Over the centuries, playing cards caught on in other countries and eventually reached France, where the 52-card deck consisting of four suits – diamonds, hearts, spades and clubs – appeared during the 15th century. Nowadays, this is the standard deck used in a multitude of games in practically every country around the world.

In China, playing cards can be an important time for families to bond, and there exists a plethora of popular Chinese card games, many of which share similarities with Western ones but go by different names. Playing with Chinese friends is a great way to socialize, as well as develop your language ability.  

Dou Dizhu 斗地主

"Beat the Landlord"

In addition to having a gloriously satisfying name, this three- or four-player game, thought to have originated in Hubei, is an ideal introduction to Chinese card games, with a strong community of people playing online.

Objective: The landlord must try to get rid of his or her cards before the other players. The game described here is the three-player version, but for four players, simply deal out all the cards without jokers.

Rules: To play the game, both jokers must be included, with the red joker (大王) holding a higher value than the black joker (小王). The card with the next highest value is 2, then A, K, Q, J, 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, and finally 3. Suits are irrelevant in this game.

The landlord (also the dealer) shuffles the cards and then offers them to the player on their left to cut. The dealer then deals out all cards. Each player should have 18 cards.

Each region has its own variations, so if you’re playing against a Sichuan ren, be sure to watch out for different names! But here’s how they go in Beijing: