Gān Dèng Yǎn is one of the newer games of the climbing type family of card games. It is most popularly played in Southwest China and is thought to have emerged around the year 2015. The name of this game translates from Chinese to English as "Watching Helplessly".
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Determination of seating positions can be performed using a variety of methods, such as drawing cards from the deck. Using that method, each player would draw a random card from the deck, and take their preference of seats at the table in order of rank of cards drawn, from highest to lowest. The player drawing the highest card of all would be set to shuffle the deck on the first hand. This player is called the "dealer", although he does not actually deal any cards.
This player, the dealer, would thus thoroughly shuffle the deck and then offer it to the player at his left for a cut. After the cut, he would then place the deck in a face-down stack near the center of the table. The dealer then draws the top card of the deck, taking it into his hand. Each player in a counter-clockwise direction around the table then also draws one card into their hand. This continues until the dealer has a total of six cards in his hand and each other player five. The remainder of the deck is thus left on the table as the talon.
The dealer then has the first play of the hand. This player may then play any legal combination of cards from his hand to the table to start the first "trick" of the hand. The player at his immediate right has the next turn, with the turns continuing in a counter-clockwise direction around the table. A player who is playing the first card to start a new trick may play any legal combination from their hand. However, the subsequent players, attempting to play to that same trick, have the following options on their turn:
- If the combination thus previously played was a "normal" combination, and this player also has a "normal" combination in his hand, which is of the same type, contains the same number of cards, and that combination is exactly one rank higher, he may play it to that trick, thus beating that previous play.
- If the previous play was a normal combination, and the player has any legal "bomb" combination in their hand, they may play it.
- If the player does not have a legal play, or chooses not to make such a play, they may pass, making no play on that turn.
| Combination Type | Description | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Single Card | This is any one card from the player's hand. In order to beat a previous play of a single card, a player must play a card exactly one rank higher. If the previous play was not a 2, any 2 can be played, which is considered the highest single card combination. A Joker may never be played as a single card combination, unless it is that players turn to lead to a new trick, and that player only has one card remaining in his hand, which is that Joker. |  |
| Pair | A pair is two cards of the same rank. In order to beat a previous play of this combination type, the new pair played must be of a card rank exactly one rank higher. A player having a pair of twos can also play those on any other Pair combination, except another pair of twos. The pair of twos is considered the highest combination of this type. |  |
| Sequence | This is three or more cards in direct sequential order, and can be of mixed suits. In order for a later player to beat this combination with another normal combination, that player must play a similar sequence combination, consisting of the same number of cards but on which the highest card in the combination is exactly one rank higher than the highest card in the previous combination. A two may never be played as part of any sequence combination. |  |
| Double Sequence | A Double Sequence is a combination which consists of two or more pairs of cards which are in sequential order (regardless of suits). In order to be beaten, subsequent players would need to play a combination consisting of the same number of pairs, however the highest pair in that sequence must be exactly one rank higher than the previous play. Twos can never be used within a Double Sequence combination. |  |
In addition to these "normal" combinations, the game also features three types of bombs. A bomb combination can be led to start a trick, or can be played to beat any normal combination. The following are the types of legal bomb combinations (shown from lowest ranked bomb to highest):
| Relative Ranking | Combination Type/Name | Description | Example |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Triplet | The lowest ranking bomb type is a triplet, which consists of three cards all of the same rank. To beat a Triplet, a player would need to play another Triplet consisting of higher ranked cards, or a higher ranked bomb. |  |
| 2 | Four of a Kind (known as a Hydrogen Bomb) | This combination consists of four cards, all of the same rank. In order to beat such a combination, subsequent players would have to play any higher ranked bomb or a Double Joker bomb. |  |
| 3 | Double Joker Bomb | This is the highest playable combination or bomb in the game. This consists of a combination consisting of specifically two Jokers. |  |
If every other player passes after a combination, that trick has been completed. All cards played to that trick are removed and set aside. Each player, starting with the player to have played the last, and highest combination in that trick, draws one card from the talon, adding the drawn card into their hand. The last player to have played to that previous trick, also may lead any legal combination or bomb to start the next trick.
If the talon runs out of cards during the draw, subsequent players will no longer draw from the talon, and finish out the game using just the cards still in the players' hands.
If any player manages to play the last card from his hand, during a turn, the hand immediately ends and scoring for that hand is performed. The player who had been thus able to deplete their hand during that hand earns one point for every card left remaining in every other player's hand. Each other player must simultaneously subtract one point from their current accumulated score for each card they have remaining in their hand. Negative scores are possible and common. The game is played over some predetermined (by the players) number of hands, and whichever player has the highest accumulated score is declared the game winner.