Pao De Kuai

China’s Run Fast. Sixteen cards each, and if you can beat the last play you must. Run out first: everyone else scores a penalty point for each card left. 2–4 players.

Who To Play With

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How to play Pao De Kuai

  1. 1Two to four players. With two or three, play with 48 cards (the only 2 is the 2♠, and the A♠ is taken out) and deal 16 each; with two, the 16 left over sit out face down. With four, deal the whole deck, 13 each. Cards rank from 3 (low) up through K and A to 2 (high). Suits never matter.
  2. 2Plays are a single, a pair, two or more pairs in a row (like 5 5 6 6), a run of five or more ranks in a row, three of a kind with any two extra cards, a plane (two or more triples in a row, with two extras for each triple), or a bomb (four of a kind). 2s never go in runs, pairs in a row or planes.
  3. 3The player with the 3♠ opens the first deal and must play it (if nobody has it, the lowest card dealt opens). After that, whoever won the last deal leads.
  4. 4Going around, each player beats the last play with a higher one of the same kind and size. If you can beat it, you must: you may only pass when nothing you hold beats it. A bomb beats anything except a higher bomb. When nobody can beat a play, its player leads again with anything.
  5. 5Watch the player after you: once they're down to one card, any single you play must be your highest card. A triple with fewer than two extras, or a plane short of extras, is allowed only as your very last cards.
  6. 6The first player out wins the deal. Everyone else takes a penalty point for each card they still hold: nothing for a lone card, and double if they never got to play. The game ends after a deal that takes anyone to 40 points, and the lowest score wins.

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