Guandan

Full rules

1. Overview
2. Levels and card order
3. Setup
4. Combinations
5. Bombs
6. Playing
7. End of a hand and levels
8. Tribute
9. Winning the game
10. Tips for beginners
11. Variants

Overview

Guandan ("throwing eggs") is a climbing game for two teams of two: each player in turn must beat the previous play with a higher combination of the same kind – or pass. The aim of each hand is to be the first player to get rid of all your cards, and to have your partner finish soon after you. Winning hands moves your team up the levels from 2 to Ace; the first team to win a hand on its Ace level wins the game. Along the way, bombs – four or more cards of the same rank, straight flushes and all four jokers – can beat almost anything.

• Players: 4, in two fixed teams. Partners sit opposite each other.
• You need: two standard 52-card decks with four jokers – two red (big) and two black (small), 108 cards in all – and paper and pen to note each team's level.

Levels and card order

Each team has a level: 2, 3, 4 … 10, J, Q, K, A. Both teams start on 2. The level of a hand is the level of the team that won the previous hand (in the first hand: 2). Cards of that rank are the level cards – on level 7, all eight 7s.

Cards rank from high to low:

red joker – black joker – level cards – A – K – Q – J – 10 – 9 – 8 – 7 – 6 – 5 – 4 – 3 – 2

The level cards leave their normal place and rank just below the black joker. Suits don't matter, except in straight flushes.

Wild cards: the two level cards in hearts (on level 7: both 7♥) are wild. In a combination, a wild card can stand for any card except a joker. Played alone, it is simply a level card.

Setup

1. Dealing: shuffle all 108 cards together. Each player gets 27 cards. Play and dealing go anticlockwise.
2. First hand: before dealing, the player cutting the deck turns one card face up and puts it back into the deck. Whoever receives this card starts the play. (Traditionally the players draw their cards one at a time from the deck.)
3. Later hands: see Tribute below.

Combinations

Every play is one of these combinations:

• In straights, tubes and plates the cards take their normal places: level cards count as their own rank, and the Ace can be high (10-J-Q-K-A) or low (A-2-3-4-5). Jokers can't be used, and there is no wrapping round (Q-K-A-2-3 is not allowed).
• A full house is ranked by its triple; the pair doesn't matter.
• A straight, tube or plate is ranked by its highest card.

Bombs

A bomb beats every ordinary combination, whatever its kind. From lowest to highest:

1. 4 of a kind (e.g. 8 8 8 8)
2. 5 of a kind
3. Straight flush – a straight of 5 cards all in one suit
4. 6, 7, 8, 9 and 10 of a kind – more cards always beat fewer
5. Joker bomb – all four jokers, the highest play in the game

Bombs of the same type are compared by rank in the card order above, so four level cards beat four Aces (straight flushes by their top card, where level cards keep their normal place). A bomb can be beaten only by a higher bomb. Wild cards can be used in any bomb except the joker bomb – with both wild hearts you can even make 10 of a kind.

Playing

1. Lead: the player to start puts any combination face up in the middle.
2. Beat or pass: going anticlockwise, each player either plays the same kind of combination with the same number of cards that is higher – or a bomb – or passes. Passing doesn't stop you playing later in the same round.
3. End of a round: when every other player still holding cards has passed in turn (players who are out are skipped), the last player to play has won the round. The cards are put aside and that player leads any combination.
4. Going out: when you play your last card you are out, and your finishing place is fixed. If the round is then won by your last play, your partner leads next.
5. Card count: when you have 10 or fewer cards left, you must tell anyone who asks how many you hold.

Example: the level is 5. Anna leads 9 9. Ben plays K K. Carla passes. Dan plays 5 5 – a pair of level cards, higher than Aces. Anna plays a bomb: 7 7 7 7. Ben passes, Carla plays 6 6 6 6 6 – five of a kind beats four. Nobody can beat it; after three passes Carla leads again.

End of a hand and levels

The hand ends when both players of one team are out. The four players finish first, second, third and last. The team of the first player wins the hand and goes up:

The losing team stays on its level. Levels never go past A: a team on Q that gains 3 goes to A.

Example: both teams are on 2. Anna finishes first, her partner Carla second: their team jumps to level 5, and the next hand is played on level 5.

Tribute

From the second hand on, the losers hand over a good card before play:

• Paying tribute: the player who finished last gives the first player their highest card (not a wild heart). After a 1-2 win, both losers pay: the first player gets the higher card, the second player the other.
• Returning tribute: each player who received tribute gives back any card of rank 10 or lower of their choice. (If they have none, their lowest card.)
• Resisting tribute: if the paying side holds both red jokers – one player with both, or after a 1-2 win each loser with one – no tribute is paid.
• Who leads: the player who paid tribute starts; after a double tribute, the one who paid the higher card. If no tribute was paid (resisted), the first player of the last hand starts. Rule sets differ when two tribute cards are equal; on this site the first player of the last hand then starts too.

Winning the game

Once your team has reached A, every hand after one you have won is played on level A. To win the game, your team must win a hand on its own A level with a 1-2 or 1-3 win. A 1-4 win on level A is not enough – you stay on A and try again. If your team fails three times on its A level, it drops back to level 2.

Tips for beginners

• Plan your hand at the start. Split your 27 cards into as few combinations as possible, and keep your bombs whole.
• Don't waste bombs. Use them to stop the opponents going out or to win the lead back when it counts.
• Help your partner. If your partner is about to go out, let their plays stand; once they're out, try to win a round with your last play so they get the lead.
• Use the wild hearts wisely. They are most valuable for completing a bomb or a straight flush.
• Watch the card counts. An opponent with 1 or 2 cards left needs singles or pairs – lead something else.

Variants

All optional – agree before you start.

• Four levels for a 1-2 win: at some tables a 1-2 win is worth 4 levels, 1-3 is worth 2 and 1-4 is worth 1.
• No A-level limit: at some tables a team keeps trying on A for as long as it takes.
• Equal tributes: if both tribute cards are equal, the winners decide by lot who gets which.