This guide summarises the classic Okey rules used on public tables in North Sultan: Okey. North Sultan: Okey is played as scored Okey ("puanlı okey"), the convention of the big online Okey salons: everyone starts on 20 points and points count down. The rules are enforced automatically and equally for everyone by our server; an illegal move cannot be made. The game is for adults 18+ and for entertainment only: virtual chips have no monetary value and nothing of real-world value can be won. North Sultan: Okey uses the same North Sultan account as North Sultan: 101 Okey and North Sultan: Batak. This game is not 101 Okey; for the 101 Okey rules see the Game Guide. The Turkish version of this guide is Okey Rehberi.
1. Tiles and players
- Okey is played by 4 players with 106 tiles: four colours (red, yellow, blue, black), numbers 1 to 13 in each colour, two of each tile (104 tiles) and 2 false jokers.
- Tiles are shuffled and dealt randomly on the server; each player sees only the tiles on their own rack. Nobody can see the order of the pile in the centre.
2. Indicator, okey and false joker
- After the deal one tile is turned face up from the pile: the indicator. A false joker can never be the indicator.
- The okey is the tile of the same colour, one number higher than the indicator. For example, if the indicator is yellow 7, the okey is yellow 8; if the indicator is a 13, the okey is the 1 of the same colour.
- The two okey tiles are jokers (wild): they can stand for any tile in a run, a set or a pair.
- The false jokers are not wild; they stand for the okey's own face, i.e. they are played as the ordinary tile of the okey's colour and number (yellow 8 in the example above).
3. Deal and turns
- The next player (to the dealer's right) receives 15 tiles, the others 14; 48 tiles stay in the centre pile. The dealer moves on one seat every hand.
- Play passes to the right (counter-clockwise).
- The player with 15 tiles begins by discarding one tile without drawing.
- After that, on your turn you first take one tile — either draw from the centre pile or take the last tile discarded by the player on your left — and then discard one tile. Your discard lands in front of the player on your right. Only the previous player's most recent discard can be taken.
- You are not obliged to use a tile you took from the side.
4. Finishing
With 15 tiles in hand (after taking a tile, or on the starting player's first turn) you finish by placing one tile — the finishing tile — on the centre pile. All of the other 14 tiles must form the groups below. The server checks the arrangement; you do not have to sort your rack in any particular way.
| Group | Rule | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Run | same colour, consecutive numbers, at least 3 tiles | red 4-5-6-7 |
| Set | same number, different colours, 3 or 4 tiles | yellow 9, blue 9, black 9 |
| Pairs (seven pairs) | all 14 tiles as 7 pairs; each pair the same colour and number | blue 3 + blue 3 |
- A 1 can start a run (1-2-3) or follow a 13 (12-13-1); runs that wrap around such as 13-1-2 are not allowed.
- The okey can replace any tile in any group; in pairs the okey pairs with any tile.
- If a hand can be read both as runs/sets and as pairs, it counts as pairs, which scores higher.
5. Showing the indicator
A player holding the indicator's twin (the tile of the same colour and number) may show it once, on their own first turn, before discarding their first tile. Each of the other three players then loses 1 point; this is applied even if the hand ends in a draw.
6. Scoring
Everyone starts the match on 20 points. Points only go down; the player who finishes loses nothing. When a player finishes, each of the other three players loses:
| Finish | Each other player loses |
|---|---|
| Normal finish | 2 points |
| Finishing with the okey (the finishing tile is the okey) | 4 points |
| Finishing with seven pairs | 4 points |
| Seven pairs and finishing with the okey | 8 points |
| Showing the indicator (everyone except the player who shows it) | 1 point |
- If the centre pile runs out and a player who is not finishing discards, the hand ends in a draw; no finishing points are applied.
- Example: Ayşe finishes with the okey: the other three players drop from 20 to 16. In the next hand Mehmet finishes with pairs: Ayşe drops from 20 to 16, the other two players from 16 to 12; Mehmet stays on 16.
7. The match
- The match ends after the hand in which any player reaches 0 points or less. The player with the highest total wins; in a tie the winnings are shared. A match lasts at most 40 hands.
- Public tables always use the rules in this guide. In private salons set up with friends, the starting points, finishing points, pairs, 12-13-1 and the indicator points may differ according to the options shown in the salon; private salons are played without stakes.
- On staked public tables each player's table stake (virtual chips) is held in escrow when they sit down; at the end of the match the pot goes to the winner(s) after the table fee (5% for regular members, 3% for VIP members) is deducted. Virtual chips have no monetary value, cannot be exchanged for money or prizes and cannot be transferred between players.
- Okey matches count towards North Sultan: Okey's own statistics, Sultan Points (SP), weekly league and tournaments; level/XP is shared on your North Sultan account.
8. Time limits and auto-play
- You have 25 seconds for each turn (taking a tile and discarding).
- If you are actively arranging your tiles when time runs out, extra time may be added automatically in 15-second steps, up to 60 seconds in total per match.
- If time runs out, a move is made for you: if your hand is already complete it is finished for you; otherwise a tile is drawn from the pile and that same tile is discarded. No other plan is made on your behalf.
- If you lose your connection your seat is held for a while (about 45 seconds); if you do not come back in time or you leave the table, a bot takes your seat and finishes the match in your place.
9. Bots
- On public tables, empty seats may be filled with computer-controlled players ("bots") so that players do not have to wait long. If a player leaves a match, a bot may also take their seat.
- To keep the atmosphere of the table, bots are not individually labelled.
- Bots play by the same rules; they cannot see or influence the deal or the order of the pile and do not know other players' tiles. They use only their own tiles and the tiles openly visible on the table (the indicator and discards).
- Bots never win anything of real value; chips won by a bot are not transferred to any real person but leave the game. Bots are not used to push players towards purchases.
- In private salons set up with friends, empty seats are filled with bots only if you choose so.
10. Chat, voice chat and cosmetics
- Table chat is relayed only to the players at that table. Everyone in voice chat can listen; speaking is a VIP feature; voice chat is never recorded. Rules: Community Guidelines.
- Cosmetic items such as frames, table felts and titles only change appearance; they do not affect the deal or the odds of winning.
11. Fair play
Tiles are shuffled and dealt randomly on the server; no player or member of staff can influence the outcome of a hand. Cheating, collusion (e.g. players passing tile information to each other via chat or other means) and chip dumping are prohibited: Terms of Use, Community Guidelines.
Questions: destek@northsultan.com · Support
