Filipino Card Games

Filipino card games are not one game but a family. Six of them come up again and again at tables in Manila, Cebu and Davao: Tongits, Pusoy, Pusoy Dos, Pekwa, Ungguy-unggoyan and 1-2-3 Pass. All six use a standard 52-card pack. None of them is poker, and that matters, because players who sit down expecting poker rules lose their first few hands to the difference. This page covers what each game is, how many people play it, and how a round ends. Detailed rules live on their own pages, linked from each card below. ...

Pekwa is a Filipino card game where you build four rows, one for each suit, and try to play your last card before anyone else. In the version taught here, each row opens with its six. From there, cards go down to the ace on one side and up to the king on the other. You play one card per turn and pass only when you have no play. What Pekwa is Pekwa belongs to the Fan Tan family, also called Sevens or Card Dominoes. A six-start version is documented under the Philippine name Pekwa, while the usual Sevens layout opens on sevens. Ask which rank opens the rows before you deal. ...