Rules of Chan (Chắn)
Chan is a traditional Vietnamese card game derived from To Tom. It is a sophisticated game played with 100 cards and 4 players.
1. The Cards
The deck consists of 100 cards. There are 3 suits: Vạn, Sách, and Văn. Each suit has numbers from 2 (Nhị) to 9 (Cửu). There are 4 copies of each card. Additionally, there are 4 Chi Chi cards.
2. Basic Setup
- Players: 4 players.
- Dealing: Each player is dealt 19 cards.
- The Nọc: The remaining cards are placed in the center as the draw pile.
3. Gameplay Loop
Players aim to form sets:
- Chắn: A pair of identical cards (same suit, same number).
- Cạ: A pair of cards with the same number but different suits.
On your turn, you can:
- Draw from the Nọc.
- "Eat" (Ăn) the discard from the previous player to form a Chắn or Cạ.
- Discard a card.
4. Winning (Ù)
You win (Ù) when your hand (19 cards) plus one card drawn or taken forms a complete set of Chắn and Cạ, with at least 6 Chắn.
5. Scoring (Cước)
Victory points are calculated based on the complexity of the winning hand (Cước):
- Xuông: Basic win.
- Thiên Ù: Win immediately after dealing.
- Địa Ù: Win on the first draw.
- Tôm: Hand contains Tam Vạn, Tam Sách, Thất Văn.
- Lèo: Hand contains Cửu Vạn, Bát Sách, Chi Chi.
- Bạch Thủ: Winning while waiting for a specific card to form the final Chắn.