OKEY RULES
If you enjoy quick games built around focus, tile arrangement, and planning every move, OKEY gives you simple rules with more than one way to finish the round.
OKEY is played with numbered tiles instead of cards. Your goal is to arrange your entire hand into valid runs and sets, or into 7 pairs, then discard your final tile before everyone else.
Game Setup
Before the game begins, here are the basics:
• Players: Usually 4 players, with a 2-player mode also available.
• Tiles: 106 tiles numbered from 1 to 13 in four colors: red, black, blue, and yellow, plus two fake jokers.
• Rounds: You can choose a 1-round or 3-round game.
• Score: Each player starts with 20 points. The player with the highest score at the end of the game wins.
Dealing the Tiles
At the start of each round:
• Each player receives 14 tiles.
• The starting player receives 15 tiles.
• The starting player does not draw and begins by discarding one tile.
One tile is also flipped face-up as the indicator, which determines the joker for that round.
The Joker
The joker, also called the Okey tile, can replace any tile needed to complete a valid meld.
The joker is the next number after the indicator tile, in the same color. For example, if the indicator is Blue 8, the joker is Blue 9. If the indicator is 13, the joker is 1 of the same color.
How to Play
Players take turns drawing one tile and discarding one tile.
On your turn, you may:
• Take the tile discarded by the previous player, or draw from the draw pile.
• Keep the tile taken from the discard pile for a later turn; you do not have to use it immediately in a meld.
Players do not open their hands gradually or add tiles to melds on the table. Only the first player to complete their hand lays down melds, and the entire hand must be ready at once.
When 14 tiles in your hand form valid melds, with one final tile left to discard, the meld button becomes active to show that your hand is ready to finish.
Creating Melds
You can arrange your tiles in two ways:
• Runs: Three or more consecutive tiles of the same color. In OKEY, 12–13–1 is also a valid run.
• Sets: Three or four tiles with the same number in different colors.
There is no minimum opening value in OKEY. However, you cannot lay down only part of your hand. All your tiles must form valid melds, with one tile left to discard and end the round.
Winning the Round
There are two ways to win:
- Win with runs and sets: Arrange all your tiles into valid runs and sets, then discard the final tile.
- Win with 7 pairs: Form 7 pairs of identical tiles, then discard the final tile.
In either case, the winner lays down their complete hand and the round ends immediately.
Scoring
Each player begins with 20 points. When a player wins a round, the winner’s score remains unchanged, while points are deducted from every other player according to the winning method:
| How the round ends | Points deducted from each other player |
|---|---|
| Runs and sets with a normal discard | 2 points |
| Runs and sets with a joker discard | 4 points |
| 7 pairs with a normal discard | 4 points |
| 7 pairs with a joker discard | 8 points |
After the final round, the player with the highest score wins. If two or more players are tied for the highest score, the game ends in a tie.
When the Draw Pile Runs Out
If the draw pile runs out before anyone completes their hand, the round is considered a tie. This applies regardless of the number of players or rounds, and the game continues to the next round when one remains.
Quick Summary
Goal: Arrange all your tiles into valid runs and sets or 7 pairs, then discard your final tile before everyone else.
Key rule: There is no minimum opening value, but you must lay down a complete hand.
Winning the game: Keep the highest score after all rounds are complete.
Is your hand ready? Play OKEY now!