Dragon and Phoenix

Full rules

1. Overview
2. The cards
3. Combinations
4. Bombs
5. The special cards in detail
6. Setup
7. Playing a round
8. End of a hand
9. Calls
10. Scoring
11. Winning the game
12. Tips for beginners
13. Variants

Overview

Dragon and Phoenix is a climbing game for two teams of two. The player who starts a round lays down a card or a combination such as a pair or a straight; then each player in turn must play something higher of the same kind – or pass. Everyone tries to get rid of all their cards, and certain cards (5s, 10s, Kings and the Dragon) are worth points to the team that collects them. Four of the cards are special: the Herald, the Fox, the Phoenix and the Dragon. And before you play, you may bet that you will be the first player out.

• Players: 4, in two fixed teams. Partners sit opposite each other.
• You need: one standard 52-card deck without jokers, and paper and pencil (or the score pad).

Dragon and Phoenix is our own adaptation for an ordinary deck, inspired by Tichu (Urs Hostettler, Fata Morgana, 1991). If you know Big Two, Tiến lên or Guandan, the climbing will feel familiar – what is new are the four special cards, card points and the calls.

The cards

The four 2s are the special cards; each suit has its own. They follow the suit order of Bridge, from low to high:

All other cards rank from low to high: 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 J Q K A. Suits don't matter, except in a straight flush (see Bombs). The special cards have no suit.

Card points:

All other cards are worth nothing. Together the cards are worth exactly 100 points.

Combinations

On your turn you play one of these:

• A higher combination must be of the same kind and the same length: a straight of 6 only beats a straight of 6, stairs of 3 pairs only stairs of 3 pairs.
• Compare by rank: a pair or triple by its rank, a full house by its triple, a straight or stairs by its highest card.
• The Ace is always high. There is no wrapping round (K A 3 is not a run).

Bombs

A bomb beats any combination, and it may be played at any time – even when it isn't your turn, as long as the round has started.

• Four of a kind: 8 8 8 8.
• Straight flush: a straight of 5 or more cards, all of one suit: 4♥ 5♥ 6♥ 7♥ 8♥.

A straight flush beats any four of a kind; a longer straight flush beats a shorter one. Otherwise the higher rank wins. A bomb can only be beaten by a higher bomb. You may also lead a bomb like any other combination. After a bomb, play continues with the player to the bomber's left. Special cards can't be part of a bomb.

The special cards in detail

Herald (2♣). It counts as a 2, the lowest card. You can play it as a single, or as the bottom card of a straight (2 3 4 5 6). Whoever holds it starts the first round of the hand. When you play the Herald – alone or in a straight – you may wish for a rank from 3 to A: say "I wish for Jacks", for example. From then on, every player in turn who can legally play a card of that rank must do so, until one has been played – the wish stays in force from player to player and from round to round until then. If you are leading a new round and hold the rank, you must lead a combination that contains it (so no Fox then). The Phoenix never fulfils the wish: playing it in place of the wished rank doesn't count, and holding it doesn't oblige you to play. Bombs are never compulsory: you never have to play a bomb to fulfil the wish – a deliberate deviation from Tichu's wish rule.

Fox (2♦). The Fox can only be played as the lead of a round, alone. It can't be beaten and ends the round at once: put it aside, and your partner leads the next round. If your partner is already out, the next player to their left who is still in leads.

Phoenix (2♥). - In a combination it is wild: it can stand for any rank from 3 to A, never for a 2 (for example Q Q + Phoenix as a triple). It can't be used in a bomb. - As a single it counts half a step higher than the single it is played on: on a K it is K½ and loses to an A. It can't beat the Dragon. If you lead it, it counts as 2½ – just above the Herald.

Dragon (2♠). Only a single, and the highest one – it beats an A and the Phoenix, and only a bomb beats it. If you win a round with the Dragon, you must give the cards of that round to one opponent of your choice. If a bomb beats the Dragon and wins the round, the bomber keeps the cards as usual.

Setup

1. Partners sit opposite each other. Choose a dealer; the deal passes clockwise.
2. Deal 8 cards to everyone. Look at them: now you may call High Flight (see Calls).
3. Deal the other 5 cards each, so everyone has 13.
4. Pass cards: each player picks one card for each other player – three cards – and lays them face down in front of them. When everyone is ready, all pass at the same time.

Playing a round

The holder of the Herald leads the first round of the hand. Play goes clockwise.

1. Lead: the first player lays any combination face up in the middle (or the Fox).
2. Beat or pass: in turn, each player either plays a higher combination of the same kind – or a bomb – or passes. Passing doesn't stop you playing later in the same round.
3. End of the round: when every other player still holding cards has passed in turn (players who are out are skipped), the last player to play wins the round – even if they have just gone out. They take all the cards of the round, lay them face down in front of them (they count at the end) and lead the next round.

Going out: when you play your last card, you are out. The others play on. If you win a round with your last card, the next player to your left who is still in leads.

Example: Anna and Carla play against Ben and Dan. Anna leads 7 7. Ben plays 10 10, Carla passes, Dan plays K K. Anna plays A + Phoenix as a pair of Aces. Before Ben can answer, Dan bombs out of turn with 9 9 9 9. Play goes on to Dan's left: Anna, Ben and Carla pass. Dan wins the round: two 10s (20), two Kings (20) and the Phoenix (−25) – 15 points for his team.

End of a hand

The hand ends when three players are out. The last player:

• gives the cards left in their hand to the opposing team, and
• gives the rounds they won to the player who went out first.

Then each team counts the card points in the rounds it won.

Double victory: if both players of one team go out first and second, the hand ends at once. That team scores 200, and nobody counts card points.

Calls

A call is a bet that you will go out first. It is worth points for your team – or costs them.

• Take-off: you may call it at any time before you play your first card of the hand (also after passing cards). +100 if you go out first, −100 if not.
• High Flight: you may only call it after seeing your first 8 cards, before the rest are dealt. +200 or −200.

Each player may make at most one call per hand. Calls are scored on top of the card points, also after a double victory.

Scoring

Each team adds up the card points in the rounds it won, including the cards and rounds the last player hands over (together always 100). Then it adds or subtracts its calls. After a double victory the winning team scores 200 and the other team 0, plus or minus the calls. The result goes on the team's running total.

Example: Anna called Take-off. Anna goes out first, then Ben, then Carla; Dan is last. Dan still holds K 5: those 15 points go to Anna and Carla. The rounds Dan won go to Anna. Anna and Carla count 55 card points in their rounds (Dan's rounds included) plus the 15 = 70, Ben and Dan 30. Anna's call adds +100: Anna and Carla score 170, Ben and Dan 30.

Winning the game

Play hands until a team has 1000 points or more at the end of a hand. If both teams pass 1000 together, the higher total wins; if the totals are equal, play another hand.

Tips for beginners

• Plan your hand. Split your cards into as few combinations as possible – a hand with few plays is a hand that goes out fast.
• Pass wisely. Give your partner a good card (an A or the Dragon if you won't need it) and give the opponents cards that don't help them, such as single low cards.
• Guard your partner's call. If your partner calls Take-off, do everything to stop the opponents going out first – and use the Fox to hand the lead to your partner.
• Keep a bomb for the right moment – to stop an opponent who is about to go out, or to catch a round full of points.
• The Dragon is a gift to the opponents. Win with it when the round has few points, or when it lets you go out.

Variants

All optional – agree before you start.

• Shorter game: play to 500.
• Card count: a player must say how many cards they have left whenever asked.
• No wish: the Herald only starts the game; nobody wishes.