Tichu

A dynamic, multi-genre card shedding game that blends elements of Bridge, Daihinmin, and Poker.

Tichu is a partnership card game where two teams of two players compete, with partners seated opposite each other. Throughout the game, partners work together to score points and gain the lead. Played over a series of rounds, the objective is to be the first team to reach a predetermined point total.

The Tichu deck has 56 cards across four suits: Jade, Swords, Pagodas, and Stars. Each suit contains 13 cards ranked from 2 to 10, followed by Jack, Queen, King, and Ace. Additionally, there are four special cards: the Dragon, the Phoenix, the Hound, and the Mah Jong.

Each player is initially dealt eight cards. At this point, a player may declare "Grand Tichu," a 200-point bet that they will be the first to play all their cards. Once players decide on this call, six more cards are dealt to each, after which "Grand Tichu" can no longer be declared. Now, and before playing their first card, a player may call "Tichu," a 100-point bet that they (not their partner) will go out first. The key differences between Grand Tichu and Tichu are the timing of the call, the number of cards seen, and the point value.

After all 56 cards are dealt (14 per player), the exchange phase begins. Every player must pass one card face down to each of the other three players. This means each player gives away three cards and receives three new ones in return.

Following the exchange, the player holding the Mah Jong leads the first trick. They may play any valid card combination. Subsequent players must either pass or play a higher-ranking combination of the same type (with "Bombs" as a special exception, discussed later). For example, a single card is beaten only by a higher single card; a sequence of pairs requires a higher sequence of the same number of pairs. The player who plays the highest combination collects the trick and leads the next one. If that player has no cards left, they have "gone out," and the lead passes to the player on their right. A round ends when both members of a team have no cards left, meaning at least two—and often three—players must go out. If only one player remains with cards, they are penalized; their hand is given to the opponents, and their won tricks go to the first player who went out.

The game concludes when a team meets or exceeds the total point target set before the game began.

More support in English: https://support.lazyland.com/196428-Tichu