A dynamic shedding-type card game that blends concepts from Bridge, Daihinmin, and Poker.
Tichu is a partnership-based card game for four players, with teammates sitting opposite each other. Partners work together across multiple hands to score points and gain the lead, aiming to be the first team to reach a pre-agreed point threshold.
The Tichu deck contains 56 cards across four suits: Jade, Swords, Pagodas, and Stars. Each suit has 13 cards ranked from 2 to Ace, plus four unique special cards: the Dragon, the Phoenix, the Hound, and the Mah Jong.
Each player initially receives eight cards. At this point, a player may declare "Grand Tichu," a 200-point bet that they will be the first to empty their hand. After this decision, six more cards are dealt to each player, closing the window for a Grand Tichu call. Now—or any time before playing their first card—a player can declare "Tichu," a 100-point bet that they (alone, not their partner) will go out first. The key differences lie in the timing of the call, the number of cards seen, and the point value.
Once all 56 cards are dealt (14 per player), the card exchange begins. Every player must pass one card face down to each of the other three players, meaning everyone gives away three cards and receives three in return.
Following the exchange, the player holding the Mah Jong leads the first trick by playing any valid combination. Other players must either pass or beat it with a higher-value combination of the same type (except for "Bombs," covered later). A single card is beaten by a higher single, a sequence of pairs by a higher sequence of pairs, and so on. When all others pass, the winner of the trick collects it and leads the next play. If that player has no cards left, they have "gone out," and the lead passes to the player on their right. A round ends when both players on a team have gone out. If only one player remains with cards, they receive a penalty, surrendering their hand to the opponents' trick pile and their own tricks to the first player who went out.
The game concludes when one team meets or exceeds the total point target set at the beginning.
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