' hand held points

Caught

·    The catcher receives all points in play, including the runner's cards, spreads, hits. All other players hand held points goes to the round winner.

·    Spreads and hits already laid remain with the respective players.

·    If dealt 49, 50, or 13 before the first draw, the value of each card is face value, not the same value used in scoring. The player receives 50 bonus points Only. example 2♥️ + 4♦️+3♠️+A♣️+3♥️=13 points. See flip card in Learn Twists Section for another example.

·    The round ends immediately

·    No other player earns

First player to reach 250 points wins the game. These winning points can be modified and established before the game begins.

Deal exhaustion: If the draw deck runs out, reshuffle the discard pile to form a new draw deck and continue play.