I remember the first time I sat down with my cousins to play Tongits - that classic Filipino card game that's become something of a national pastime. The cards felt unfamiliar in my hands, the rules seemed confusing, and I lost miserably within twenty minutes. But something about the game's unique blend of strategy and chance hooked me immediately. Much like how Civilization VII transforms a simple "one more turn" into an entire weekend disappearing before your eyes, Tongits has this incredible ability to make hours vanish while you're completely engrossed in calculating probabilities and reading opponents. The journey from novice to competent player took me about three months of regular play, and I want to share what I've learned about mastering this captivating game.

Tongits shares some interesting parallels with the gaming experiences described in our reference materials. While Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2 improved upon its predecessor by fixing technical issues and enhancing gameplay systems, my own Tongits journey involved similar refinement phases. I started with basic rule comprehension, moved through awkward strategy implementation, and eventually reached a point where decisions became almost instinctual. The game uses a standard 52-card deck but removes the jokers, creating a different dynamic than many Western card games. What fascinates me most about Tongits is how it balances mathematical probability with psychological warfare - you're not just playing your cards, you're playing the people sitting around the table. I've tracked my win rate improvement from an abysmal 15% during my first month to a respectable 42% after six months of dedicated play, though I suspect seasoned players maintain win rates closer to 60-65% in casual games.

The basic objective seems simple enough - form sets of three or four cards of the same rank, or sequences of three or more cards in the same suit - but the strategic depth reveals itself gradually. Unlike Civilization VII's four X's (explore, expand, exploit, exterminate), I've developed my own four P's for Tongits: pattern recognition, probability calculation, psychological reading, and patience. The initial deal of 12 cards (or 13 if you're the starting player) creates approximately 635 billion possible starting hand combinations, though many are strategically similar. Early in my learning process, I focused too much on completing my own combinations and failed to pay attention to what cards my opponents were picking up or discarding. The breakthrough came when I started treating each discard not as random chance but as intentional communication - every card left on the table tells a story about what your opponent is building or avoiding.

One strategy I've personally developed involves what I call "delayed melding" - holding back completed combinations early in the game to conceal my actual progress. This approach reminds me of how Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2 rewards patience and meeting the game on its own terms rather than rushing through content. By not revealing my strong positions immediately, I've found opponents often misjudge my progress and make risky decisions that backfire later. Another technique I swear by is "calculated blocking" - keeping cards I don't necessarily need but that I know would significantly help opponents based on their discards and visible melds. This defensive approach has saved me from what would have been certain losses in approximately 30% of my games, though it does sometimes slow down my own progress toward victory.

The psychological aspect of Tongits cannot be overstated. While Civilization VII pits you against AI opponents with predictable patterns, human Tongits players bring beautiful unpredictability to the table. I've learned to identify different player archetypes - the aggressive "go-for-broke" types who frequently call Tongits early, the cautious "turtlers" who hoard cards until they're nearly certain of victory, and the unpredictable "chaos agents" who seem to make random moves that occasionally pay off spectacularly. My personal preference leans toward a balanced approach - knowing when to push aggressively versus when to play defensively has increased my consistency dramatically. I make a point to periodically switch up my playing style mid-game to keep opponents guessing, much like how varying strategies in Civilization VII keeps the gameplay fresh across multiple sessions.

What many beginners underestimate is the importance of discard management. Early in my Tongits journey, I viewed the discard pile as essentially dead cards, but I've come to understand it as a rich source of information. I now maintain a mental tally of which cards have been discarded, which gives me a rough probability calculation of what remains in the draw pile or in opponents' hands. This practice has improved my decision-making accuracy by what I estimate to be 40% compared to my early days of playing mostly on instinct. The discard pile tells you not just what cards are safe to get rid of, but often reveals what combinations opponents are avoiding or desperately seeking.

The endgame requires particularly sharp calculation skills. When players have few cards remaining, every discard becomes increasingly dangerous. I've developed a habit of counting remaining cards in opponents' hands once they drop below five - this simple practice has helped me avoid catastrophic discards that would have handed opponents instant victories. There's a particular thrill in correctly predicting an opponent's last card and deliberately discarding something they can't use, forcing them to draw from a nearly exhausted pile. These moments of strategic triumph feel as satisfying as pulling off a perfectly executed era transition in Civilization VII - that feeling of having outmaneuvered your opposition through careful planning rather than blind luck.

Looking back at my Tongits evolution, I see clear parallels with how Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2 improved upon its predecessor - both involved identifying weaknesses in initial approaches and systematically addressing them. Where I once focused solely on my own cards, I now maintain constant awareness of the entire game state. Where I once played reactively, I now play proactively. The game has taught me valuable lessons about probability, psychology, and patience that extend beyond the card table. While I'm certainly no master - I still make frustrating mistakes about 20% of the time - the gradual improvement process itself has been incredibly rewarding. Tongits embodies that perfect balance between accessible fun and deep strategy that can transform casual players into dedicated students of the game, much like how Civilization VII turns casual gamers into amateur historians and strategists. The real victory isn't just winning individual hands, but seeing your overall understanding of the game evolve over time.