Tichu is a free online partnership card game for four: you and your computer partner Jun against Kai and Mira. Fourteen cards each from a 56-card pack — four suits plus the Mah Jong, Dog, Phoenix and Dragon. Beat the play on the table with a higher one of the same shape: a single, a pair, three of a kind, a full house, a straight of five or more, or a run of pairs. Bombs beat anything, even out of turn. Call Tichu for 100 points if you go out first, or Grand Tichu for 200 before you see your last six cards. Pass one card to each player, wish with the Mah Jong, give the Dragon trick away, and race to 500 or 1000. No download, no sign-up, works on phones.
How to play Tichu
- You sit at the bottom and partner Jun, across the table; Kai on your right and Mira on your left are the other team. Play goes from you to Kai, Jun, Mira and back.
- You get eight cards first. Call Grand Tichu now if you are sure you will go out first (+200, or −200 if not); otherwise the other six are dealt.
- Pass one card face down to each of the other three players: pick a slot, tap a card, then press Pass cards. Whoever holds the Mah Jong leads the first trick.
- Lead any combination: a single, a pair, three of a kind, a full house, a straight of five or more cards, or a run of two or more pairs in a row (5-5-6-6). Each following player must beat it with a higher play of the same shape and length, or pass.
- When everyone else passes, the last player to play wins the trick, keeps its cards and leads the next one. Passing does not stop you playing later in the same trick.
- Bombs — four of a kind, or a straight flush of five or more — beat any other play and can be played at any time, even out of turn. A straight flush beats four of a kind; a longer straight flush beats a shorter one.
- The specials: the Mah Jong counts as a 1 and lets you wish for a rank, which the next player holding it must play if they can. The Dog, led alone, hands the lead to your partner. The Phoenix is a wild card in any combination but a bomb, and as a single it counts half a rank higher than the card it covers. The Dragon is the highest single, but the trick it wins goes to an opponent of your choice.
- Call Tichu any time before you play your first card: +100 if you go out first, −100 if anyone else does. Your partner’s call counts for your team too.
- The deal ends when three players are out, or when two partners go out first and second — a one-two, worth 200 with no cards counted. Otherwise the last player gives their hand to the opponents and their tricks to whoever went out first. Fives are worth 5, tens and kings 10, the Dragon 25 and the Phoenix −25.
- The first team to reach the target — 500 or 1000 — at the end of a deal, ahead of the other team, wins the game.
Tips
- Count your plays, not your cards. A hand that splits into a long straight, a full house and two aces needs only four tricks to go out — that is a Tichu hand even with fourteen cards in it.
- Keep your bombs. Their real job is to stop an opponent going out first, especially one who called Tichu, or to break up a one-two.
- When Jun calls Tichu, back the call: do not overtake Jun’s plays, lead low cards Jun can beat, and never go out ahead of Jun if you can help it — that costs your team 100.
- Pass your partner a high card and your opponents low ones. Giving the Dog to an opponent is a classic: whoever leads it only hands the lead to their own partner.
- Wish for a high rank you do not hold. It forces an ace or king out of someone’s hand on your terms — but your partner may be the one holding it.
- Give the Dragon trick to the opponent with the most cards left. If they finish last, their tricks go to whoever went out first anyway.
- Watch the points in the trick (shown in the middle). A trick with tens, kings or the Dragon is worth fighting for; a trick of sixes and nines is not worth an ace.
- Use Hint when stuck — it suggests the same play the computer players would make in your seat.
FAQ
Is this Tichu free to play online?
Yes. Tichu is free to play in your browser with no download, no account and no in-game purchases. It runs on desktop, tablet and phone, and you play with a computer partner against two computer opponents.
How do you play Tichu?
Four players in two teams of two get fourteen cards each. Someone leads a combination — a single, a pair, three of a kind, a full house, a straight or a run of pairs — and each player in turn beats it with a higher play of the same shape or passes. The last player to play takes the trick and leads again. The aim is to go out early and win tricks with fives, tens, kings and the Dragon in them, while calling Tichu when you can go out first.
What is the difference between Tichu and Grand Tichu?
Both are bets that you will be the first player to go out. Grand Tichu is called after your first eight cards, before you see the other six, and is worth +200 or −200. Tichu is called any time before you play your first card and is worth +100 or −100. You can make only one of the two calls in a deal.
What do the Mah Jong, Dog, Phoenix and Dragon do?
The Mah Jong is a 1: whoever holds it leads first, and playing it lets you wish for a rank that the next player holding it must play if they legally can. The Dog, led on its own, passes the lead to your partner. The Phoenix is a wild card in any combination except a bomb, and as a single it is half a rank above the card it is played on — it beats an Ace but not the Dragon. The Dragon is the highest single; the trick it wins goes to an opponent of your choice. The Dragon is worth 25 points and the Phoenix −25.
What is a bomb in Tichu?
Four cards of the same rank, or a straight flush of five or more cards in one suit. A bomb beats any other play, including the Dragon, and can be played at any time — even out of turn — as long as there is a play on the table to beat. Higher bombs beat lower ones, and every straight flush beats every four of a kind.
How is a Tichu round scored?
Fives are worth 5, tens and kings 10, the Dragon 25 and the Phoenix −25, so the cards add up to 100 each deal. The last player to go out gives the cards left in their hand to the opponents and the tricks they won to the player who went out first. If two partners go out first and second, their team scores 200 and nobody counts cards. Tichu and Grand Tichu bonuses are added on top.
How long does a game of Tichu take?
The standard game is played to 1000 points; you can also choose a quicker game to 500. We measured 80 games between four computer players: a game to 1000 took a median of 13 deals (between 6 and 20), and a game to 500 a median of 6 deals (between 2 and 11).
How good is the computer partner?
It plays to a plan: it splits its hand into the fewest plays it can, keeps its aces, Dragon and bombs for when the lead matters, backs a partner who called Tichu and bombs an opponent who is about to go out. We measured it over 300 deals, each played twice with the teams’ cards swapped: a computer partnership outscored a team playing random legal moves in 95% of deals, by 179 points a deal on average, and outscored a team that always plays the cheapest card that beats the table in 68% of deals, by 53 points. Among four computer players, 60% of their Tichu calls and 72% of their Grand Tichu calls came off.
How is Tichu different from Big Two and Guandan?
All three are climbing games — beat the play on the table or pass. Big Two is every player for themselves, with no partners, a 52-card deck and suits that break ties. Guandan is a partnership game too, but with two decks, jokers and wild cards, and teams climb levels from 2 to the ace instead of scoring points. Tichu is the partnership game with one 56-card pack: four special cards, a pass of one card to each player, card points in the tricks you win, and the Tichu and Grand Tichu calls.
Are there any house rules in this version?
A few small ones. The wish never forces anyone to play a bomb — a bomb is always allowed instead. You may bomb out of turn at any time, while the computer players bomb only on their own turn. A bomb can be played out of turn only on top of a play, never to open a trick. And if a deal ends with a Dragon trick still on the table, it goes to the opponent who is left holding cards.
Is this the official Tichu game?
No. It is an independent version of the classic card game for one player against the computer, with its own cards and artwork. It is not affiliated with or endorsed by any publisher of Tichu.
Can I play Tichu with other people online here?
Not on this page — it is single-player, with computer players in the other three seats, so you can start a game at any time and play at your own pace. Your partner and opponents never see your cards, and the computer players never look at anyone else’s hand.