What each card is worth
Only five kinds of card have a value. Everything else — 2 to Ace, the Mah Jong and the Dog — counts 0.
| Card | Points | In the deck | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
 Each five |
5 | 4 | 20 |
 Each ten |
10 | 4 | 40 |
 Each king |
10 | 4 | 40 |
 Dragon |
+25 | 1 | 25 |
 Phoenix |
−25 | 1 | −25 |
| Round total | 100 |
Points go to whoever takes the trick containing them. If one team collected 65, the other has 35 — always. That makes counting easy and the strategy clear: every ten you take is ten points the opponents do not get.
Tichu and Grand Tichu
The bets are scored separately from the cards, and only one thing decides them: did the player who called finish first?
| Call | When | Made | Failed |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tichu | With 14 cards, before your first play | +100 | −100 |
| Grand Tichu | With your first 8 cards | +200 | −200 |
- The points go to the team of the player who called, not just to that player.
- If two or more players call, each call is judged on its own. At most one can succeed.
- The bet does not depend on the card points. You can win the 100 of a Tichu and lose the card count 30–70. Net result: +60 for you.
The 1-2
If both players of the same team finish first and second, the round ends at once. No card is counted:
- the team that made the 1-2 scores 200 points,
- the other team scores 0,
- any Tichu and Grand Tichu calls still count, based on who finished first.
The 1-2 is the only way for a team to take more than 100 points from a round without a call — and the surest way to sink an opponent's Grand Tichu.
The last player
When the third player goes out, the player left over does not play their remaining cards. Instead:
- the cards still in their hand go to the opposing team,
- the tricks they had collected go to the player who finished first.
In practice: if you are last with a King and a ten in hand, you have given away 20 points. If you had also taken the Dragon in your tricks, you gave that away too — to the first player.
Worked examples
A round with no calls
Team A collected three fives, two tens, two kings and the Dragon in its tricks. Team B got the rest: one five, two tens, two kings and the Phoenix.
| Team | Cards | Round |
|---|---|---|
| A | 15 + 20 + 20 + 25 | 80 |
| B | 5 + 20 + 20 − 25 | 20 |
A Tichu that succeeded
A player on team B called Tichu and finished first. The cards split 60 for A, 40 for B.
| Team | Cards | Call | Round |
|---|---|---|---|
| A | 60 | — | 60 |
| B | 40 | Tichu +100 | 140 |
A Tichu that failed
A player on team A called Tichu, but an opponent finished first. The cards: 55 for A, 45 for B.
| Team | Cards | Call | Round |
|---|---|---|---|
| A | 55 | Tichu −100 | −45 |
| B | 45 | — | 45 |
Yes, a round can come out negative. And the total score can drop below zero.
A 1-2 against a Grand Tichu
A player on team B called Grand Tichu on their 8 cards. Both players of team A finished first and second.
| Team | Cards | Call | Round |
|---|---|---|---|
| A | 1-2: 200 | — | 200 |
| B | 0 | Grand Tichu −200 | −200 |
A 400-point swing in one round — almost half a game.
End of the game
A game is played to 1000 points. Each round's points are added to the team score, and the game ends at the end of the round in which a team reaches or passes 1000. With 100 card points per round, a game without calls would take more than ten rounds; in practice, Tichus and 1-2s close it much sooner.
Both team scores are shown at the top of the table at all times, along with the round number. Counting happens automatically at the end of each round — Dragon, Phoenix, calls and 1-2 included.
Frequently asked questions about scoring
Does my Tichu count if I finish second?
No. Tichu and Grand Tichu are only won by finishing first. Second, third or last — in every case you lose the points of the call.
Who gets the Dragon's 25 points?
Whoever has the Dragon in their tricks at the end of the round. If the Dragon won the trick, that trick was given to an opponent — so the opponent gets the 25. If the Dragon was killed by a bomb, the bomber gets them.
What if both players of a team call Tichu?
Each call is judged separately. At most one of the two can finish first, so the team gets +100 from one and −100 from the other: net 0, plus the card points. That is why it is rarely worth it.
Can the score be negative?
Yes. A failed Grand Tichu in the first round puts you at −200 before the cards are even counted. The game continues normally until someone reaches 1000.
In a 1-2, do the points we had already collected count?
No. The 1-2 replaces the card count entirely: 200 for one team, 0 for the other. Only Tichu calls are added or subtracted on top.
Let dod.gr do the counting
You play, and the score updates itself at the end of every round. You keep only the strategy.