How to Play Tichu
Description
Call Tichu before you play your first card — but if your partner doesn't come through, you're both paying for it.
Objective
Team up with the player across from you and be first to reach 1,000 points, mainly by emptying your hand first and capturing valuable cards along the way.
Setup
Four players in fixed partnerships, using a 56-card deck (a standard deck plus four special cards: the Dragon, Phoenix, Dog, and Mah Jong).
Each player gets fourteen cards. Before play, everyone privately passes one card to each of the other three players — one to your partner, one to each opponent.
Before seeing your full hand, you may call "Tichu" — a bet that you'll be the very first player to empty your hand, worth a big bonus if you succeed and a big penalty if you don't.
Rules
Whoever holds the Mah Jong leads first. On each turn, play a single card, a valid combination (a pair, a run, three-of-a-kind, and others), or pass.
The next player must either beat what's on the table with a higher combination of the same type and size, play a "bomb" (a rare, powerful combination that beats anything), or pass.
Once everyone else has passed, the trick is won by whoever played last, and they lead the next one.
The Dog, if led, immediately passes the lead to your partner instead of winning anything.
Winning
Once a player empties their hand, the round isn't over yet — play continues until only one player is left holding cards, or until both members of a team have finished.
Score points based on who finished in what order, plus the value of certain cards captured in tricks, plus any Tichu bonus or penalty.
First team to 1,000 points wins the match.