- The objective of Gong Zhu: not losing and becoming the pig.
- Number of players: 4 to 5 players
- Materials: standard 52-card deck, a way to keep score, and a flat surface.
- Type of game: trick-taking card game
- Audience: adult
Gong Zhu, the card game, is quite similar to the hearts. The famous game Gong Zhu works as a trick-taking card game that has four to five players. Whenever they are playing, there are the possibilities for playing with the partners with teams that are sitting opposite of each other.
If you reach that point, then you have lost, and you become the Pig. The Pig is the one that is made to do something or wear something that will be quite embarrassing for signifying that you have lost the game.
Contents
Setup
For setting up for the Gong Zhu trick-taking game, the two clubs and Diamonds need removal. For the 4 player game, there is a need to keep all the cards. The dealer is also chosen randomly and then passes after each hand to the left.
The dealer is given the role of shuffling and dealing all the cards out to the players one at a time, and they will have to do that in the clockwise direction. Once the hands are received, the game can Begin.
Card Rankings and Values
The cards get the ranking traditionally. In this game, you can see that aces are the highest, followed by king, queen, jack, 10, 9,8,7,6,5,4,3,2. That said, here 2 is the lowest. There is no trump in the game, so there is also no availability of the suit that will be outranking another in the game.
You may come across the phases where there are also values attached to some cards. The queen of the Spades is worth -100 points. In case they are winning in a trick again, the ace of hearts bears -50points, the king of Hearts holds the value of -40 points, the queen of Hearts is worth -30.
The jack of the hearts holds the value of -20. Besides, there are 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5 of the hearts that are worth -10 points. The 4,3,2 of the hearts are also the ones that you will have to note. The jack of the diamonds holds a value of +100 points.
There are certain cards in certain conditions that are under the circumstances that changed points scored. For the 13 cards, you will get the 10 of the clubs holding the value of +50 points. In some cases, it behaves as the only card that a player wins. The chances are there that it can behave as the positive or negative points.
In case you win the other scoring standard 10 of the clubs, it’s worth noting but Doubles all the point values of the Other cards for the player. In case the player wins all the hearts, then the score is + 200 points. In case the queen of the spades is won, then this is scoring + 300 points.
Gameplay of Gong Zhu
The gameplay, in this case, is standard for the trick-taking game. The player will have to hold the two of the hearts and start the game in the future hands. The player who had previously won the queen of the spade is the one that starts around.
The player can also lead any card from their hand or such following. Players must always follow suit. The player that plays the highest-ranked card will be winning the trick and also lead the next. All such cards are also kept in a face-down pile that is next to the player.
Exposure of the Card
Before the game, players always hold the ace of hearts, Jack of diamonds, Queen of spades, 10 of clubs. All such cards expose for giving certain benefits.
Whenever the card is exposed, there’s the opportunity to change the number of the points scored, and so the ace of hearts is responsible for making all the hearts the double points as inclusive of all the hearts. There may be the chances that the queen of the spades will be doubling the point value.
The jack of Diamonds is also doubled, thus given to the bigger value. The 10 of the clubs will be quadrupling the value of the card that will be applicable or will be worth +100 points. Whenever there is an exposure of the card, you cannot use it in the first trick unless there is only one card playable.
Also, in case the player leads the suit of the exposed card, you can also play that card until it is your only option. Right after all the strategies have been applied, the tricks are won by the players and can determine the scores. The running score is always kept over the several hands for the game.
End of the Gong Zhu
The game ends with the negative 1000 points, and this player is the Pig and is usually embarrassed in some way.
