Zen Cheng You - That Game No One Knows · 10:24pm Mar 27th, 2014
Zen Cheng You is a little known card game that needs more love. I have reproduced the rules here in the hopes that it grows in popularity.
-RULES
-A game for four players.
-Played with two standard 52 card decks and the addition of the four joker cards. There should be two big jokers and two small jokers (or otherwise two pairs of distinguishable jokers). Bicycle cards work well.
-The game is played in teams of two with players arranged in a circle such that teammates are across from each other.
-The objective of the game is to take 1000 points as a team over a series of rounds.
-To begin a round, shuffle the 108 cards and deal 27 to each player.
-In the first round, the player possessing both two of clubs leads the first trick. If two players each have a single two of clubs, then between them whoever has the two two of diamonds leads the first trick. If problems persist, continue with the two of spades, then the two of hearts, then the three of clubs, and so on.
-In subsequent rounds, the player that finishes first (see below) on the previous round leads the first trick.
-A round consists of a number of tricks. The player leading a trick may play any valid hand (see below). Play then proceeds clockwise. A player may play a larger hand of the same type, a bomb (see below), or pass. If there a bomb is played then subsequent plays must be higher bombs.
-Once all three other players have passed, the last player to play on the trick takes the trick and leads the next trick.
-A round ends when one of two conditions have been met. Either three players have run out of cards or one team has run out of cards (denoted as finishing first and second).
-If a team finishes first and second then that team receives 200 points and the other team receives 0.
-Otherwise, the following occurs. The player that finished first takes all of the tricks that their partner took (but not any remaining cards, if any). Then the player that still has cards (denoted finished last) gives any tricks they took and their hand to the other team.
-Next, points are assigned to a team as follows. For every five taken, a team receives 5 points. For every ten and king taken, that team receives 10 points. Thus there are 200 points available every round.
-Additionally, there are two special scoring rules.
-At the beginning of a round (after players view their cards), each player decides whether or not they want to declare starting with the player leading the first trick and proceeding clockwise. If a player declares then if they finish first their team receives an extra 100 points. If they do not then their team losses 100 points.
-Similarly, each player has the option of blind declaring. This occurs identically to a regular declare with the exception that it must be made before players view their cards. This version is worth 200 points on success and -200 points on failure.
-The first team to 1000 points (or if both reach 1000 points on the same round then the team with the highest score) wins.
-VALID HANDS
-First, note the following. Card value in ascending order is 3-10, Jack, Queen, King, Ace, 2, Small Joker, Big Joker. Additionally, aces are not consecutive with 2s, 2s are not consecutive with small jokers, and small jokers are not consecutive with big jokers.
-Next note that the following are all bombs. N-of-a-kind where N is at least 4. N-straight-flush where N is at least 5.
-The following are all valid hands. Note that for a hand which has an N in it to be the same type, the value of N must be the same for both hands. Also, except when playing a single card, big and small jokers are indistinguishable (eg a pair of big jokers is not a higher hoof than two small jokers).
-A single card. A card is larger than another card if it has a higher value.
-N consecutive pairs where N is at least 1. (eg two threes, plus two fours, plus two fives is 3 consecutive pairs). An N consecutive pair is higher than another if the highest pair has a higher value than the other N consecutive pair’s highest pair.
-N consecutive triples where N is at least 1. An N consecutive triple is higher than another if the highest triple has a higher value than the other N consecutive triple’s highest triple.
-An N straight where N is at least 5. An N straight is higher than another N straight if the highest value of the straight is greater than the other straight’s highest value.
-N consecutive full houses where N is at least 1. Note that only the triples must be consecutive (eg two threes and two queens with three fives and three sixes is consecutive). An N consecutive full house is higher than another N consecutive full house if the highest triple has a higher value than the other’s highest triple.
-A bomb. An N-of-a-kind is higher than another N-of-a-kind if it consists of higher valued cards. An N straight flush is higher than another in the same manner as an ordinary straight. An N straight flush is higher than any M-of-a-kind where M is at most N. An N-of-a-kind is higher than any M straight flush where M is less than N. (eg a royal flush beats any 4- or 5-of-a-kind but a 6-, 7-, or 8-of-a-kind beats it).
-Note that four jokers are considered as the highest 6-of-a-kind.
I was wondering about what this game was but it turns out I know of this game but by a different name, pardon me if I get the name wrong but it's pronounced as Cho Tai Tee.
The more you know
I know that this is pretty late, but I wanted to give this game a try so I'll need to save the rules in my messages log.
Commercially available as Tichu. There's also an app for that.