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Chinese money cards

← Traditions

China · 132 cardsWikipedia ↗

Coins, Strings and Myriads, with flower cards, for the draw-and-group game Kowah.

Games

Kowah

Start

Make two equal-rank triples and an identical pair, then declare checki. Wait for the third identical card to win.

Rules

3 players · You against two AIs · One deal

  1. Objective

    • You and two AIs play individually. Form two triplets and an identical pair, declare checki, then take a third exact match to win. If the stock runs out without a winner, the deal is drawn.

  2. Setup

    • Kowah, also called Cheki, is traditional among Chinese communities in Indonesia and the Malay region. Use a compatible 120-card subset of this Chinese money pack: four each of Coins, Strings and Myriads 1–9, plus four each of the first three honours. Exclude the twelve White Snake, Green Snake and Monk extras.
    • The first three honours serve as Old Thousand, Red Flower and White Flower: three distinct kinds, never wild. Ordinary triplets match rank regardless of suit. Honours match only the same kind. Deal eight each and choose the first player randomly.

  3. Playing a turn

    • Draw from the stock or take the latest discard, then discard one to return to eight cards. The first turn must draw from stock.
    • After discarding, declare ready (checki) if your eight cards form two same-rank triples plus an identical pair. Ordinary triples may mix suits, such as Five of Coins, Five of Strings and Five of Myriads. The pair must also match suit, such as two Twos of Coins. Honour triples must still be of one identical kind.
    • If the pair shares a rank with a triple, those five cards must contain two of one suit, two of a second suit and one of the third. For example: two Fives of Coins, two Fives of Strings and one Five of Myriads. You may expose either the Coins pair or the Strings pair as your winning wait.
    • Use the public-waiting-pair variant. The declared eight cards are locked. Afterward draw a new card and discard that new card. A third exact match drawn or discarded by an opponent wins automatically, even out of turn. Multiple claims follow normal rotation priority.

  4. Scoring and ending

    • After any declaration, stock draws become public. A self-draw win is triple, claiming an opponent’s draw single, and claiming a discard double. Show the win multiplier without cash or match totals. If the final stock draw brings no winner, the deal is drawn.