How to play Okey: the complete rules from deal to finish

Okey is a tile game for four players using 106 tiles, and a single hand only takes a few minutes. The goal is simple: arrange the 14 tiles on your rack into sets and finish before anyone else. The rules are short, yet a few details trip up almost every beginner: how the indicator decides the joker, whether 12-13-1 is a valid run, and why finishing with pairs scores double. This guide walks through a hand from the moment you sit down to the moment it ends, and points out exactly how each rule works in our Okey game.

The set: 106 tiles

An Okey set has four colours: yellow, blue, black and red. Each colour has tiles numbered 1 to 13, and there are two copies of every tile. Two false jokers, which show a symbol instead of a number, complete the set.

Because every tile exists exactly twice, you can reason about what is left. If you are waiting for the red 5 and one red 5 has already been discarded, only one is still in play.

Dealing and the first move

At a real table the tiles are shuffled, stacked in piles of five and a die decides where dealing starts. On Güncel Oyun Oyna the computer does this for you: it shuffles, turns one tile face up as the indicator and deals.

1. A random player starts and receives 15 tiles; the other three receive 14 each.
2. The indicator tile is removed from the pile, so one copy of that tile is out of play for the whole hand.
3. The rest form the draw pile in the middle: 48 tiles after the deal (106 − 1 indicator − 57 dealt).
4. The player with 15 tiles does not draw on the first turn; they open the game by discarding.

The indicator and the joker

The face-up tile in the middle is the indicator. The tile one number higher in the same colour is the joker (the okey) for that hand. The joker is wild and can stand in for any tile. If the indicator is a 13, the numbers wrap around and the joker is the 1 of that colour.

There are two copies of the joker tile, so a hand never has more than two jokers. The false joker is not wild, despite its name: it simply plays as the joker's own colour and number. If the joker is blue 8, a false joker is an ordinary blue 8. In our game jokers are marked ★ and false jokers ✿, so you never have to hunt for them.

How a turn works

Every turn has two steps:

1. Draw one tile, either face down from the pile in the middle or the tile the player on your left has just discarded.
2. Discard one tile. The player on your right may pick it up.

You always hold 14 tiles, except for the moment after drawing when you hold 15. In our game you can drag a tile onto the DISCARD area, or tap the tile and then tap DISCARD.

Runs and groups

To finish you must split your tiles into sets. There are two kinds.

Run: at least three consecutive numbers in the same colour, such as red 4-5-6 or blue 9-10-11-12.

Group: three or four tiles with the same number in different colours, such as yellow 7, blue 7 and black 7.

A tile can belong to only one set. Runs can be as long as you like; part of your rack can be one long run.

Finishing the hand

You have drawn and now hold 15 tiles. If the 14 tiles you keep all fit into sets, your hand is complete. Select the tile you want to discard and press Finish. The game checks your arrangement and, if it is valid, the hand ends with you as the winner.

Common ways to split 14 tiles:

Finishing with pairs

There is a second way out: seven pairs. A pair is two identical tiles, for example two black 9s. A joker can complete a lone tile, and two jokers count as a pair.

Finishing with pairs is harder, so in our game it doubles your points. If the deal gives you four or five pairs, it is worth going for. The Sort pairs button arranges your rack by pairs and shows how many you have.

Scoring on Güncel Oyun Oyna

In Turkish tea houses Okey is often scored by starting everyone on a fixed number and subtracting from the players who did not finish, and the details vary from table to table. In our game every hand you win adds points to your leaderboard total:

Finishing with the joker means discarding a joker as your final tile, so you completed the hand without using it. That doubles your points. Finish with pairs and discard a joker at the end, and both bonuses apply for four times the points. After a win you can watch a short ad to double that hand's points once more.

What if the pile runs out?

If the draw pile is empty and nobody has finished, the hand is a draw and nobody scores. This usually happens when everyone is chasing pairs and no one gives away useful tiles.

Common mistakes

• Misreading the indicator. The joker is one higher than the indicator, not the indicator itself. A 13 indicator makes the 1 the joker.
• Treating the false joker as wild. It only replaces the joker tile's own colour and number.
• Building 13-1-2. 12-13-1 is fine, but nothing comes after the 1.
• Putting two tiles of the same colour in a group. Groups need three or four different colours.
• Discarding your last tile without pressing Finish. If your hand is complete, select the tile and press Finish; a normal discard just passes the turn.

FAQ

Can I discard the joker?

You can, but the next player may pick it up and get a free wild tile. The only good moment to discard a joker is as your final tile when you finish, which doubles your points.

When should I take the tile from the player on my left?

Take it when it completes a set straight away or strengthens a run that is open at both ends. Everyone sees what you pick up, so don't give your plans away by taking tiles you don't need.

How many players are there?

Okey is a four-player game. In our game you play against three computer opponents, or sit at an online table with friends and let the computer fill empty seats.

What should I learn next?

Once the rules feel natural, counting tiles and not feeding the next player are the next steps. Our Turkish guides on Okey tactics and Okey 101 rules and scoring cover them in detail.