|
|
| Useful
Advice for Tourists Visiting China |
Games
|
|
Introduction:
Chinese love games in general and have their
particular versions of Cards, Chess, and similar games
Topics on this page include:
Drinking Games
Chinese Chess
Mah Jong
Cards
Drinking Games
The standard Chinese drinking game is quite
simple, unless you end-up getting 'Hammered'!
This is based upon calling two dice, which are shaken
inside an upturned beaker. Rotation is normally anti-clockwise,
but you can change this whenever you want, or call
a specific person. They then have the same options,
but often call you back. It goes like this:
1. People can come and go at will, so first confirm
the number of players for this round
2. Players can number two or more, but over six gets
a bit messy usually
3 . Everyone has a beaker and five normal dice. Upturn
and shake on the table at leisure
4 . The very first caller could be anyone, or always
the loser in subsequent rounds
5. Betting is done by 'blagging'. number 1 can be
any number, and has other special rules. Numbers 2
to 6 are face value. Normally you start by opening
with a bid one higher than the number of people playing.
This can be fixed higher if a lot of people are playing
- watch for this. Therefore 4 people playing means
the first call is 5 of any number from 1 to 6, or
higher call. Look at your dice and choose wisely
5. Calling. Let's say you have 3 x 4's and 2 x 1's
= a good hand. You know that you alone have 5 x 4's,
and the chances are most of the others present will
have another 4 or 1, and often both. Hide your hand
and risk it, or be stupidly safe and bet 5 x 4's.
You will learn quickly as you play
6. People lie!
7. Perhaps 5 x 6's is a better opening call?
8. The basic game progresses until someone (Anyone)
calls the person making the last bid. We then see
who has what
9. The loser is either the person called if they do
not have the numbered dice, or the caller if (s)he
is wrong
10. The penalty for the loser is to drink a finger
of beer = normally half a small glass (Square whiskey
type)
Of course, this game is for fun and drinking beer,
so other rules come into play, and things can get
complicated - especially if you are losing heavily!
For instance:
A. You can call more than one person - but if you
are wrong, so the penalty drink quantity increases
B. You can call "Only 1's" or "1 excluded".
Depending on the rules in use, this can last for a
whole round, or be over-ridden by the next player.
It is more fun the second way
C. You can lie and call whatever you want - this is
very common. Watch and learn who is doing what
D. Beware girls who can play this game. In '1 on 1'
situations they can be lethal = mind-readers! They
are usually only ok players with more than 3 people
in a round
E. Some boys are lethal in larger groups
Remember you can quit at any time!
These games usually take place in noisy environments,
so you need to know how to count and bet using the
fingers of one hand only! It goes like this:
1. Index finger pointing outwards, hand parallel to
your body, palm inwards
2. Index and middle fingers pointing outwards, hand
parallel to your body, palm inwards
3. Index, middle and third fingers pointing outwards,
hand parallel to your body, palm inwards
4. Index, middle, third and fourth fingers pointing
outwards, hand parallel to your body, palm inwards
5. High Five with palm outwards. Can be made into
a mouth closing (with your thumb)
6. Make a fist showing palm inwards - extend the pinky
and thumb horizontally
7. Make a fist showing palm inwards - extend the index
finger downwards, and thumb at 90 degrees
8. Make a fist showing palm inwards - extend the index
finger towards 7 o'clock, and thumb at 90 degrees
or
Thumb and index finger to either side of your nose,
palm inwards - draw hand away away and downwards
9. Make a fist and raise the index finger second joint
10. Make a fist
That's easy then! Bet by making two separate hand
gestures. The first is your call, and the second the
number you are waging on.
Bet 'No number 1 allowed' by making the bet above,
then make a 'Thumbs-up' sign, and whisk it past your
head in a backwards direction (Passed your ear)
For numbers higher than 10, you simply combine a fist
(Number 10) with another number, as one motion - before
making the second number deliberately as a separate
motion
This is one of many Dice games, and the most popular.
Other versions can have small draughts of rice wine
as the penalty, and some are very lethal!
Chinese Chess
or 象 (xiáng) 棋 (qí )
Originated in India a long time ago - as did English
Chess. It is very complicated in a vaguely similar sort
of way. However, some researchers believe chess was
originally invented in China.
象 (xiáng) 棋 (qí )
translates to Elephant Game. In Mandarin it is written
as either Xiangqi, Xiang Qi or Hsiang-Ch`i and pronounced
"Shiang-Chi". In Cantonese it is written as
Jeuhng Keih and pronounced "Junk Kay". The
name is written as two Chinese characters. The first
is used in the game for the Elephant piece. The second
means strategy game, and it also signifies one of the
four arts -- qin (music), hua (brush painting), shu
(calligraphy) and qí (strategy games) -- that
a Chinese gentleman scholar was supposed to be proficient
in.
There is an excellent description of this game originally
written by Hans Bodlaender and subsequently edited by
Fergus Duniho. This is well supported with pictures
and graphical descriptions of the pieces. Information
on this link below:
http://www.chessvariants.org/xiangqi.html
Mah Jong
A very common game in China, that should be played for
money ... except Gambling is illegal in China
To the uninitiated, this game will appear to be quite
baffling, as will the different ways of spelling it's
name in English.
Below are some useful links to help you understand this
game:
• Simplified version - http://www.sloperama.com/mjfaq/mjfaq10.html
• Scoring system - http://santiago.mapache.org/games/mahjong/rules.html
• Full Rules version - http://www.mastersgames.com/rules/mah-jong-rules.htm
Chinese Poker or Sap Sam Cheung (十三張)
There are many card games, a most of which follow normal
Poker rules as according to Hoyle. Other card games
can be quite curious!
The standard poker game played in Southeast China, Vietnam
and East Asia is called simply '13 Cards'. Do not confuse
this with another common game called 'Big Two'.
You can find a good description of this game on the
link bellow:
http://www.pagat.com/partition/pusoy.html
|
|
| This
information is as supplied by the Chinese Embassy in
UK, as dated 20th June 2008, and/or other reliable sources.
Please check this information yourself as it may alter
without notice, and whilst we try our best to ensure
it is correct, please do not hold us responsible for
any errors - this is intended as a simple guide only |
|
| Search
this Website |
|
|
| Our
Friends |
Professional
Visa Services
Company
Formation Packages
.
|
Hollywood
in China
Traveling Workshops:
Film Production, Acting, Makeup, Modeling, Dance/Yoga,
and Voice.
Sacred Rainbow Tour spectacular
China 2010 |
Excellent
& Free Online Chinese Language Portal
Thousands of free print-friendly Chinese reference sheets,
tests and revision aids.
Easy Learning format &
Listen to Spoken Words |
British Foreign Office
Resource and Advice for Travellers Worldwide |
Chinese Embassy in UK
Information About China
International Relations
Visa & Consular |
UK Embassy in China
Information About UK
International Relations
Visa & Consular |
|
Excel
Education |
Languages Courses
Study Abroad
Employability
Summer Camps
Information for Teachers |
|
Excellent and relaxing base to
explore this most beautiful of regions in all China! |
Down The Road.org
How We Traded Our Ordinary Lives For a Global Bicycle Touring Adventure
See
Us in China |
Empowering Disadvantaged Children
& Their Communities = Worldwide |
Based in Shangri-la,
Yunnan
Province
Dedicated to Exploring Remote Areas of China
Committed to Nature Conservation and Preserving Ethnic
Cultures & Traditions
|
Based in Xi'an,
China's Premiere Travel Agency and International Travel
Community -
Committed to providing:
Best travel deals & current information for all
International Travellers |
Pearl Dragon
Vast
Online Trading and Information Resource
Link goes to Chinese Tourism and Galleries Section |
|
