If you want to play a compendium (actually a sort of hybrid) of original (traditional) Chinese games mentioned in this issue of GiocAreA, then try ZHENG FEN. With this game, for example, you will try the typical mechanics of CHOI DAI DI as regards the use of card combinations to win tricks, and you will approach the score system used by games like DAI BAI FEN (however, this game has a different card hierarchy and has a higher complexity, being a trick-taking game with concepts like “triumph of suit” and single cards).
You will also spot some mechanism of social climbing typical of the widely spread ZHENG SHANGYOU.
Regarding ZHENG FEN (which means, more or less, “competing for points”), in this article we will refer to concepts excerpted from an old article by Axel Schmale revised by John McLeod, together with our clarifications based on comparisons with other sources as well as analysis concerning Chinese card games mechanics.

Three to six players are allowed, each one playing for himself; we suggest starting with four players, and we will implicitly refer to this version from now on.

A standard 52 card deck with classical suits of Hearts , Diamonds , Spades and Clubs is required, with the addition of a Red Joker (named “Grand Joker”) and a Black Joker.
The card value is, in ascending order:

3 < 4 < 5 < 6 < 7 < 8 < 9 < 10 < J < Q < K < A < 2 < Joker < Grand Joker.

There is no suit hierarchy: so it can happen for certain cards or combinations to have the same value.
We are talking about a trick-taking game; the object is winning the twelve cards which are worth points: all the 5’s, worth 5 points each; all the 10’s and all the K’s, worth 10 points each. So, in each match there is a total of 100 points. The first player to reach or go past 500 points is the winner.

Both the card distribution and the turns proceed counter-clockwise. For the first match, a random player shuffles the cards and lets the player on his right cut the deck.
As a rule of thumb, Chinese players don’t actually deal the cards; instead, the deck is placed at the centre of the table, face down, and starting from the player to the right of the dealer and proceeding counter-clockwise each player draws the first card of the deck, face down, holding it in front of him (he may look at it) until the deck runs out of cards (it does not matter if, playing with 4 or 5 players, someone will get a card less than the others).
For the first match only, the player with the 3 starts (in the following rounds, the winner of the previous trick starts the new one); in the following matches, the player who tallied the worst score in the previous match will shuffle the cards, while the first to begin drawing cards (as well as the first to play) will be the player who tallied the best score in the previous match.
The current player may play either a single card or more than a card, according to ten different possibilities. We refer to the best combination as Special, recalling those old pinball games of the 60’s of the last century.

The current player can play, at his choice (notice that the Full House is different from classical Poker combination with the same name):

1. Single card
exactly one card only; it always holds the hierarchy above, so Jokers are the highest cards.

2. Pair
a pair of cards with identical value, e.g. 7-7 or J-J. A Joker can take the place of any card, acquiring its nominal value.

3. Three of a kind
three cards with the same value, e.g. 9-9-9 or Q-Q-Q. A Joker can take the place of any card, acquiring its nominal value.

4. Four of a kind
four cards with the same value, e.g. 10-10-10-10. A Joker can take the place of any card, acquiring its nominal value.

5. Straight of Pairs
three or more Pairs in an uninterrupted series (suit does not matter), e.g. 4-4-5-5-6-6-7-7. Straights are not “circular” (i.e. the lowest one is 3-3-4-4-5-5). Pay attention to the positioning of the 2’s, which are after the A’s (e.g. K-K-A-A-2-2), but not before the 3’s. Note: the combination value is given by the highest pair. In case of a tie, the longest straight wins (e.g. 7-7-8-8-9-9 beats 6-6-7-7-8-8, while 6-6-7-7-8-8-9-9 beats 7-7-8-8-9-9). A Joker can take the place of any card, acquiring its nominal value.

6. Straight of Three of a kind
three or more Three of a kind in uninterrupted series, regardless of suit, e.g. 4-4-4-5-5-5-6-6-6. Note: the combination value is given by the highest pair. A Joker can take the place of any card, acquiring its nominal value.

7. Straight of Four of a kind
no less than three Four of a kind in uninterrupted series, e.g. 4-4-4-4-5-5-5-5-6-6-6-6. Note: the combination value is given by the highest pair. A Joker can take the place of any card, acquiring its nominal value.

8. Full House
three cars with the same value, plus two cards which, oddly in this game, must not necessarily make a pair. More precisely, there are four possibilities:
a) Three of a kind + Pair, e.g. 8-8-8-J-J;
b) Three of a kind + two cards which are near in value and of the same suit, e.g. 8-8-8-A-2;
c) Three of a kind + any one 3’s + any one card, e.g. 8-8-8-3-J;
d) Three of a kind + two cards which are worth points (5’s, 10’s, K’s), e.g. 8-8-8-10-K.
Note: the combination value is given by the value of the Three of a kind making up the Full House. Given the use of Jokers, a tie between Three of a Kind of two Full Houses it is possible: in this case, each Full House negates the other, regardless of the kind of Full House and the value of the other two cards. A Joker can take the place of any card, acquiring its nominal value.

9. Straight Flush
five or more cards of the same suit in uninterrupted series (e.g. J-Q-K-A-2). Note: the combination value is given by the highest card. A Joker can take the place of any card, acquiring its nominal value.

10. Special
the following special combinations, listed here in decreasing order, beat any other non-Special combination:

a. four 2’s, e.g. 2-2-2-2
b. a 5 + a 10 + a K all of the same suit, e.g. 5-10-K
c. a 5 + a 10 + a K of different suits, e.g. 5-10-K.

In Special combinations, Jokers are not allowed.

To win a trick, following players (remember, in counter-clockwise order) wanting to win the trick have to play in their turn a combination of the same kind of the last one played, but with a higher value – or they can opt to “pass”. You cannot play a combination with the same value of another one already played.
When it is allowed, a Joker can take the place of any one card, acquiring its nominal value but not the score value (Jokers are worth no points) where it stays for 5’s, 10’s or K’s.
Combinations like a Three of a kind made up by 7-Joker-Joker are allowed and their value is the same of, say, 7-7-7 or similar. The colour of the Joker has no meaning with respect to the card it is taking the place of (that is, the Black Joker can stand even for a red card, not only for Spades or Clubs as in certain other games of the Rummy family).

On the card(s) already played by the starting player you may, but are not forced to, play the same combination, with the restriction of the higher value – or you can pass. And so on for the other players.
The round ends only when all players (except one) passed in the same round; this means that if a player passed, he could talk again playing, if he wants to, a combination of cards of his own (it seems that you are not allowed to play a combination over a combination of yours).
When all players passed, the trick goes to the player who played the last highest combination, who: a) takes all the cards on the table and puts them in front of him in a face down pile; and b) plays first in the following round.

As the game progresses, players will necessarily get rid of all the cards in their hands: from that moment on, they have no longer an active function in the game. The game develops until there is only one player with cards in his hands. If a player has no cards after winning a trick, the first player to start is the first player with still cards in his hand. Being the first to get rid of your cards implies a bonus in scoring points, while being the last means a malus.
When only one player has still cards in his hand, the match ends: that player has a last chance to play trying to beat the current combination. The cards of the last trick however are collected normally by the owner of the best combination on the table.

When the match ends, before scores are tallied, the last player gets all the cards he has collected so far, adds them to the cards in his hand, and gives them all to the first player, who will collect them as cards of his own. This vexation against the last player in favour of the first one is a trace of the “climbing” mechanism which merged with this game from the practice of certain Chinese games.
Then, scores are tallied.

After several matches, the player reaching 500 or more points is the winner (each match must be played to the very end; you cannot stop a game even if you already got 500 or more points).
Happy playing!