Four Color Cards

Four Color Cards (四色牌) is a very popular game that has a relatively long history in China. They seem to be derived from Mahjong (playing style) and Xiangqi (the names of the pieces in Xiangqi are used on the cards). The cards were typically used by the lower class to play gambling games, and were intended to be easy and cheap to make. This is because gambling was illegal in China and there was a need for cards that could be disposed off easily. Because of the lower class connection, the rules are seldom written down and often they are passed down orally.

= Deck =

A standard deck consists of 112 cards, comprised of four suits of cards. Each suit has 28 cards which comprises cards printed with each of the 7 pieces of Xiangqi, repeated 4 times (like in Mahjong).

* General
* Advisor
* Elephant
* Chariot
* Horseman
* Cannon
* Soldier

= Objective =

The objective of this game is very similar to Mahjong, which is to achieve a winning hand consisting of melds of the following arrangements:

One-card Meld

This meld can only be formed using the General card. Thus every General card is a one-card meld by itself unless combining them together allows the player to get more points as shown in the following cases. Every one-card meld scores one point, whether it is exposed or in the player's hand.

Two-card Meld

This meld can only be formed with any two identical cards. However, this meld scores no points and therefore, two General cards are almost always treated separately as one-card melds to score one point each for a total of two points. For the non-General cards, players often aim to complete a three-card meld by calling "Pong" when a third identical card is drawn by oneself or the opponent.

It is important to note that cards with identical characters but different colours cannot be used to form two-card melds.

Three-card Meld

There are a couple of types for three-card melds:

Command Group

This meld consists of a General, Advisor, and Elephant in the same suit (colour). This scores one point whether it is exposed or in the player's hand. Thus there is no reason for the General card to be used in this way unless it is to achieve the winning hand quickly and the player has enough points from other melds.

Field Group

This meld consists of a Chariot, Horseman, and Cannon in the same suit (colour). This scores one point whether it is exposed or in the player's hand.

Triple

Analogous to the pong in Mahjong, this meld is formed by three identical cards (in both suit and rank). This scores one point when it is exposed and three points when in the player's hand (with the exception of the General card). A triple of the General card scores three points whether it is exposed or in the player's hand (treat each General card as a one-card meld).

Three Different Colour Group

This meld consists of three identical cards in rank but in different colours. This scores one point whether it is exposed or in the player's hand.

Four-card Meld

There are a couple of types for four-card melds:

Quadruple

Analogous to the kong in Mahjong, this meld is formed by four identical cards (in both suit and rank). This scores six points when it is exposed and eight points when in the player's hand. This is the only scenario where the General card should not be treated separately as one-card melds since a quadruple scores more points than the four points of the four one-card melds.

Four Different Colour Group

This meld consists of four identical cards in rank but in different colours. This scores four points whether it is exposed or in the player's hand.

=External links=
* [http://www.ofb.net/~whuang/ugcs/gp/ssp/ Four Colour Cards rules]