The Basics

• Monko seats 2 to 4 players. Everyone is dealt seven cards.
• One card is turned face up to start the pile. Players take turns in order around the table.
• On your turn you play one card that matches the top card of the pile by color or by number. Wild cards can be played on anything.
• If you cannot play, or do not want to, draw one card. If you can play that card, you can put it down right away. If not, you pass (tap Pass, or let the clock run out) and the turn moves on. After drawing, you can only play the card you just drew, not the rest of your hand.
• You get 10 seconds per turn, plus 4 extra seconds on the first turn of a round. Run out of time and the game draws a card for you and passes.
• The first player to play their last card wins the round and collects 95% of the pot.

The Deck

Monko uses 108 cards. There are four colors (red, yellow, green and blue), and each color has the same 25 cards:

• One 0
• Two each of 1 through 9
• Two Skips
• Two Reverses
• Two Draw Twos

That makes 100 colored cards. The last 8 are wild cards, which have no color. Across the full deck:

How a Round Starts

• Everyone pays their buy-in, the deck is shuffled, and each player gets seven cards.
• One card is turned face up to start the pile. A Wild Draw Four almost never starts a round. If one turns up, it goes back into the deck and another card is turned over, up to ten times.
• If the starting card has an effect, it happens before anyone plays. A Wild gets a random starting color. A Skip makes the first player lose their turn. A Reverse turns play the other way, or skips the first player in a two-player game. A Draw Two starts the round with a stack of two already waiting.

The Cards

Numbers (0 through 9)

Play a number card on a card of the same color, or on the same number in any color. Number cards have no effect. They just change what is on top of the pile.

Skip

• Play it on a matching color, or on any other Skip.
• The next player loses their turn.
• With two players at the table, that means you go again.

Reverse

• Play it on a matching color, or on any other Reverse.
• Play changes direction. Clockwise becomes counter-clockwise, and the next Reverse turns it back.
• With two players there is no direction to change, so a Reverse works like a Skip and you go again.

Draw Two (+2)

• Play it on a matching color, or on any other Draw Two.
• The next player draws two cards and loses their turn, unless they stack on top of it.

Wild

• You can play a Wild at any time, on top of any card.
• You choose the color play continues in. You must choose one.
• A Wild does not make anyone draw.

Wild Draw Four (+4)

• You can play a Wild Draw Four at any time, on top of any card. You do not need to be out of matching colors, and nobody can challenge it.
• You choose the new color, and the next player draws four cards and loses their turn, unless they stack on top of it.
• It almost never starts a round. If one is turned over as the starting card, it goes back into the deck.

Stacking Draw Cards

You do not have to take a draw card. If you hold the right card, you can pass a bigger stack to the next player.

• Answer a +2 with your own +2 or with a +4.
• Answer a +4 with a +4 only. A +2 does not work.
• The stack grows with every card. A +2 answered by a +2 is four cards. A +4 on top of that makes eight.
• The first player who cannot stack, or chooses not to, draws the whole stack and their turn ends. The next player starts fresh.
• While a stack is waiting, a draw card is the only thing you can play. You cannot answer a +2 with a Skip, a number card or a plain Wild.
• Be careful with your last card. Playing a +2 or +4 as your last card does not win right away. The stack has to be settled first, and only then do you win the round.

The Monko Call

• The moment you are down to exactly one card, a 3-second window opens. Call Monko before it closes.
• Make the call and you are safe. Your last card stays in your hand and play carries on.
• Let the 3 seconds run out and you are exposed. For the next 3 seconds any other player can catch you, and you draw two cards as a penalty. Call Monko before someone catches you and you are safe. If nobody catches you, you get away with it.
• The table does not wait for you. Play moves on while your window is open, so make the call fast.

Winning the Pot

• Every player pays a buy-in at the start of each round, and the buy-ins make the pot. You pay it every round, not once when you sit down.
• Play your last card and the pot is yours. The winner collects 95% of it. For example, 4 players at $10 each makes a $40 pot, and the winner takes $38.
• Leave in the middle of a round and your buy-in stays in the pot.

When Nobody Can Win

• Running out of cards to draw does not end the round. The pile is shuffled and becomes the new deck, and the round keeps going.
• Once in a while there is nothing left to draw and nobody can play. The round ends right there.
• The player with the lowest hand wins the same 95% a normal winner would collect. Number cards count as their number, Skips, Reverses and Draw Twos count 20, and wild cards count 50. If it is a tie, the payout is split evenly. Anyone who left during the round gets nothing back.

Fair Play

• Every round's deck is shuffled once, up front, from a secret seed. A fingerprint of the shuffle is published before the first card is dealt, and the full seed is revealed when the round ends.
• No card is decided during the round. Every dealt card, drawn card and penalty card is simply the next card off that shuffled deck.

Timers, Drops & Idle Seats

• Every turn is on a 10-second clock, with 4 extra seconds on the first turn of a round. Let it run out and the game draws a card for you and passes. If there is a stack waiting for you, it draws the whole stack instead.
• Run out of time on 5 turns in a row and you are removed from the table.
• Lose your connection and you can rejoin the same table with your hand exactly as you left it. You have 2 minutes before your seat is given away.
• The round does not stop while you are gone. If it is your turn and you are disconnected, your clock drops to five seconds.
• Sit out too many rounds in a row and your seat is given to someone ready to play.