101 Penalties
101 has a detailed penalty system. Mistakes get you penalty points, and some can change the course of the entire game. Here is every penalty rule.
In-Play Penalties
The first five penalties below happen during play. They are switched on and off together by the Penalties table rule, which the host sets in the lobby and which is on by default. With Penalties off, none of them is written, although the next player still cannot take a discarded okey. End-of-round penalties always apply.
Wrong Opening
If a player declares an opening but their melds do not meet the required threshold (101 points, 5 pairs or the higher bar set by an earlier opening), they get 101 penalty points. Their tiles are returned to their rack and play continues normally with them discarding a tile.
Discarding Okey
Discarding an okey tile gets you 101 penalty points. The next player cannot take it from the discard.
A Discard the Next Player Opens With
If the next player takes your discard and uses it to open on points, you get penalty points equal to that tile's face value × 10. If they use it to open with doubles, you get the tile's face value × 20. The penalty goes to the player who discarded the tile, not to the player who opened.
Failing to Commit
If a player discards a tile that could have been committed to a meld on the table, they get 101 penalty points. This applies whether they have opened their hand or not.
Your Okey Gets Retrieved
If another player retrieves an okey from a meld you laid down, you get 101 penalty points. In a set, they first have to complete all 4 colors. Taking back an okey you laid down yourself gets you nothing.
End-of-Round Penalties (When Someone Finishes)
When a player finishes the round by emptying their rack, all other players get penalty points based on their situation:
- Players who never opened: 202 penalty points.
- Players who opened: penalty equal to the total face value of the tiles left on their rack.
- Players who opened with doubles: double the total of the tiles left on their rack.
- Each okey left on a rack: 101 on top of the face values, never doubled.
- Finisher discards the okey or finishes with doubles: each player who never opened gets 404 instead of 202.
- Finisher finishes with doubles and discards the okey: each player who never opened gets 808.
- Direct finish: every opponent gets 404, or 808 if the final discard is the okey.
In Duo, the finisher's partner gets nothing that round. See Duo scoring for details.