Chinese Card Game: Big Two 大老二

One of the easiest way to spend family time on a long trip is through card games. They are cheap, a pack of cards is now 2 for one dollar and they are portable. Everyone can join in and usually with the element of chance involved, everyone has a chance to win at least some of the time. We have in the recent past spent time playing UNO, fish, hearts, and various complicated games made up by our daughter with rules that adjust to fit her particular mood or desire for the moment.

I assumed one such game seemed complicated and unpredictable enough that it was something our daughter made up, but I was wrong. Then I assumed it was something that my wife made up perhaps to gratify a desire to cheat in card games, but I was also wrong (at least this time.) It was actually the Chinese card game, Big Two. I admit that I am not a real expert in card games. For example, some people have their bridge clubs, which incidentally are popular among Chinese as well, but I never really learned them…probably because I had more of a desire to play war games. So, I don’t have much to compare it to, except that it seems to me to be a little like a cross between hearts 紅心 and poker 撲克.. The objective is to get rid of all of ones cards as quickly as possible 最先把手上的牌打掉的人贏. When I get that far, I’ll update you.