Guandan Rule The rule book · Part 01
How to Play
Four players in two teams, two decks, 27 cards each. Empty your hand first — but bring your partner with you. Here is every rule of the loop.
Beat what is on the table
You must match the leader’s combo type and card count with a higher hand. If you cannot — or would rather save your cards — you pass. When the other three all pass, the last player to play leads again.
The combos
Single · Pair · Triple · Full house (triple + pair) · Straight (exactly 5 in a row, 10-J-Q-K-A high, A-2-3-4-5 low) · Pair run (exactly three consecutive pairs, AAKKQQ high, AA2233 low) · Triple run (exactly two consecutive triples, 777888). None of these can be extended.
Bombs break the rules
A bomb beats any normal combo regardless of type. More cards is stronger; on equal size the higher rank wins. Four jokers — the royal bomb — beats everything.
Rank card and the wild
The rank card is the strongest single below the jokers. Only its two HEARTS are wild — they substitute for anything but a joker, which is how bombs can reach ten cards.
End of a round
The round ends once two players empty their hands; your team’s two finishing places decide the payout and the promotion.
Rules vary by region
Local variants are common. In Huai’an the card returned in the tribute (进贡) phase can be anything; the Nanjing style requires a low card, 10 or below. The “three failed A rounds” rule — dropping the team back to rank 2 — is used in some places and ignored in others. This app follows the 2017 national ruleset.