Sitting down: the first few seconds

Picture yourself joining a Classic (Düz) Okey table on Game Finale. Four players sit around the table and play runs counter-clockwise. Okey uses 106 tiles: four colours (red, yellow, black, blue), each with numbers 1 through 13, two copies of every tile, plus 2 false jokers (the tiles that stand in for the okey). When the deal finishes, your tiles appear in your rack. If the deal landed on you, you hold 15 tiles; otherwise you hold 14. Resist the urge to panic at the jumble. Read your tiles calmly. On Game Finale you can drag tiles to rearrange them, so there's no need to rush a single move.

Let's say these 14 tiles land in front of you: red 5, red 6, red 7, yellow 9, yellow 9, black 4, black 5, blue 11, blue 11, blue 13, yellow 1, black 8, red 12, and a false joker. It looks chaotic, but in a moment you'll see the hidden order inside it.

Finding the indicator and the okey

In the centre of the table, one tile sits face-up on top of the closed stack: this is the indicator. The indicator decides which tile acts as the okey for the whole hand. The rule is simple: the okey is the same colour as the indicator, one number higher. If the number reaches 13, it wraps back around to 1.

  • Indicator yellow 8 means the okey is yellow 9.
  • Indicator black 13 means the okey is black 1 (13 wraps to 1).
  • Indicator red 1 means the okey is red 2.

In our scenario the indicator is yellow 8, so the okey is yellow 9 — and your two yellow 9s are actually two okeys. That's a lucky start, because an okey can substitute for any tile. On top of that, the false joker in your hand also behaves like an okey regardless of what's printed on it; you can use it in place of any tile you need. So you really hold three "wild" tiles: two real okeys (yellow 9) and one false joker.

Building your first run and set

To finish your hand in Okey, you arrange every tile into runs and sets. Learning to tell them apart is the single most important step in your first game:

  • Run (per): consecutive numbers in the same colour. Example: red 5 - red 6 - red 7. Minimum of 3 tiles.
  • Set (grup): the same number in different colours. Example: black 7 - red 7 - blue 7. Minimum 3 tiles, maximum 4 (there are only four colours).

Look at your hand. Red 5-6-7 is already a complete run, ready with nothing to add — your first success. Next you have blue 11, 11, 13. That's nothing yet, but a missing blue 12 would complete a 11-12-13 run. Drop your false joker into the gap and you instantly have blue 11 - (false joker = blue 12) - blue 13. That's the power of a joker.

What's left looks scattered: black 4, black 5, the second blue 11, yellow 1, black 8, red 12, and your two okeys. Don't spend the okeys yet — they are your most flexible tiles. Black 4 - black 5 is a run-in-waiting: a black 3 or black 6 completes it, or you could slot an okey in for the black 6.

Draw from the stack, or take from the floor?

When your turn comes, you always pick up one tile and discard one. You choose between two sources:

  • Draw from the stack: take a random face-down tile. You don't know what's coming, but you give your opponents no information.
  • Take from the floor: pick up the face-up tile the player on your left just discarded. Only worth it when that exact tile helps you.

In our scenario, the player on your left discards a black 6. You had black 4-5 — and black 6 is exactly the tile that completes the run. Don't hesitate: take the black 6 from the floor and lock in your black 4-5-6 run. If a useless tile had been discarded instead, drawing from the stack would have been safer, because taking from the floor reveals what you're collecting. The beginner rule is simple: only take a floor tile that finishes a run or set right now.

Discarding and finishing the hand

Now you must discard one tile each turn. The best tile to throw is the orphan — the one that connects to no run or set. Your yellow 1 and red 12 are sitting alone with little chance of developing. For your first discard, yellow 1 is a good choice. One caution: try to make sure your discard doesn't help an opponent. If the player on your left seems to be collecting yellow tiles, throwing a yellow 1 may hand them a gift.

A few turns later, picture your hand taking shape: red 5-6-7 (run), black 4-5-6 (run), blue 11-12*-13 (run, * = false joker), and a set built with your okeys, where the two yellow 9s stand in for whatever tiles complete your final group. When every tile is split into groups of 3 and 4, you're left with exactly one extra tile to discard.

That's the winning moment: once all your runs and sets are complete, you discard that last tile face-down and declare okey. This is called opening / going out (çıkış), and you win the hand. On Game Finale you do this by dragging your final tile to the discard area; the game announces the win and tallies your virtual chips.

5 things to remember in your first game

  • Check the indicator first, then mark the okey (indicator colour +1) and any okeys in your hand.
  • Run = same colour, consecutive; set = same number, different colours. Don't mix them up.
  • Save the okey and false joker for last — they're your most flexible tiles.
  • Take from the floor only when the tile actually helps; otherwise draw from the stack.
  • Discard your orphans, and watch which colour your opponents are collecting.

Game Finale is played entirely with virtual chips — there is no real money involved. That makes it the ideal place to learn your first game without pressure. After a few hands, the logic of indicator, okey, run and set becomes instinctive, and your play speeds up naturally.