Goninkan
Also known as: Tsugaru Trump / Goninkan card game
Goninkan is a five-player card game from Tsugaru, Japan, about 20 minutes long: two partners take on three to collect face cards. Free. In-browser. No account.
Play with friendsJust send the invite link. No sign-up for them either
Find an opponent onlineComing soon (October)
Goninkan in 30 seconds
- SidesThe two players dealt the trump ace and the joker are partners against the other three.
- PlayFollow suit; if you cannot, you may cut with a trump. The joker always wins.
- Face cardsCollect A, K, Q and J: partners need 9, the three need 8.
- ScoreEach winner scores +1. After the set rounds, the highest total wins.
At a glance
| Item | This game |
|---|---|
| Players | 5 players |
| Play time | About 20 min |
| Type | Cards |
| Ranked play | Yes |
| Practice against the CPU | Yes |
| Price | Free (no account needed) |
| Rights holder | A public-domain classic game |
| Last updated | 2026-09-26 |
How to play Goninkan online with friends
- Tap "Play with friends"A party is created with a 6-character code. No account is needed.
- Send a link or QR codeShare it on LINE, or just read the code aloud.
- Everyone opens it in a browserOnce 5 players have joined, the host taps "Start".
Rule highlights
Setup, play, winning, and house rules
Setup
- Five players (the computer fills empty seats on this site).
- Use 50 cards: remove the twos of clubs, diamonds and hearts and add one joker. Deal ten to each player.
- To pick the first dealer, everyone draws one card; the lowest card deals. Twos are lowest and aces highest; on equal ranks clubs beat diamonds, then hearts, then spades, so the two of spades is the lowest card.
- The deal-1 trump cycles clubs, diamonds, hearts.
How to play
- The two players with the trump ace and the joker announce Kankei; the other three are Mukankei. If the partners sit side by side, the one on the right swaps seats with the next player.
- If one player is dealt both the trump ace and the joker (nijū-kan), the player two seats to their right becomes the partner. The holder puts the ace and joker face down; the new partner puts their ten cards face down; the Mukankei player sitting between them picks one of the ten and one of the two and swaps them (the choice is blind, so this site swaps at random).
- The partners decide who leads: "iku" (I lead) or "koi" (you lead).
- Play goes to the right (clockwise seen from above), one card each. Follow suit if you can. Otherwise play anything; a trump beats every other card (cutting).
- The joker may be played at any time and always wins (dancing). It cannot be played in trick 1 or 10, and must be played in trick 9 if still held. When you lead it, name a suit.
- When all five have played, the joker wins, else the highest trump, else the highest card of the suit led. The winner collects the face cards for their side and leads next. Aces are high.
Winning
- The first side to reach its number of face cards (deals 1 and 3: Kankei 9, Mukankei 8; deal 2: Kankei 8, Mukankei 9) wins, and the deal stops at that trick.
- If Kankei wins, the same teams play the next deal (deal 2, then deal 3). If Mukankei wins, or after deal 3, the next round starts with a new deal and new teams.
- Normally, each player on the winning side scores +1 and each player on the losing side scores −1. If Kankei wins deal 3, each Kankei player scores an extra +1. A Kankei sukonku (winning without Mukankei taking a face card) also adds +1 for each Kankei player. Each Mukankei player loses these extra points too.
- A reverse sukonku (Mukankei wins without Kankei taking a face card) costs each Kankei −10 in deal 1; in deals 2 and 3 it cancels the round's points and costs −3. Jūroku (from a sukonku in deal 2 or 3, taking all 16 face cards) scores a further +8 if made and −16 if missed.
- After the set number of rounds (4 by default), the player with the most points wins.
House rules
| Name | Description | Default | Changeable |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rounds | How many rounds to play. Each round is one to three deals. | 4 | Yes |
| Tome-suppeTome-suppeNormally the first deal's trump suit cycles clubs, diamonds, hearts. With this on, the first deal of the last round uses spades as trumps instead, so the closing deal is played with an unusual suit. Trumps for deals 2 and 3 are still chosen as usual. | The last round's first deal uses spades as trumps. A regional variant (described by Gamefarm and KleosSoft; not in the official Goshogawara rules). | Off | Yes |
| Nijū-kanNijū-kanNijū-kan is when one player is dealt both the trump ace and the joker. With the swap option, the player two seats to the right becomes the partner (Kankei) and one card is swapped face down (at random on this site). With Redeal, the cards are dealt again, so no one starts holding both key cards. | When one player is dealt both the trump ace and the joker. | Swap | Yes |
| Cards shown before choosing trumpsCards shown before choosing trumpsIn deals 2 and 3, one Kankei player chooses the trump suit. Before that, their partner shows them, and only them, cards chosen from their hand. The more cards shown, the better the chooser knows the partner's hand, so Kankei can pick a better trump. | How many cards the partner shows the trump chooser in deals 2 and 3. | 2 | Yes |
| Deal-1 targetDeal-1 targetThere are 16 face cards (A, K, Q, J). In deal 1 the two Kankei and the three Mukankei race to their target, and the first team to reach it wins. With 8, Kankei needs one card fewer, which helps the smaller team. | Face cards Kankei needs to win deal 1 (Mukankei wins with the rest). | 9 | Yes |
| Missed jūrokuMissed jūrokuJūroku is a call made after winning deal 2 or 3 by skunk (the other team took no face cards): you then try to take all 16 face cards. This sets what each Kankei player scores if they fail (a missed jūroku). Under the Gamefarm version, the −1 for the loss is added, for −17 in total. | What each Kankei player scores after calling jūroku and failing to take all 16. | −16 (official) | Yes |
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FAQ
How many players?
Exactly five. The computer fills empty seats, so you can play alone.
How long does it take?
About 20 minutes with the default four rounds. Choose 7 or 10 rounds in the party settings for a longer game.
Can I practise alone?
Yes. Choose Play vs CPU to play with four computer players.
Who is my partner?
The cards decide each round: the two players with the trump ace and the joker are Kankei, and the other three are on the same side. Seats are marked "◎ Kankei" and "△ Mukankei".
Can I play on a phone?
Yes. No app is needed — just open it in a browser. You can join the same party as people on a PC or tablet.
Can two people play?
Yes. This game supports 2 or more players.
Rights holder and physical edition
This is a public-domain classic game. The rules follow the standard reference rules.
Related games
Same type (Cards)
Same player count
Last updated 2026-09-26 · Run by Qdan, Inc.