How to Play Joker on a Phone or Computer

On tamashebi.cc Joker is played in the browser, and on a phone it is the same table as on a computer, just fitted to the screen. On a computer you click a card, on a phone you tap it; there is almost no other difference. Below, step by step, is what you will see and what you will press, from taking a seat to the end of the match, including what happens if your internet drops or you want to leave. Button names here are the ones the English version of the site shows.

1. Taking a seat

1. Open tamashebi.cc/joker and go to the lobby.
2. Sign in as a guest or with your account.
3. Choose a table and press "Join", or press "Create table" and choose "4-player Joker".
4. In the waiting room press "Ready". When all four are ready, the match begins.
5. If you wander off to another page by accident, the site reminds you of your current game with a "Back to game" button. You can be in only one game at a time.

2. What you see at the table

• At the bottom, your cards. Your seat is always at the bottom, with the other three around the table.
• The trump suit or bezi (no trumps) is always shown, as are the hand number and the pulka (section of the match).
• Next to each player: their bid and the tricks they have taken.
• Whoever is to move is highlighted, and their remaining time is shown.
• Below the trump indicator: the score sheet, the last trick, and the reactions button.

3. Bidding: the keypad and the pass

When it is your turn, a small keypad appears on the table, headed "Choose your bid". The numbers are laid out in rows of three, 1 2 3, 4 5 6, 7 8 9, but only as many as the cards you were dealt: in a five-card hand, just 1 to 5. On the bottom row, on its own, is "Pass", meaning zero. One tap is enough. If you bid last, one number may be crossed out: the one that would make the four bids add up to the number of tricks in the hand, with a note below saying the last bid may not be that number. This is a rule, not a bug: the server would refuse such a bid anyway. Everyone's bid is shown on the table, and depending on whether the total is under or over, the table shows shetenva (under-bid) or tsaglejva (over-bid).

4. Choosing trumps in a nine-card hand

In a nine-card hand, if you sit to the dealer's left, "Choose trumps" appears after you receive three cards: the four suits and bezi. Meanwhile the other players see a note that you are choosing trumps. After your choice the remaining six cards are dealt and bidding begins. In the small hands you never have to do this: trumps are set by a card turned up from the deck, which is shown on the table. If the turned-up card is a joker, the hand is played in bezi, with no trumps, and the table says "bezi" too. One useful habit: always glance at the trump suit before you bid. On a small phone screen it is easy to miss, and your bid depends on it.

5. Playing a card

• On your turn the cards you can play are highlighted and the rest are dimmed. The server works out that list using the follow-suit rule.
• An ordinary card is played with one tap or click; no extra confirmation is needed.
• Tapping the joker opens a small window. If you are answering someone else's card, you choose mojokvra (take the trick) or gataneba (give it away). If you are leading with the joker, you first choose a suit, then maghali ("high") or tsaighos ("let it take"). "Cancel" returns the joker to your hand.
• To see the previous trick, use "Last trick": all four cards, the order, the joker call, and who took it.
• If the server does not accept a move (say the table refreshed at that very second), a short explanation appears and the position updates automatically. Just try again.
• In a big hand, a nine-card one for example, the cards partly overlap on a phone screen, but each card's corner (its suit and value) always stays visible, and a playable card lifts slightly.

6. The score sheet and reactions

The score sheet sits on the table, below the trump indicator. Opened, it shows every hand's bid and tricks taken, the score, khishti (the penalty for failing a bid by taking nothing), premia (the bonus) and moshla, the pulka totals and the overall total. The server does the scoring, so you have nothing to write down; when a pulka ends, its page opens automatically. Next to it is the reactions button: emoji and short phrases such as "Good game", "Well done", "Hard luck", "Spot-on bid", "Your move" and "Thanks". Every player sees a reaction, but sending them too often is limited, so nobody can spam the table.

7. Move time, connection and leaving

The table's creator chooses the move time, from 15 to 60 seconds. If your time runs out, that one move (a bid or a card) is made for you automatically, based on your own cards. Your seat stays yours, and the next move is yours again. Losing the connection is common on a phone (a tunnel, a lift, switching to another app), but the match lives on the server and nothing is lost:

1. When you lose connection, the server holds your seat for a set time. The others see that your connection has dropped.
2. If you return within that time, you carry on with the same hand, the same cards and the same score.
3. If the time runs out, a bot takes your seat so the other three can keep playing. The seat, the points and your row on the score sheet are still yours.
4. When you come back, your seat is returned to you automatically. If the bot is still playing, press "Take back seat".
5. If you closed the tab, just open the site again with the same account, or in the same browser as a guest, and "Back to game" takes you straight to the table.

There is also a button for leaving the table, and the site asks you once more when you press it. If you confirm, a bot takes your seat immediately and plays the match to the end, and you cannot come back. At a coin table your coins are not returned in that case: the rule exists so that running away from a losing hand is not free. In Japanese Joker, where there are two players, resigning ends the match and your opponent wins.

I played a card by accident. Can I take it back?

No. An ordinary card is played with one tap and is fixed on the server immediately. Only the joker asks you how to play it, and there you can press "Cancel".

Why are some cards dimmed?

They cannot be played to this trick: you must follow suit, and if you have none of the suit, play a trump. The joker can always be played.

My connection dropped. Will it count as a loss?

In classic Joker, no: the server holds your seat, a bot plays for you once the time runs out, and you get your seat back when you return. In Japanese Joker, not coming back in time means losing the match.

Any tips for playing on a phone?

Stable Wi-Fi is better than mobile data, especially at tables with a short move time. Lengthen your screen timeout so the screen does not switch off while you think. Add the site to your home screen from the browser menu, and it will open like an app.

Is anything different on a computer?

The table is the same. You click instead of tapping, and a big screen shows more at once: the score sheet fits beside the table. You can even start a match on your phone and finish it on your computer, as long as you are signed in to the same account on both.

• Play Joker online
• Joker online, no app needed
• The Joker score sheet

Every game on tamashebi.cc is free to play. Coin tables use Domino Coin, a virtual in-game coin: it is never money, cannot be bought or cashed out, and means nothing outside the site. The site is available in Georgian, English, Russian and Turkish.