A Tichu deck is comprised of 56 cards.
4 suits from two to ace. 2 is low and Ace is always high.
4 celestials or special cards, The Phoenix, The Dragon, The Griffin or Mahjong and the Sasquatch or Hound.
THE CARDS

Griffin - Mahjong - Sparrow - #1
The Player who has this card starts the hand. They can play as a single or in a run. When played the player can also make a wish.

A Bomb
A natural 4 of a kind or 5 card straight flush. A 4 of a kind bomb can be beaten by a higher 4 of a kind or a straight flush bomb. A Straight Flush bomb can only be beaten by a higher sequence or a longer straight flush bomb.

Sasquatch - Dog - Hound
When a player has initiative or the lead, the can play this card and transfer lead to their partner.
If their partner is out of cards lead would move clockwise to the next player who still has cards to play.
The Dragon
This is the highest single card in the deck. It can only be played as a single card, and can only be beaten by a bomb.
The Phoenix
This is the most powerful card in the deck. It can be any card you want it to be when played in pairs, runs etc.. but when played as a single card it can only be 1/2 point higher then the previous regular card 2-A.

The object of the game is to shed all your cards before anyone else. Tichu for 4 players has 2 sets of partners. If partners are not already chosen, then splay the cards and each player should draw one randomly. The 2 low cards are partners and should sit across for one another. The 2 high cards are the other set of partners and also sit across from one another. The player who drew the highest card will shuffle and deal first. If a celestial is drawn first their value is as follows. Sasquatch is 0, mahjong is 1, Phoenix is 1.5, and dragon is higher than the Ace. If partners have already been chosen, then use the same card-drawing process to determine the first dealer.
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After shuffling all cards, the dealer should offer a cut to the player on their right and then begin dealing 8 cards to each player. Deal 1 at a time beginning with the player on the left of the dealer and continuing in clockwise fashion. Once the first set of 8 cards have been dealt, the dealer should begin dealing a second set of 6 additional cards 1 at a time to the player to the left and continue in clockwise order until all cards are dealt.
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Each player should review the first 8 cards dealt to them and decide if the wish to bid a "Grand Tichu" see grand tichu
After the Grand Tichu opportunity, players can add the remaining 6 cards to their hand and should have 14 cards in their hand.
Each player then chooses 3 cards they wish to pass, placing one to the left for the player on their left and one to the right for the player on their right and one in the middle for their partner. see video on passing strategies and conventions.
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Once all players have placed 3 cards in front of themselves, they can begin trading cards with the other players and add the 3 new cards to their hands. Do not view the 3 new cards until you have passed 3 cards from your hand first.
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Play begins with the player who has the #1 card or mahjong or griffin. Prior to playing their first card, any player may call TICHU. This is their indicator that they bet 100 points that they will be first out of cards. If they are successful, they will win 100 points, but if they are not, they will lose 100 points. If no one calls tichu, then all players are only playing for points on the cards. Scoring will be explained at the end.
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This player may choose to play the #1 card or any other legal play as follows:
A single card. A pair (2,2) Consecutive step pairs of four or more cards (4,4,5,5,6,6 etc.) Three of a kind (4-4-4) Full house (5,5,5,6,6) A run of 5 cards or more (7,8,9,10,J,Q suit does not matter).
When the player with the #1 card plays it, they can do so as a single card or in a run of 5 cards or more, 1,2,3,4,5. They can also wish for a card and the first player that can legally play that card must play it. The phoenix may not be played as the card that was wished for but can/must be used to fulfill a wish if needed in a run. Example. Player 1 plays 1,2,3,4,5 and wishes for a 3. Player 2 has a 3 but can not make a run of 5 cards so they pass. Player 3 has a run of 5 cards with a 3 only if they use the phoenix as a 5 as they do not have a 5. So they must play 3,4,P,6,7. Had they had a 5 they could have just played 3,4,5,6,7 and not use the phoenix.
The wish with a bomb... If the first player plays the #1 card as a single and wished for a 4, and the second player has a 4 of a kind bomb of 4s, they can choose to play all 4, or they can play just one 4 and keep the remaining 4s if they want to. But if the first player plays a run with the #1 card of 1,2,3,P,5 and wishes for a 4. The second player must play all 4 fours as a bomb as it is a legal play in this scenario.
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Once the player with the lead makes a legal play, in clockwise order, players may play a higher set of the matching lead. Meaning, that if the lead player plays a pair of 2's then any player wishing to play must play a pair also and higher than the previous pair played. If the lead player plays a full house... 4,4,4,8,8. Then other plays can only play a higher full house ie... 7,7,7,2,2. On a full house only the 3 of a kind must be higher to beat the previous full house played.
Play continues in clockwise order until all players have passed and the last player who played wins that trick. If a player passes during a trick they can play later in the same trick, if the play goes back around to them.
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If the Dragon wins the trick, the winning player must pass the entire trick to either the player on the left or the right, but they retain lead.
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A BOMB may be played anytime there are cards on the table and can be played out of turn even after you pass. Players who have won a trick should pause a few seconds prior to picking up a trick to allow any player with a bomb to play it. A player must only say "bomb" when they wish to play a bomb out of turn. Once called, a bomb must be played or the player and their partner will be counted out for the hand and the opposing team will score any calls plus a back-to-back.
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Play resumes with whomever has the lead, and they can make any legal play. Once a player is out of cards, they are determined to be first player out. If the 2nd player out is on the same team as the first player, the hand ends and that team is scored a back-to-back bonus of 200 points as well as any Tichu call. If the 2nd player out is on the opposing team, then play continues until there is only 1 player left with cards in their hands.
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GRAND TICHU
Grand tichu can only be called after you have seen the first 8 cards but have not seen the 2nd set of 6 cards.
This is a 200 point wager. You are wagering that you will go out 1st. There are no wagers for predicting going out last.
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Regular Tichu can be called anytime before you have played your first card. It is recommended not to call until after the pass.
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Scoring....
The player who goes out last will give all of their caught tricks to the player who went out first. They will also give the cards left in their hand to the opposing team. Scoring 0 points for their team.
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Players will then count 10 points for every king and ten they caught and 5 points for each 5.
The phoenix is worth negative 25 points
The dragon is worth plus 25 points.
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If a team achieves a back-to-back or go out 1st and 2nd, they get 200 points and no cards are counted.
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A Tichu is 100 points and a Grand Tichu is 200 points. Negative points if they do not go out 1st.
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First team to 1000 points wins.
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Please check out the videos for more explanations and some tips and tricks on passing and playing
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