Card Game 101 #8: Fight the Landlord

Fight the Landlord is a fun, challenging, easy-to-learn card game for three players. It is very popular in China. Be the first to get rid of all your cards to win! Read on to learn the basics of the card game Fight the Landlord.

✔ A 54-card deck (standard 52-card deck + two distinct jokers)

✔ 3 players

Before starting, flip up the top card and bury it into the middle of the deck. Then, players take turns drawing a card from the deck in counterclockwise order, until there are only three cards remaining. The player who drew the face-up card will be the first to bid.

Next, players will take turns bidding for being the landlord. A player can bid 1, 2, or 3, or they can choose to pass on bidding. Players must bid higher than the previous player unless they decide to pass. For example, if a player bids 1, the next player can either bid 2, bid 3, or pass. The player with the highest bid after one turn around the table becomes the landlord. If a player bids 3, the bidding phase is immediately over and that player becomes the landlord. The other players will play cooperatively against the landlord. The landlord reveals the three kitty cards to every player before adding them to their hand.

After the first round, the player to the right of the previous landlord will be the first to bid.

The objective of Fight the Landlord is to be the first player to get rid of all your cards each round in order to score points. Players should decide on the number of rounds they wish to play before the game begins.

In Fight the Landlord, cards are ranked differently than in most other games and are played in combinations.

Card Ranks

The card ranks are as follows:

Red joker>Black joker>2>A>K>Q>J>10>9>8>7>6>5>4>3

Note how the 2s are ranked higher than the aces. Suits do not matter at any time in the game.

Regular Combinations

All regular combinations in the game are listed in the table below. These combinations can be played on a similar but lower combination.

Note: As this blog is targeted to an English-speaking audience, the Chinese names for the combinations are not included. If you are interested though, see the comments.

Special Combinations

The special combinations can be played on any other combination except for a higher special combination. These combinations are listed in the table below.

Play starts with the landlord laying down any combination. Then, players must play a similar combination of higher rank or play a special combination. If a player cannot (or does not want to) play, they must pass. If two consecutive players pass, the player who played the last combination will start a new combination. It is worth mentioning that, just like other Chinese card games, play moves counterclockwise to the right after a player has played or passed. Also, passing does not prevent you from playing on a future turn.

When a player has three or fewer cards remaining, they may warn other players by announcing the number of cards they have left in their hand. However, this is not mandatory.

Play will continue until one player runs out of cards, at which point they win the round.

If the landlord wins, they will be awarded double the amount bid, and each other player will have the amount bid deducted from their score. For example, if the landlord bids 3 and wins the round, they will be awarded 6 points and other players will each get 3 points deducted.

If the landlord loses, they will have double the amount bid deducted from their score, and each other player will receive the amount bid. For example, if the landlord bids 3 and loses the round, they will have 6 points deducted and other players will each receive 3 points.

The bid amount for the round doubles every time a special combination is played.

Under these rules, all players' scores should always add up to zero. After a set number of rounds, such as 10, the player with the highest score is the winner.

✔ If all players pass on bidding, all cards will be reshuffled and redealt.

✔ For combinations with a kicker, the rank of the kicker does not have to be higher for the combination to be higher. For instance, 9-9-9-7 will beat 6-6-6-10.

✔ If the active combination is a sequence, a double sequence or an airplane, only a similar combination of the same length and starting/ending with a higher card (or a special combination) can be played. For example, the only regular combination that can beat the sequence K-Q-J-10-9 is A-K-Q-J-10.

✔ I know I mentioned this earlier, but 4-of-a-kinds with kicker are NOT bombs. Meaning, they can only be played when starting a new combination or used to beat a previous, lower 4-of-a-kind with a kicker.

✔ If, during a round, the two players other than the landlord did not play any card, the bid amount will be doubled.

✔ If, during a round, the landlord did not play any card except for the card(s) that started gameplay, the bid amount will be doubled.

The next blog in this series will be about the card game Spades. Expect it to come within a week.

Thanks for reading!