How to play Okey
Okey in one sentence: arrange fourteen tiles into sets and runs, discard your last tile, take the round. Below is the whole flow, from tiles to scoring.
Play now →Step by step
- 1
Deal the tiles
The 106 tiles are shuffled and each player takes 14; the dealer takes 15 and makes the first discard. The rest stay face down as the draw pile.
- 2
Turn the indicator
One tile is turned face up on the pile — the indicator. The next number up in the same colour is the okey; if the indicator is a 13, the okey is a 1. The indicator stays face up all game and is never drawn.
- 3
Draw and discard
On your turn you take a tile either from the pile or from the discards of the player on your left, then throw one away. What you throw goes to the player on your right.
- 4
Build the hand in your rack
A set is the same number in three or four different colours. A run is three or more consecutive numbers in one colour. You never lay these on the table — they live in your rack.
- 5
Discard the last tile
When all fourteen tiles form valid groups, you throw the spare one and the hand is over. The finisher writes nothing; everyone else writes a round.
The tiles and the okey
The set has two copies of every number from 1 to 13 in four colours (red, black, blue, yellow) — 104 tiles — plus two false okeys, making 106.
Once the indicator is turned, the okey is fixed: the next number up in the same colour. If the indicator is a red 5, the okey is the red 6, and all four copies count as okey (both red 6 tiles and both false okeys).
A false okey stands in for the okey tile. The okey itself stands in for any tile you like, in a set or in a run.
Why nothing goes on the table
In 101 Okey you lay your sets down and everyone sees them. Plain okey has no such stage: you finish the hand in your rack, throw your last tile, and only then announce it.
What that buys the game is uncertainty. You cannot tell how close an opponent is — their tile count is always fourteen. The only readable signals are what they discard and what they refuse to pick up.
So the real skill in okey is not arithmetic but memory: tracking who threw what, and what nobody wanted.
Showing the okey
If you hold the okey tile on your turn, you may place it on top of the indicator. This is called showing, and it wins you half a round from every player.
In exchange you lose your okey — the most useful tile in your hand, traded for a score. It is a good move when your hand can finish without it, and an expensive one when it cannot.
101 Okey has no such rule; there the indicator only determines the okey and then just sits there.
Three ways out, and how rounds are written
Normal finish: complete the hand with sets and runs and throw the last tile. Everyone else writes one round.
Pair finish: build the entire hand from pairs — two copies of the same tile. Everyone else writes two rounds.
Okey finish: if the last tile you throw is the okey, the round counts double — again two rounds for everyone else. It is the most expensive finish and the payoff for holding the okey back.
A player who reaches the agreed number of rounds drops out of the table; a bot takes the seat and the game continues.
What varies from table to table
Okey has plenty of house rules: how many rounds knock you out, whether showing is allowed, whether pair finishes count, how many false okeys are in play — all of it is a table decision.
On Masabaşı each of these will be a setting. Whoever creates the table picks; everyone at it sees what was picked. As with our card game, the rule set travels inside the room code.
Common questions
What is the difference between Okey and 101 Okey?
Three things: okey deals 14 tiles per player (101 deals 21), okey never puts anything on the table (101 opens with 101 points), and okey lets you show the okey on the indicator (101 does not). Winning differs too: in okey the first to finish takes the round, in 101 you win by driving your score down.
How many players does Okey need?
Four. An okey table is built around four players; bots fill any empty seats.
What is the difference between the okey and a false okey?
The okey is a real numbered tile, decided by the indicator, and it can stand in for anything. A false okey is the tile with a symbol on it, and it only stands in for the okey.
Can the indicator tile be drawn?
No. It stays face up for the whole game and is not part of the draw pile. The only thing you can do with it is place your okey on top — which is what showing means.
Should I throw the okey if I have it?
Throwing the okey means giving up the most useful tile in your hand. But if you throw it as your last tile, the round counts double. That is exactly the decision: cash out early, or hold it and play for twice as much.
Can I play on my own?
Yes. Fill the empty seats with bots and play a full hand; you pick the bot level when you open the table.