Dontsuku (どんつく) is a Kingo variant for 2 to 8 players. It was attested to be played in the Kamikita district, in the Aomori prefecture in Japan.
It is traditionally played using a mekurifuda deck called Kurofuda.
The game is notable among Kingo-type games for adding a variation in gameplay, where players may choose to request for cards face-down instead of being visible to the player, which gives them privilege over those who requested cards face-up.
¶ The Cards
48 cards of a Kurofuda deck is used. Remove the extra Onifuda card from the deck.
¶ Card Points
All cards from 1 to 9 are worth face value, while all court cards (Maid, Horse, King) are worth 10 points.
¶ Setup
Game setup involves choosing a dealer - 親 [おや, oya], shuffling the deck, and distributing the initial cards.
A decision must be made as to how long the game will last - 12 rounds is traditional, though other common options are 6 rounds, 3 rounds, or until all but one player runs out of stones.
Also, a decision must also be made as to how much points a share costs per round. It may be fixed throughout the game, or changed every time a round starts (the decision of which may be done either before or after dealing the cards, usually by the dealer).
¶ Choosing the Dealer
Shuffle the deck and have all players draw one card each. The player who drew a card with the lowest number becomes the dealer. In cases where there is a tie, this process can be repeated.
¶ Dealing the Initial Cards
The dealer shuffles the cards and deals one card to each player’s hand, starting from the player to the dealer’s right up to the dealer himself/herself. The rest of the cards are put face-down on the table as the draw pile.
Once the initial cards are dealt, each player looks at the card dealt to them, and the round begins.
¶ Gameplay
Each round, the player to the dealer’s right is the first to play, and the dealer is last to play. Turn to play goes counter-clockwise.
During a player’s turn, they may request one of the following to the dealer:
- “Motto” - ask the dealer for 1 more card into the player’s hand. The player may keep asking for more cards until their hand value total becomes close to 15, then they pass the turn to the next player.
- “Tsukkome” - ask the dealer for a specified number of cards, which will be given to the player face-down, then pass the turn to the next player. The player may not peek at them until it’s their turn to showdown. There will be a privilege later.
¶ Nai (Bust hand)
If the player’s hand value reaches 16 or higher, the player must declare “Nai”.
The player automatically loses the round and has to discard their hand face-down and pass the turn to the next player immediately.
¶ End of Round
The round ends when a player declares Agari, or when all players have passed their turn.
¶ Agari (Stop the round)
If a player’s hand value reaches 15 points or forms a Teyaku, the player must declare “Agari”.
The round ends immediately, and that player becomes the winner.
In any case, the winner receives 1 share from each of the other players, and if the winner has availed a Bonus, then the payment is doubled. The winner also becomes the dealer for the next round.
If all players pass their turn without declaring “Agari”, then it’s time for the Tsukkome Showdown.
¶ Tsukkome Showdown
Players with “Tsukkome” take all their face-down cards into their hand and then reveal their hands.
If a player’s hand value reaches 15 points or forms a Teyaku, they become the winner.
If there are multiple winners, then the dealer or the player nearest to the dealer’s right wins.
¶ 14 Showdown
If nobody has a 15-point hand or a Teyaku, then the player (“tsukkome” or not) who has a 14-point hand wins.
¶ Tsukkome 13 Showdown
If nobody has a 14-point hand, then the player who has “tsukkome” and has a 13-point hand wins.
If nobody still wins at this point, the round is forfeited and the cards are redealt.
For this reason, a person who didn’t declare “tsukkome” must keep asking for cards until their hand reaches at least 14 points, since any points below that is considered a losing hand.
¶ Bonus
The payment will be doubled if:
- A player forms a yaku that gives a bonus.
- A player’s hand is 15 points and forms a yaku.
- A player has “tsukkome” and either has a 15-pt. hand or a yaku.
¶ Teyaku
Teyaku are always considered as strong as a 15-pt. hand. Yaku hands are not bust hands, regardless of the value.
- Dragon and Pair – A 3-card hand consisting of a 1 (Dragon) and two cards of the same number. (Note that 7-7-1 is worth 15 points.)
- Arashi – A 3-card hand consisting of 3 cards of the same number. (Note that 5-5-5 is worth 15 points.)
- Pin Arashi – 1-1-1. Has a bonus.
- Niuma – A 2-card hand consisting of a 2 and an 11 (horse).
- Houbi no Niuma – 11 (horse) of clubs and 2 of coins. Has a bonus.
- Hachiuma - A 2-card hand consisting of an 8 and an 11 (horse).
- Houbi no Hachiuma – 11 (horse) of clubs and 8 of clubs. Has a bonus.
- Kuppin - A 2-card hand consisting of a 1 (dragon) and a 4.
- Shippin - A 2-card hand consisting of a 1 (dragon) and a 9.
- Douroku – 10 of cups and 6 of coins. Has a bonus.
- Gome – A 5-card hand consisting of cards each having a number 5 or less. Has a bonus.