Gong Zhu
 | |
| Alternative names | Chinese Hearts, Chase the Pig |
|---|---|
| Type | trick-taking |
| Players | 4 |
| Age range | All ages |
| Cards | 52 |
| Deck | Anglo-American |
| Rank (high→low) | A K Q J 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 |
| Related games | |
| Hearts | |
Gong Zhu (拱猪) is a trick-taking card game, and is a Chinese version of the game Hearts. It differs from the standard Hearts game by assigning special point values to cards. The pig is also the name that is given to the queen of spades.
All players start with 0 points. The goal is to not be the first person to go past -1000 points (thus losing the game). The loser(s) becomes the pig, as Gong Zhu means "chase the pig" in Chinese. All points accumulate until any player(s) have lost, for which the game ends and all points will be reset to 0. There is no passing in Gong Zhu like there is in Western Hearts.
Point values
- The jack of diamonds (goat) is worth +100 points
- The queen of spades (pig) is worth -100 points
- The 10 of clubs counts as zero points, but doubles your points at the end of a round and adds it to your accumulated points. Generally, players go in the negative, so this card is arguably helpful. If at the end of a round, a player has the 10 of clubs and no other point cards, the 10 of clubs is worth +50 points.
- The Hearts:
- Ace -50 points
- King -40 points
- Queen -30 points
- Jack -20 points
- 10 through 5 are worth -10 points
- 4 through 2 are worth no points
- All other cards are worth 0 points and do not play a part in scoring.
Exposure of cards
In Gong Zhu, you may expose ("sell") the queen of spades, the jack of diamonds, the 10 of clubs, or the ace of hearts (affecting all hearts) before each round if you have any of the cards. Exposing a card doubles its effect. For example, if the queen of spades is doubled, it will be worth -200 instead of -100. In the case of the 10 of clubs, since it isn't worth anything in itself, the doubling effect of the 10 of clubs is doubled, which if exposed and taken by that same player, will quadruple the value of all the other point cards.
- If the queen of spades, 10 of clubs and ace of hearts have been exposed and you have these three cards after one round, then you will receive -1200 (4*((-100*2)+(-50*2))) points.
- If the ace of hearts has been exposed and you have all hearts but the ace of hearts, you will receive -300 (2*(-150)) points.
Playing
In each turn, similar to Hearts, the suit is determined by the dealer who produces the first card. Players take turns to play a card in an anticlockwise direction and whoever produces the card of the largest value in the same suit collects all four cards and becomes the next dealer.
If you possess any exposed cards, you are not allowed to play it the first time any dealer plays any card in its corresponding suit, unless your exposed card is the only card in the same suit.
- If you own the queen of spades (which is the only spades card in your possession) and decides to expose it, the first time any dealer plays a spades card, you must play it.
- If you own the queen of spades and decide to expose it, but you do own other spades cards, then the first time any dealer plays a spades card, you must play the other spades cards.
Scoring
There are multiple ways to shoot the moon. Gong Zhu differs from hearts in that you gain points by shooting the moon, instead of other players losing points. In some cases, the jack of diamonds and the queen of spades switch values, giving negative points to unsuspecting players. If you add up the value of all of the hearts, you get -200 points. Hence,
- If you get all of the hearts, you have shot the moon and are awarded +200 points.
- If you get all of the hearts AND the 10 of clubs, you are awarded +400 points.
- If you get all of the hearts AND the queen of spades, you are awarded +300 points.
- If you get all of the hearts AND the 10 of clubs AND the queen of spades, you are awarded +600 points.
- In some variations, if you get the queen of diamonds, every trick you win after the trick in which the queen of diamonds was won is worth 10 points.
- If you get all the cards, the game ends and all the other players loses.
External links
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