How do I play?
Play your first round of Guandan
Start with what happens at the table. The essential rules stay in view; the denser details and terminology wait below when you need them.
The point of the game
You play the table with a partner, not just your own hand.
Four players form two fixed teams. Your partner sits opposite you: Blue holds seats 1 and 3, Red holds seats 2 and 4. Empty your hand early, but read every finish as a team result.
The first player out gives their partnership the round. Their partner finishing second, third, or fourth sets the advance: +3, +2, or +1 levels.
Your partner is across the table. Their cards are hidden, but their timing, passes, and finish place are part of every decision.
Your first round
How play moves around the table
Think in this loop. Setup matters, but you can learn it after you know what you are trying to do.
- 01
Lead
When the table is clear and it is your turn, lead any legal combination from your hand.
- 02
Answer or pass
Beat a normal play with the same type and shape at a higher strength, use a bomb, or pass. Passing is always voluntary while a play is on the table.
- 03
Clear the table
When every other active player has passed, the last unbeaten player takes control. The table clears and that player leads again.
- 04
Finish together
Going out first wins the round for your team. Where your partner finishes determines how far the team advances.
On your turn
Lead, follow, beat, pass, clear.
A clear table lets you lead any valid play. Otherwise, match the type and, for sequence plays, the length; then be stronger. A bomb may beat a normal play. After a bomb, only a stronger bomb can answer.
You may pass even with a legal answer. You are not out of the round: once the table clears, you can play again when the turn reaches you.
Practice a response at the table
Choose cards from a real practice hand. The trainer checks each response with the same combination validator used by the game.
Read the table
Recognize the shapes before you need them.
You do not need every edge case to start. Learn these shapes and the turn loop above; the app will only enable legal plays.
- Singles, pairs, triples
- The basic rank-matching plays.
- Five-card straight
- Natural consecutive ranks; A-2-3-4-5 is valid.
- Full house
- A triple plus a pair.
- Three consecutive pairs
- Six cards: three natural consecutive pairs.
- Two consecutive triples
- Six cards: two natural consecutive triples.
- Bombs
- Four to eight of a kind, straight flushes, and four Jokers.
Explore the combinations
Switch between legal examples and see the engine’s detected combination, including high Joker pairs and bombs.
Every round changes the deck
Level cards and wild cards
Teams begin at level 2 and climb toward Ace. The active level rank is higher than an ordinary Ace for rank-based comparisons, with black Jokers and then red Jokers above it.
The heart cards of the active level rank are 逢人配, the wild cards. They may stand in for normal non-Joker cards to make a legal play, including a bomb or straight flush. In sequences, ranks still use their natural order, so the level rank does not jump above Ace.
See a level rank become wild
Change the round level and identify the heart cards that become 逢人配. Tribute details stay for the later between-round section.
The score is a partnership result
Finish order moves the level.
A player finishes when their final play empties their hand. The first finisher’s team wins the round; the partner’s finish place sets the advance.
1st + partner 2nd
+3 levels
A sweep; the round ends immediately.
1st + partner 3rd
+2 levels
A decisive partnership result.
1st + partner 4th
+1 level
Still a round win, but the smallest advance.
If partners take first and second, the server assigns the losing team third and fourth and ends the round. If one player is left, that player is assigned fourth.
Compare finish orders
Use the same round-end display as the table to see how a sweep, +2, and +1 result are presented.
The next round remembers
Tribute, then prove Ace.
After the first round, the finish order can reshape the next deal before the opening lead.
Tribute happens between rounds
In standard tribute, the previous fourth-place player gives the previous first-place player their highest eligible card; first place returns a 2–10 card that is neither a Joker nor the active level rank. A heart level wild card cannot be tribute.
A first-and-second sweep triggers double tribute. Third place gives first, then fourth place gives; the higher tribute goes to first and the other to second. If they tie, this implementation assigns the earlier third-place tribute to first. Two red Jokers on the tribute-giving side defend against tribute, whether held by one player or split between them.
Walk through tribute
Compare standard tribute, double tribute, and a red-Joker defense in the same exchange display used during a match.
Ace is not an automatic match win
Reaching Ace gives a team a chance to finish the match. At Ace, a +2 or +3 round win ends it; a +1 result does not. The internal Ace stages track failed attempts before a reset to level 2.
Test the Ace outcomes
Compare the three possible partner finishes and see which results actually end the match at Ace.
When you want the fine print
Reference and table language
These details are useful once the first-round loop feels familiar.
Setup and the opening lead
Guandan uses two 54-card decks: 108 cards, including two red and two black Jokers. Every player receives 27 cards. In the first round, the player dealt the marked face-up card leads; later rounds deal first, then resolve tribute or its defense, then begin play.
Exact comparisons and bombs
Same-color Joker pairs are legal high pairs, and a triple plus a same-color Joker pair is a legal full house. Equal strength never beats the table play.
Bomb order is four of a kind, five of a kind, straight flush, six of a kind, seven of a kind, eight of a kind, then the four-Joker bomb. Within each category, the higher rank or straight wins.
Read a crowded hand
Group a practice hand to make overlapping pairs, straights, wild-card uses, and bomb possibilities easier to see.
Clearing, finishers, and Ace edge cases
If the player who last led a table play has already finished when the pass rotation returns, their active partner takes the cleared lead when possible; otherwise the next active seat does.
The match model uses Ace stages A1, A2, and A3. A weak +1 Ace win consumes an attempt, and a loss by the team currently calling Ace also advances that team’s Ace state. After the third non-winning Ace state, it returns to level 2.
Key Chinese terms
上游
shàngyóu
first finisher
逢人配
féng rén pèi
heart level-rank wild card
炸弹
zhàdàn
bomb
进贡 / 还贡
jìn gòng / huán gòng
tribute / return
Review the table vocabulary
Open the full compact glossary of terms you are most likely to hear at a Guandan table.
Ready for the table?
Play one round. Learn the rhythm with your partner.
Start a table with bots or friends when you are ready. If you want the story behind the rules first, read why Guandan matters.