Thirteen (Tien Len)

• Players: 2+ (4 is ideal)
• Equipment: Standard deck, jokers removed. If there are more than four players, consider adding another deck.
• Rank: 3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10,J,Q,K,A,2
• Suit Rank (low-high): spades, clubs, diamonds, hearts
• Goal: The first player to reach 10 points wins

Setup

The dealer gives each player a thirteen-card hand, setting aside the rest of the cards if there are any.

Gameplay

Each round consists of a series of "plays." Plays are led by whoever won the last, and players can lead with any of the following melds. Players than take turns playing melds that are of the same type, and the value of the highest ranking card is greater than the highest ranking card of the previously played meld. When determining the relative value of cards, rank is more important than suit. Twos can never be part of a sequence or double sequence. All sequences in a given play need to be the same size.

• Single card
• Pair of cards of the same rank
• Three cards of the same rank
• Four cards of the same rank
• Straight of at least three cards of sequential rank. Suits need not match.
• Double straight (e.g. 3-3-4-4-5-5, 9-9-10-10-J-J)

If the next player has no higher meld of the same type, they must pass, and the play moves on to the next player. A player cannot pass if they have valid melds. Once all players have passed, whoever played the highest meld starts the next play. The cards from the last play are set aside.

The first play of a round is led with the 3 of spades alone, by whoever has that card.

Bombs

Certain special melds, known as "bombs" can beat certain combinations of twos.

• Any four cards of the same rank can beat a single 2
• Any double straight of three pairs (six cards) can beat a single 2.
• Any double straight of four+ pairs (eight cards) can beat a pair of twos.
• Any double straight of five+ pairs (ten cards) can beat three twos.

Scoring

Whenever a player runs out of cards, they stop playing for the round, while the other players finish it. If a player that needs to lead a play has no cards left, the player to their left leads. Players receive points based on in what order they ran out of cards, with the first player to run out of cards being said to have won the round. Rounds are played until at least one player has at least 10 points, the player with the most points wins. If there is a tie, keep playing rounds until a winner has been determined.