cross-posted from: https://beehaw.org/post/7415121
The game in question is Guandan, where you and your teammate try to make poker hands to discard your cards before the opposing pair does, which lets you level up. Teams can only win the entire match by reaching level A while avoiding having the player who discards all cards last.
The game looks interesting, has anyone played?
Never played, but thought it was interesting that it’s not played for money. More importantly playing it for money is viewed as being in very poor taste.
My understanding wasn’t that they weren’t gambling, just that they claimed they weren’t (gambling is illegal in China). The Chinese have a reputation for loving gambling, despite its illegality.
How would this happen if they weren’t gambling?
Yeah that’s what was surprising. I read that this game specifically discourages gambling, but like you said, maybe they were just making sure they don’t get their hands slapped
Yes, we do. Small stakes gambling is part of our culture, even kids do it on festivals