Phom (Ta La)

How to play Phom

Phom, also called Tá lả, is a Vietnamese rummy game for four players with a normal 52-card deck. You play against three computer players. Aces are low: A, 2, 3 … 10, J, Q, K.

Goal

Build melds (phỏm) so that the cards left in your hand at the end add up to as few points as possible. A meld is three or four cards of the same rank, such as 7-7-7, or three or more cards in a row of one suit, such as 4-5-6 of hearts. A-2-3 is a run, but Q-K-A is not.

The deal

The dealer gets 10 cards and the others get 9. The other 15 cards form the deck. The dealer starts by throwing one card.

Turn by turn

1. Take a card. Either eat the card the player before you just threw, or draw from the deck. You may only eat a card that makes a meld with two or more cards from your hand.
2. Throw a card face up in front of you.
3. An eaten card stays face up in front of you and must remain in a meld. One meld can hold only one eaten card. The player you ate from loses 1 point to you, or 4 points on your last turn.
4. Everyone plays four turns. On your fourth turn, after taking a card, you lay down your melds. The game finds the best melds for you and also adds your loose cards to melds already on the table. Then you throw your last card.

End of the game and scoring

Count the cards left in your hand: Ace is 1, number cards are worth their number, J is 11, Q is 12 and K is 13. The lowest total comes first. On a tie, whoever laid down first wins. A player with no meld at all (móm) comes last. The second player pays 1 point to the winner, the third pays 2, the last pays 3 and a player with no meld pays 4.

If, after taking a card, nine or ten of your cards form melds, you win at once. This is called Ù, and every other player pays you 5 points. The winner deals the next hand.

Playing on this site

Tap the glowing card to eat it or tap the deck to draw. Tap a card in your hand and tap it again to throw it. Cards with a coloured bar already form a meld. On a keyboard, press D to draw, E to eat and L to lay down.

Strategy tips

• Get one meld early. Ending with no meld costs the most points. Eat when you can, and keep pairs and two-card runs that can still grow.
• Throw high loose cards first. A King left in your hand costs 13 points. Throw high cards that do not belong to anything while there is still time.
• Count the cards that are gone. A pair of 8s is worth little if the other two 8s have already been thrown. Keep the pieces that still have live cards.
• Don't feed the next player. The player after you can eat your card. Avoid throwing cards that sit next to the cards they have eaten or kept.
• Watch the last round. A card eaten on the last turn costs 4 points. Be extra careful with your third throw.