How to Play 101 Okey

The goal of the game

Every hand of 101 Okey is a race between two goals: opening your hand by passing the 101-point threshold and getting rid of your tiles before everyone else. When a hand ends, players who could not open or still hold tiles receive penalty points; the results are written to the score sheet after every hand. When the chosen number of hands is complete, the player with the fewest penalty points wins. So 101 is a strategy game played over a series, not a single hand; even after a bad hand, careful play can turn the series around.

Tiles and dealing

Tiles come in 4 colours: red · black · blue · yellow. There are two tiles of every number in every colour.

The game uses 106 tiles: two sets of the numbers 1 to 13 in 4 colours (104 tiles) plus 2 false okeys. Each player is dealt 21 tiles; the first player starts with 22 and discards on their first move without drawing. A false okey is not a joker: for that hand it stands in for the real okey tile, with its number and colour. The joker role belongs to the real okey, which is determined by the indicator.

How to play 101 Okey, step by step

1. 1

   Take a seat and get your tiles

   At a four-player table each player is dealt 21 tiles; the first player gets 22. Your tiles are arranged on your rack.

2. 2

   Check the indicator to find the okey

   The tile one higher than the face-up indicator tile, in the same colour, is the okey of that hand. The okey is the joker that can replace any tile.

3. 3

   Draw a tile on your turn

   When it is your turn, draw one tile either from the face-down pile or from the tiles discarded by the player on your left. You always hold one extra tile.

4. 4

   Build your sets and open with 101

   Build runs (same colour, consecutive) or groups (same number, different colours). Once your sets are worth at least 101 you can open your hand on the table. Alternatively you can open with at least 5 pairs.

5. 5

   Add tiles after opening

   Once you have opened, shed your hand by adding suitable tiles to the sets on the table. You discard one tile at the end of every turn.

6. 6

   Finish your hand

   Lay down or add all your tiles and discard your last one to finish the hand. When a hand ends, the tiles left in your opponents’ hands are scored as penalty points; after all hands, the player with the fewest penalties wins.

Key concepts

What is a set?

A set (per) is a valid arrangement of at least 3 tiles. There are two kinds:

The indicator and the okey

At the start of each hand an indicator tile is turned up in the middle; the tile one higher in the same colour is the okey of that hand. The okey replaces any tile and is counted at the value of the tile it replaces.

Opening your hand (the 101 threshold)

Laying sets on the table for the first time is called opening. The sets you open with must total at least 101 — that is where the game gets its name. In doubling mode, if someone opened before you, you have to beat their score.

On miniOkey Web, once your hand is ready just press Open Series or Open Pairs — the game adds up your sets for you and lays your tiles on the table if you pass 101.

What do opened sets look like on the table?

Opened sets are laid out on the table each in its own row, one under the other. That way everyone can see who opened what and which sets can take more tiles.

Going for pairs

Instead of sets you can also open your hand with pairs: two identical tiles make a pair, and you need at least 5 pairs to open. Pairs are also laid out one per row. If you finish the hand by pairing up your remaining tiles too, you earn a big reward.

Bot players — start without waiting

One of miniOkey Web's best-loved features: when you set up your own table you can fill the empty seats with bots (computer players). You never wait for the table to fill — even if you are the only real player, you start playing against three bots instantly. Playing against bots is the best way to try out the finer points of opening and adding tiles in 101 without risk; once you feel confident, move on to tables with real players.

Adding tiles

After opening you can add suitable tiles from your rack to the sets on the table — both your own and your opponents'. For example, if there is a 5-6-7 run on the table you can add your 8 to its end. Adding tiles is the fastest way to shed your hand. On miniOkey Web you can take back the tiles you laid down during the same turn with Undo Collect; but if you try to open and take your tiles back, you get 101 penalty points — so do your sums before you open.

Scoring and penalties

In 101 the score is a penalty count: at the end of every hand points are written down for everyone, and when the chosen hands are over the player with the lowest total wins the match. The player who finishes gets minus points (a reward); everyone else is penalised for the tiles left in their hand. On miniOkey Web the game does all the arithmetic automatically; you can follow the hand-by-hand breakdown on the Scoreboard in the top menu.

The player who finishes

Penalties for the other players

What doubles the penalty

Each of the following doubles the penalty of the players who did not finish; if more than one happens in the same hand the multipliers stack (2 cases = 4 times, 3 cases = 8 times). The 202 of a player who never opened is doubled too.

• Finishing in one go: the winner finished in the same turn they opened.
• Going for pairs: the winner opened with pairs.
• Finishing with the okey: the winner discarded the okey as their last tile.

Penalties during the game

No playable-tile or okey penalty applies to the final discard that finishes the hand. After you have opened, you can take back the moves of that same turn without penalty.

If the pile runs out

If the pile runs out before anyone finishes, the hand has no winner: a player who never opened gets 202, a player who opened is penalised for the tiles left in hand (doubled if they opened with pairs). The doubling cases do not apply here.

Example hand

End of the match and gold

When the number of hands chosen by the table host (1, 3, 5, 7 or 11) is over, the totals are ranked. Every member at the table puts gold worth the table value into the pot. First place takes the pot (three times the table value minus a 5% site fee as net winnings; e.g. 712 gold at a 250 table), second place gets their entry gold back, third and fourth get nothing. First place also earns 200 XP, the others 50 XP. Guest players do not receive gold or XP.

Strategy Tips

• Opening early is not always profitable: once you open, your opponents can add tiles to your sets too. If your hand is coming together, waiting a turn or two to open high pays off in doubling mode.
• Think twice before spending the okey on a set — but do not sit on it either: an okey left in hand when the hand ends costs 101 penalty points on its own.
• Watch the tiles your opponents discard. If the consecutive tiles of a colour never get thrown, someone is collecting that run.
• Decide early whether to go for pairs: if your hand is heavy on pairs, focus on completing 5 pairs instead of chasing sets.
• As the hand nears its end, get rid of high-numbered tiles early; if the hand finishes, your penalty will be smaller.
• Check the score sheet after every hand: if you are ahead avoid risky openings; if you are behind, try to close the gap with pairs or a high opening.

Frequently Asked Questions