Tiến lên

Full rules

1. Overview
2. Card order
3. Setup
4. What you can play
5. Playing
6. Bombs: chopping the 2s
7. End of the game
8. Scoring
9. Winning the game
10. Tips for beginners
11. Variants

Overview

Tiến lên ("go forward") is a climbing game from Vietnam: each player in turn must beat the previous play with a higher card or combination of the same kind – or pass. Whoever gets rid of all their cards first is the winner, and play goes on until only one player is left holding cards – the loser. The 2s are the strongest cards, but special combinations called bombs can "chop" them.

• Players: 4 is best, each playing for themselves; 2 or 3 can also play.
• You need: one standard 52-card deck, no jokers, and paper and pencil for the score.

Card order

Every card has a rank (its value). The 2 is the highest rank, the 3 the lowest:

2 (highest) – A – K – Q – J – 10 – 9 – 8 – 7 – 6 – 5 – 4 – 3 (lowest)

The suits also have an order. It only matters when two cards have the same rank:

♥ Hearts (highest) – ♦ Diamonds – ♣ Clubs – ♠ Spades (lowest)

So the 2♥ is the best card in the game and the 3♠ the lowest. A 7♥ beats a 7♠, but any 8 beats any 7.

Setup

1. Deal: for the first game, pick a dealer at random; after that, the loser of each game deals the next. The dealer shuffles and deals 13 cards to each player, one at a time, face down, clockwise. With fewer than 4 players, the remaining cards are set aside unseen. This is your hand – keep it hidden.
2. Who starts: in the first game, the player holding the 3♠ begins, and their first play must include the 3♠ – alone or as part of a combination. (With 2 or 3 players nobody may have the 3♠; then the holder of the lowest card starts with it.) In every later game, the winner of the previous game starts with any combination.

What you can play

A play is always one of these combinations:

2s cannot be part of a sequence or double sequence: the highest sequence ends with the Ace (Q-K-A), and there is no wrapping round (K-A-2 or A-2-3 is not allowed).

Comparing plays: a play can only be beaten by the same kind of combination with the same number of cards – a pair by a higher pair, a four-card sequence by a higher four-card sequence, and so on. To see which is higher, look only at the highest card of each: first its rank, then its suit.

Example: 10♠ 10♥ beats 10♣ 10♦, because the top card 10♥ beats the 10♦. The sequence 6♠ 7♠ 8♦ beats 6♥ 7♥ 8♣, because 8♦ beats 8♣. But 5♥ 6♥ 7♥ 8♥ can't be beaten by a three-card sequence – only by a higher four-card one.

Playing

Play goes in rounds, clockwise, onto a pile in the middle of the table.

1. Lead: the first player of a round – the leader – plays any valid combination face up in the middle.
2. Beat or pass: going round the table, each player either beats the last play or passes. You may pass even if you could beat it.
3. Passing locks you out: once you have passed, you may not play again in this round (exception: bombs, see below).
4. End of the round: when everyone else has passed after someone's play, that play is unbeaten. The pile is put aside, and the player who made the last play leads the next round with any combination. If that player has already gone out, the next player still in the game leads.

Example: Anna leads 4♠ 4♦. Ben plays 9♣ 9♥. Carla passes. Dan plays K♠ K♦. Anna passes, Ben plays A♣ A♥. Carla and Anna can't play again (they have passed), and Dan passes. Ben puts the pile aside and leads again.

Bombs: chopping the 2s

Normally nothing beats a 2 of the wrong kind. But some combinations – bombs – may be played on top of 2s even though they are a different kind of combination:

• Bombs only work against 2s – a four of a kind cannot beat a single Ace.
• A bomb may be played even by a player who has already passed in this round.
• After a bomb, the next players must beat the bomb as usual: a four of a kind by a higher four of a kind, a double sequence by a higher one of the same length.

Example: Carla plays the 2♥. Dan passes. Anna has already passed, but she holds 6♠ 6♣ 7♦ 7♥ 8♣ 8♦ – three pairs in a row – and chops the 2♥ with it. Now only a three-pair sequence with a top card higher than her 8♦ can beat Anna's play.

End of the game

When you play your last card you are out, and your finishing position is fixed: the first player out is the winner, the second is second, and so on. The others keep playing without you. The game ends when only one player still has cards – that player is the loser.

Scoring

Traditionally the loser pays an agreed stake to each other player. For a score pad we suggest the following points – our own convention, not a traditional rule:

With 2 or 3 players, the last player scores −1 for each other player, and everyone else +1.

Example: Ben goes out first (+2), then Dan (+1), then Anna (−1). Carla is left holding cards (−2).

Winning the game

Agree how long to play – a number of games, a time limit, or until someone reaches 10 points. The player with the most points wins.

Tips for beginners

• Sort your hand into combinations first. Sequences and double sequences get rid of many cards at once.
• Don't waste 2s early – they are your best way to win a round and take the lead.
• Keep a four of a kind or a three-pair sequence as long as someone might play a 2.
• Watch players with few cards: when someone has one card left, lead pairs or sequences.
• Low singles are hard to get rid of later; lead them while you can.

Variants

All of these are optional – agree on them before the game.

• Anticlockwise: in Vietnam the game is often played anticlockwise (to the right).
• Four of a kind chops a pair of 2s: many players let a four of a kind beat a pair of 2s as well; some also let a four-pair sequence beat a four of a kind.
• Instant win (tới trắng): in southern Vietnam, certain dealt hands win at once without play, e.g. all four 2s or six pairs.
• Stuck with 13 (cóng): a player who is still holding all 13 cards when someone goes out pays double.
• Winner takes all: the game ends as soon as the first player goes out; each other player pays 2 points to the winner (4 if still holding all 13 cards).
• Three players, 17 cards: deal 17 cards each; the last card is set aside.