Tam cúc

Tam cúc (三菊, "three chrysanthemums") is a multi-trick card game popular in Northern Vietnam. Tam Cúc is not just played for entertainment, but also played in ceremonies and festivals. It is commonly played during New Year celebrations, while waiting for bánh chưng to cook. Tam cúc is mostly played by women because the number of cards is less than in the Tổ tôm, which is more common among men. It is similar to the games of Cart-Horse-Cannon (Chēmǎbāo 車馬包) from Fujian, Throw the Tiger (Zhìhǔ 擲虎) from Taiwan, and Noble (Giog 爵) from Malaysia.

Card set

The seven ranks of tam cúc cards (General, Major, Elephant, Cart, Cannon, Horse and Soldier), in red and black suits

Tam cúc uses a deck of 32 Chinese chess cards divided into two suits: red and black. Each suit is divided into seven ranks: 1 general (tướng 將), 2 majors (sĩ 士), 2 elephants (tượng 象), 2 carts (xe 車), 2 cannons (pháo 砲), 2 horses (mã 馬), and 5 soldiers (tốt 卒). The black suit's general is called female general (tướng bà 將婆), and the red suit's general is called male general (tướng ông 將翁). The red suit's majors are called scholars (sĩ điều 士條). The rest of the cards are addressed by their name and color. The ranks on each card are written in Chữ Hán (Chinese characters). Notably, the ranks are written the same as the black-side pieces of Cờ tướng for both red and black suits.

Rules

Setting

The Tam Cúc deck is divided from high to low in rank. The General is the highest rank, followed by Major, Elephant, Cart, Cannon, Horse and Soldier. A card in the red suit is ranked higher than a black card of the same rank.

Combinations of cards are:

Pair

Same color and same rank, e.g. pair of red Cannons, or pair of black Majors.

Three-card combo

The cards General + Major + Elephant; or Cart + Cannon + Horse of the same color. Other combinations (such as Major + Elephant + Cart; or Elephant + Cart + Cannon) are not valid three-card combos.

Four sons

4 Soldier cards of the same color.

Five sons

5 Soldier cards of the same color.

How to play

The objective is to win the most rounds or to collect the most cards for a predetermined number of games.

Tam Cúc can be played with two to four players. When played with three players, one red soldier and one black soldier will not be used, forming a 30-card deck. Alternatively, five cards can be discarded to form a 27-card deck: the two generals, one red major, one red soldier, and one black soldier.

To begin, one person will shuffle the cards, and another will be designated to play as the House (Nhà Cái), i.e. the leader for the round. There are many ways to designate the House player: the oldest, the most experienced, the highest-ranked drawn, etc. One way to become the House is for players to call out the name of the card as they are dealt. The first player to get the card they called will become the House. For following rounds, the House will be established by the next person sitting to the right. Alternatively, the next House player could be the winner or loser of the previous round.

The House for the current round shuffles and deals out all the cards evenly to each player. The House will lay their cards face-down first and call out the number of cards that they played: a single card, two cards, or three cards. The following players will lay face-down the same number of cards. After all players have placed their cards, the House will reveal their hand by flipping their placed cards face-up. Each player may reveal their hand to challenge the current round, or accept defeat by throwing away their placed cards face-down into a discard pile. Accepting defeat allows players to keep their cards hidden and thus keep secret the remaining cards in play. The player who revealed the highest-ranked hand will win the current round and collect all played cards. The House player for the next round is determined and rounds repeat until all cards have been played.

Special cases

If a player has four or five soldiers of the same colour (four sons or five sons), they show their hand and win automatically, becoming the House.

When the last round is played, if the House calls a black soldier pair (the lowest combination possible) or three black soldiers and if the hand is won, more points will be added to the player for making the most out of the lowest-ranked cards. In some areas, the players may exchange some of their cards in secret face-down to make better their hands. This is called "night walker" (đi đêm).

Tam Cúc in literature

Tam Cúc is a common game among the people. It has become a trademark for New Years and other large festivals or celebrations, so many famous Vietnamese poets and writers had talked about this game in their work. The famous poet Hoàng Cầm wrote in his poem “Cây Tam Cúc”:

...Tướng sĩ đỏ đen chui sấp ngửa

Ổ rơm thơm đọng tuổi đương thì...

...Em đi đêm tướng điều sĩ đỏ

Đổi xe hồng đưa Chị đến quê Em...

...Thả tịnh vàng cưới Chị võng mây trôi

Em đứng nhìn theo Em gọi đôi.

The famous poet Hồ Dzếnh described the Tam Cúc deck:

"...Từ đó mỗi mùa đào nở

Pháo xe lại rộn cây bài

Có độ anh về, có độ

Vắng anh, em nhớ mong hoài..."

Poet Trần Đăng Khoa in a poem about playing Tam Cúc:

"Đây là tướng ông

Chân đi hài đỏ

Đây là tướng bà

Tóc hiu hiu gió

Đây là con ngựa

Chân có bụi đường"