Description

This Chinese climbing game for five players is said to have originated in Shandong province, and in the early 21st century it has become popular across a wide area of northern China and online. B?o huáng (??) means 'protect the emperor', and the game is also often known as dìwáng (??) meaning 'emperor'. In each deal two players, the emperor and his protector the eunuch (xiao baozi: ???), play against a team of three, the farmers or people (ping min: ??). The emperor and the eunuch are the holders of particular cards. While the emperor is known from the start, his protector remains hidden until the card is played.

As in all climbing games the object is to get rid of one's cards (and help one's partners to do so) by playing them singly or in combinations, where each play must beat the previous play.

There are five players and a pack of 168 cards is used. This can be constructed from four standard 52-card packs from which the 3's, 4's and 5's are removed plus four red jokers and four black jokers. Suits are irrelevant in this game, and the cards rank from high to low:

Red joker, Black joker, 2, A, K, Q, J, 10, 9, 8, 7, 6.

One red joker and one black joker are marked on the front, and the holders of these two cards will be the emperor and the eunuch respectively. Although standard Anglo-American cards can be used, the game is sufficiently popular that special 168-card packs can be obtained for this game with the emperor and eunuch cards ready printed.