Let me explain the rules of the game first. 'Gang of Four' is a card game for 4 players. There are 64 cards altogether, 16 for each player. There are three colours(suits) which rank from high to low - red, yellow, green. Number cards range from 1 to 10, and there are 6 of each number(2 of each colour). The last 4 cards are a President(P), 2 Vice Premiers(VP), and a Student Leader. You may be slightly amused by the names of the cards I just quoted. Actually the card game makes references to the China political situation, with the number cards representing different stratas of society of increasing power. Eg 1s are students, 2s are farmers... 10s are businessmen. Hence the 2 VPs rank above the numbers, and the President(with a picture of Mao) is the highest of them all. The Student Leader is another number 1(making 7 altogether), but can assume any colour for the purposes of flushes and ranks above the other 1s(ie. between green 2 and red 1).
For a new game, the player with the Student Leader leads first with that card as part of a play. The turn goes left anti-clockwise first and alternates with each deal. Possible plays are single card, pair, triplet or five-card hands. Five-card hands range high to low from - straight flush, full house, flush, straight. During their turn, players may choose to beat the current play by putting down a higher play of the same number of cards or pass. Ties are resolved with poker rules. After three passes, the last player who put down that play, wins control and can start a new lead. Four or more cards of the same number(gangs) are wild and may be played regardless of the number of cards in the current play. They can be beaten only by similiar gangs of a higher number, or gangs with more cards.
When a player is down to his last card, he must announce 'Last card' to warn the other players. If he is caught not doing so, he will then not be allowed to put down the card and win. The player directly preceding any player with one card(even if he cannot win!) must defend by putting down his highest single card if the play is so. If he has control, he is not allowed to play single card until he has exhausted all other alternatives, and even then, still has to follow the rule of playing his highest card.
Scoring is by the number of cards left in each player's hand after one player has won the deal by putting down all his cards. 1-7 scores basic, 8-10 double, 11-13 triple, 14-15 quardruple, 16 quintuple. Scores for each player are totalled at the end of each deal, and the game ends when one player has busted 100 points. The grand winner is then the player with the least number of points(just like Hearts). Else game continues with next deal. Biggest scorer(ties compare highest card/s left in hand) deals and has to give his highest card to the winner, who returns any card he chooses to him and gets first lead of any play he wants. Note:Both cards have to be revealed to all players.
Yah that's all the rules. Very easy to learn actually, but you need to play a few games to get the hang of it. People familiar with 'Big Two'/'Dai Di' will see the similiarities. And you don't really need the actual 'Gang of Four' cards either. In fact, we've lost our pack and have been using poker cards, which are more convenient too, for some time now. Just scrounge two packs, get rid of all picture cards and diamonds, throw in Ace of Diamonds(Student Leader), King of Spades(President) and two Jokers(VPs). Voila!
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