What Is Tripoley?
Tripoley is a card game played with a special board, a standard deck and a supply of chips or tokens. It is built around Michigan Rummy, so the two names are often used for the same family of games. The board has spaces where chips are placed, and different parts of a round award those chips to different players.
The name suggests a game of several parts, and a round of Tripoley is made up of several stages that each pay out chips. Because boards, editions and family traditions differ, the rules below describe the general structure. If your board or box includes an instruction sheet, follow it where it differs.
What You Need
- A Tripoley board, or a drawn layout with labelled spaces.
- A standard 52-card deck.
- Chips, coins or tokens for each player.
- Three to about eight players is a typical range, though some boxes list different counts.
The Board
The board has marked spaces, several of which correspond to specific cards, plus a central “kitty” space. Chips are placed on these spaces at the start of each round. During play, a player who lays down a matching card collects the chips from that space. Any chips left on the board stay there and build up for later rounds.
Round Overview
A typical round follows this pattern:
- Ante. Each player places chips on the board spaces, following the instructions for your set.
- Deal. All cards are dealt out evenly, with an extra hand set aside as a spare. Many versions allow a player to choose to swap in the spare hand under certain conditions, such as paying chips.
- Early stages. Before the main card play, the game commonly includes short rounds in which players reveal or play certain hands. These stages usually involve hands built from poker-style combinations and play centered on one suit. The stages vary by edition.
- Main stage (Michigan). Players play cards in sequences by suit, working upward. The first player to run out of cards wins the pot for that stage, and the other players pay chips based on cards they still hold.
Board Payouts During Play
When a card that matches a space on the board is played, its player takes the chips there. Marriage-style combinations, such as playing both King and Queen of the same suit, are often tied to the kitty space.
Michigan Rummy Stage
The sequence play is the heart of the game. A player starts by laying down a card, and others continue by playing the next card in the same suit in ascending order. When nobody can continue, the sequence stops and a new one starts. The aim is to be the first to play all your cards.
Winning a Round
When a player runs out of cards in the main stage, they win that stage’s chips. Other players pay chips depending on the cards still in their hands, with the exact payment depending on your rules. Chips left on the board stay for the next round, and play continues until you agree to stop or until players run out of chips.
Common Variations
- Simplified boards, with fewer spaces or no early stages, for younger players.
- Playing without chips, using points on paper.
- Fixed number of rounds, with the biggest chip total winning.
- Stages omitted or reordered depending on family tradition.
Tips for Beginners
- Read the instruction sheet that came with your board first, since editions differ.
- Agree on the ante and how many rounds you will play before starting.
- Watch for runs in each suit and think about which sequences you can finish.
- Keep chip piles in clear view so everyone can see what is on the board.
If you enjoy rummy-style games with sets and sequences, you may also like Coon Can, also known as Conquian, or the faster Thirty-One.