These are the rules this product actually plays by. They follow Huai’an (national competition) Guandan, with a few explicit online-table conventions noted below.
1. Players, partners, and goal
Four players in two partnerships: seats 1 & 3 are one team; seats 2 & 4 are the other (partners sit opposite).Play proceeds counterclockwise (seat index increasing: 0→1→2→3). Next player is on your right; previous on your left.Two standard decks (108 cards). Each player is dealt 27 cards.The match starts at level 2, then advances: 2 → 3 → 4 → 5 → 6 → 7 → 8 → 9 → 10 → J → Q → K → A.The first partnership to clear Ace wins. You must actually play Ace; you cannot skip past Ace by leveling alone.2. Level cards and single-card order
When the deal level is X, every suit of X is a level card (参谋).
Singles, high to low:
Big Joker > Small Joker > Level card > A > K > Q > J > 10 > 9 > 8 > 7 > 6 > 5 > 4 > 3 > 2Notes:
Suit never affects single-card strength.A lone level card ranks below Small Joker and above Ace (when playing Ace, Ace itself is the level card).Inside straights / tubes / plates, X still occupies its natural rank (e.g. at level 5, 5 sits between 4 and 6). Being a level card does not move it next to Ace.3. Wilds (Heart level cards)
At level X, the two Heart X (♥X) cards are wilds. Other suits of X are ordinary level cards, not wilds.Allowed: substitute for any non-joker rank/suit to form a legal hand.Not allowed: - stand in for Big/Small Joker;
- join the four-joker bomb;
- be tributed as the “largest card” (tribute must be the largest non-wild).
If not mapped, a wild may also be played as natural rank X (Heart level card).When several legal readings exist (e.g. a wild completing a straight high or low), this product prefers a reading that beats the current trick, otherwise the stronger reading.Examples (level = 2, wild = ♥2):
♣8 + ♥2 → pair of 8s666 + ♥2 → four-of-a-kind bomb of 6s4 5 6 8 + ♥2 → straight 4-5-6-7-8 (or 5-6-7-8-9)♦7 ♦8 ♦9 ♦J + ♥2 → straight flush 7-8-9-10-J55 67 7 + ♥2 → tube 55-66-77333 44 + ♥2 → plate 333-4444. Legal hand types
“Consecutive” always means the natural rank chain:
A-2-3-4-5-6-7-8-9-10-J-Q-K-A
Constraints:
Ace may be low (A-2-3-4-5) or high (10-J-Q-K-A), never both ends at once.Wrapping is illegal, e.g. Q-K-A-2-3, J-Q-K-A-2, K-A-2 (as a tube).Ordinary hands
Single: any 1 card.Pair: 2 of the same rank (wilds allowed).Triple: 3 of the same rank.Full house: 3 of a kind + a pair; cannot accompany two unmatched singles; compare by the triple only.Straight: exactly 5 consecutive singles; mixed suits OK.Tube: exactly 3 consecutive pairs (6 cards). Not 2 pairs, not 4+ pairs.Plate: exactly 2 consecutive triples (6 cards). Not 3+ consecutive triples.Bomb system
Bomb: ≥4 of the same rank (wilds may fill).Straight flush: exactly 5 consecutive cards of one suit.Joker bomb: 2 Big + 2 Small Jokers — strongest hand in the game.5. Beating the trick
Same-type comparison
Single / pair / triple / tube / plate / straight / straight flush: compare primary rank (for runs, the highest card). Suit ignored.Full house: compare the triple only.Bomb: more cards beat fewer; same length compares rank.Joker bomb: beats everything.Cross-type rules (important)
Ordinary types cannot beat a different ordinary type. A straight cannot beat a full house; a tube cannot beat a straight. You must play a higher same-type hand, or use the bomb system.
Bomb ladder, high to low:
Joker bombLonger bombs beat shorter bombs (rank ignored)Straight flush beats bombs of ≤5 cards; among straight flushes, compare the high cardBombs of ≥6 cards beat straight flushesAny bomb beats every non-bomb ordinary handSummary:
| Category | Relative strength |
|---|
| Ordinary hands | Same type only |
| 4-card bomb | Weakest bomb |
| 5-card bomb | Beats 4-bomb |
| Straight flush | Beats 4/5-bombs |
| 6+ bomb | Beats straight flush; longer is stronger |
| Joker bomb | Strongest |
Trick flow
The leader plays a legal hand — that becomes the current trick.Counterclockwise: pass, or play a strictly stronger legal cover.Three consecutive passes (finished players skip) end the trick; the last player to play leads next.Partner wind: if you empty your hand and nobody covers, your partner (opposite) leads the next trick.When a deal ends
When a third player finishes, the deal ends; the remaining player is 4th.If one partnership takes 1st and 2nd (double-down), the deal ends immediately; the other two are the losing side.6. Tribute, return, and resist
Runs after the previous deal ends and the next deal is dealt, before normal play.
Single tribute (not a double-down)
4th tributes to 1st: their largest non-wild card.1st returns a card of point value ≤ 10 that is not a wild.First lead of the deal: the tributer (4th).Double tribute
Both losers tribute one largest non-wild each to the winning side.1st takes the stronger tribute and returns to that player; 2nd takes the weaker and returns.Equal tributes: clockwise from 1st’s seat, the first tributer encountered belongs to 1st.First lead: whoever tributed the stronger card; if equal, the player who tributed to 1st leads.Resist
Single: 4th holds both Big Jokers → resist (no tribute/return); 1st leads.Double: the losing pair each hold one Big Joker, or one of them holds both → resist; 1st leads.7. Leveling and clearing Ace
Only the partnership that took 1st levels up; the other side stays put:
| Partner’s finish | Level gain |
|---|
| 2nd (opponents double-down) | +3 |
| 3rd | +2 |
| 4th | +1 |
More:
Levels cap at Ace. Example: at King, +3 reaches Ace — that is not clearing Ace; you must still play at least one Ace deal.Clear Ace (match win): your side’s current level is Ace, you take 1st, and your partner is 2nd or 3rd.Ace deal where you take 1st but partner is 4th (+1), or you miss 1st → do not clear Ace; stay on Ace.This product does not drop back to 2 after failing Ace thrice — you keep playing Ace.The UI shows both sides’ levels, e.g. “Us 8 / Them 5”.
8. Other product conventions
Match tables and bot fill
Junior / Senior / Grandmaster match tables award career points (registered humans only; bots are skipped).While waiting, if the table already has at least two humans, you may fill empty seats with bots and start. Points still count — this is not Practice.A lone player cannot fill with bots. To play alone vs bots, use Practice.The same fill rules apply to friend tables.Practice arena
Practice is always 1 human + 3 bots and does not award career points.Practice has drills, coach highlights, and bot speed controls; match fill tables do not.Others can see practice tables in the lobby but cannot join.Seating and partners
Tap an empty seat. Opposite seats are partners (1↔3 team A, 2↔4 team B). You may switch before the deal starts.When full, seat 1 (or the host) starts the deal.Timeouts and illegal plays
Default think time about 30 seconds: auto-pass when following; if you must lead, auto-play the smallest reasonable card.First lead of the opening deal is chosen at random.Illegal plays are rejected; there is no competition-style “forfeit the whole deal” penalty.Partner reveal: after you finish, if your partner still has cards, you can see their remaining hand on your client only (to help coordinate).9. Glossary
| Chinese | English |
|---|
| 级牌 / 参谋 | Level card |
| 逢人配 | Wild / Heart wild |
| 三带对 / 夯 | Full house |
| 顺子 / 杂花顺 | Straight |
| 木板 / 三连对 | Tube |
| 钢板 | Plate |
| 同花顺 / 火箭 | Straight flush |
| 天王炸 / 四大天王 | Joker bomb |
| 头游 / 二游 / 三游 / 末游 | 1st / 2nd / 3rd / 4th |
| 双下 | Double-down |
| 进贡 / 还贡 / 抗贡 | Tribute / Return / Resist |
| 借风 | Partner leads after you finish |
| 过 A | Clear Ace (match win) |