Tien Gow – One of the First Domino Games

When you talk about Chinese dominoes, many people in the West assume you mean mahjong tiles. However, dominoes were actually invented in China, at least 500 years before the game of máquè (“Sparrow,” a predecessor to mahjong) first appeared. Interestingly, this is around the same time as the Chinese were developing the first playing cards.

At the time, cards and dominoes were similar enough to each other that one term was used to describe both – pai (“plaques”), with the distinction mainly being what they were made of. Playing cards as we think of them were zhi pai (“paper plaques”), while dominoes were either gu pai (“bone plaques”), ya pai (“ivory plaques”), or pu pai (“gambling plaques”).

Illustration of Chinese Dominoes — Illustration of pairings from “Chinese Games with Dice and Dominoes” by Stewart Culin, 1895

Dice with Suits?

Tien Gow (“To Play Heaven and Nine”) was originally a dice game. The person running the game (the Banker) would roll a pair of dice to set a combination that the other players had to beat. At some point during the game’s evolution, the different die combinations were divided into two “suits,” and a player was required to keep rolling until they matched the suit of the Banker’s roll. Naturally, as a street game, the ranking of combinations varied depending on whoever was running the game.

According to a legend described to Sir William Henry Wilkinson, during the Song Dynasty, people asked for an imperial decision to standardize the ranks of the Tien Gow rolls. I’m a bit skeptical on that point, simply because of how common it was for any form of gambling to be made illegal by people in power. Perhaps there was some court functionary with an addiction that simply made this claim at any gambling house he visited so the rules would stay the same. This happened in the general period that cards and dominoes were starting to appear, so this ranking system heavily influenced the design of the first set of 32 dominoes.

As we know, a domino is made up of two numbers, representing a single roll of two dice. There are 21 possible rolls. Tien Gow divided these rolls into two suits. They were originally called Hua (Chinese) and Yi (Barbarian). Later, during the Qing Dynasty, these names were changes to Wén (Civil) and Wu (Military). This is because the Qing were not ethnically Chinese, and people didn’t want to offend the new rulers.

The 11 combinations included in the Wén suit shared a symbolic meaning that represented culture or civilization. The 10 combinations making up the Wu suit was essentially the leftovers. To reinforce the importance of civilization, each combination in the Wén suit appears twice in a Chinese domino set, while those in the Wu suit each have one domino.

Set of Chinese Dominoes — This is one of my Chinese domino sets. Note the duplicates of each Civil Suit combination.

Wén – The Civil Suit

At first, the rank order appears strange to people used to the Western domino set, because the combinations aren’t grouped in a way we’re accustomed to. However, there is a system, and the key is to understand the symbolism of the first four dominoes in the Civil Suit.

The top rank is Heaven [6-6]. It’s the highest possible doublet, and therefore represents the sky above all things. The 24 total pips in the pair symbolizes the 24 solar terms of the Chinese calendar.

Next is Earth [1-1]. It’s the lowest possible doublet, and serves as the foundation beneath our feet. The 4 total pips of the pair represent the 4 points of the compass.

Following that is People (or Man as in “mankind”) [4-4]. The 16 pips of the pair represent the four Confucian virtues of humanity: Ren (benevolence), Yi (righteousness), Li (propriety), and Zhi (wisdom), repeated fourfold.

Harmony [3-1] is also called “Goose,” because it resembles a long neck with a red beak. Together, the pair contains 8 pips. They each symbolize one half of the four agricultural seasons, pervaded by the “breath of harmony.”

Next come the three remaining doublets, in order from high to low. They also have names, based on their appearance, but it’s not as important to memorize them.

Plum Blossom

Long Three

Bench

Finally, we have Heaven (6) and Earth (1), paired with the two highest remaining numbers after the doublet.

Tiger Head/Axe Head

Red-Head Ten

Long-Leg Seven

Red Mallet Six

Wu – The Military Suit

The combinations in the Military suit each appear one time. Their ranking is based on their pip total, from high to low. Military dominoes with the same number of spots are typically the same rank – neither can “beat” the other. In many games, they are also paired together.

Military Nines

Military Eights

Military Sevens

Big Six

Military Fives

Little Three

Supreme Pair

Supreme Pair

As you can see, the Big Six [4-2] and Little Three [2-1] don’t have an equal number of pips to anything else in the Military Suit. Many games pair them together for different functions. In Tien Gow, when they are played together, it’s treated as a third suit called the Supreme Pair.

How to Play Tien Gow

Now that we’ve explained the origins of the dominoes themselves, it’s time to learn this specific game! Tien Gow with dominoes is a trick-taking game. The difference between this and most trick-taking games played with cards is that you can lead different combinations of dominoes, not just single tiles. Obviously, shuffling and dealing works a little differently, as well.

Goal

Tien Gow requires 4 players. The goal is to capture as many dominoes as you can by winning tricks. When you win a trick, the captured tiles must be divided into stacks of 4. At the end of the hand, a player must have at least 4 stacks to avoid paying the Banker. Whoever captures the final trick becomes the Banker for these payments.

Setup

First, you must roll dice to determine the Banker for the first round. Anyone may pick up and roll two dice. Then, starting with themselves, count around the table. When you reach the total given by the dice, that person becomes the first Banker. The Banker shuffles and deals the dominoes, then leads to the first trick. At the end of the hand, whoever wins the final trick becomes the Banker for the purpose of scoring, which involves payments. The new Banker then plays first in the second round, and so on.

The Banker shuffles the dominoes and builds a “woodpile” – a wall comprised of 8 stacks, each 4 tiles high. Then, starting with the Banker and proceeding to their right, each player takes two of these stacks for their hand. You might keep it simple and allow each player to simply choose any two stacks, or you may use a more traditional method by having the Banker roll a die toward the woodpile after building it.

If the die lands near an end of the woodpile, players each take two stacks from that end, starting with the Banker..

If the die lands closer to the center of the woodpile, the Banker takes the two center stacks. Then each following player takes the innermost two.

Here’s an example of four hands after a deal. Player A is currently the Banker and will lead to the first trick.

Gameplay

Starting with the Banker, and thereafter by the winner of the previous trick, the leader lays out a combination of 1, 2, 3, or 4 dominoes. Play then passes to the right. Each player after the leader must either play or discard the same number of dominoes.

If playing, you must be able to beat the current leading set, including following suit. If you can’t beat it, you must discard an equal number of dominoes face-down. When discarding, you need not follow suit – they can be any tiles you choose.

Valid Combinations

Single Domino: Any one domino of either the Civil or Military suit. It can only be beaten by a higher domino of the same suit. Note that the description of the suits given above were in rank order. The Civil suit has no dominoes of equal rank, while in the Military suit, dominoes with the same number of pips cannot beat each other.

Civil Pair: An identical pair of Civil suit dominoes. They may only be beaten by a higher-ranked Civil pair.

Military Pair: Two Military suit dominoes with an equal number of pips. They may only be beaten by a higher-ranked Military pair.

Mixed Pair: This consists of one Civil domino and one Military domino. They may only be one of the following four combinations (shown in rank order):

Heaven & Nine – [6-6] with either [6-3] or [5-4]

Earth & Eight – [1-1] with either [6-2] or [5-3]

People & Seven – [4-4] with either [5-2] or [4-3]

Goose & Five – [3-1] with either [4-1] or [3-2]

A Mixed pair may only be beaten by a higher Mixed pair. Note that you may not mix ranks – only the combinations shown are allowed. You may not play a Goose and Seven, for example.

Supreme Pair: This special pair consists of the [4-2] and [2-1] from the Military suit. When played together, they count as a separate suite altogether. This means that they cannot be beaten, but they also can’t beat any other pair. So if you’re going to play the Supreme pair, you want to lead with it.

Supreme Pair

Triplet: Triplets are simply Mixed pairs with one additional domino. The third domino might be Civil or Military. The restrictions for each type of group still apply. Possible Triplets include:

Heaven & Nine: [6-6][6-3][5-4], [6-6][6-6][6-3], or [6-6][6-6][5-4]
Earth & Eight: [1-1][6-2][5-3], [1-1][1-1][6-2], or [1-1][1-1][5-3]
People & Seven: [4-4][5-2][4-3], [4-4][4-4][5-2], or [4-4][4-4][4-3]
Goose & Five: [3-1][4-1][3-2], [3-1][3-1][4-1], or [3-1][3-1][3-2]

Beating a Triplet requires the same number of dominoes in each suit used. For example, a Goose and Five made up of [3-1][4-1][3-2] can’t be beaten by a Heaven and Nine with [6-6][6-6][5-4]. This is because the Goose and Five had only one Civil domino with two Military, while the Heaven and Nine was two Civil and one Military.

Quartet: A Quartet is a Triplet with the missing domino added. For example, a People and Seven Quartet has both [4-4] dominoes together with the [5-2] and [4-3]. Again, a Quartet can only be beaten by a higher-ranked Quartet.

After all players have either played or discarded their dominoes, whoever’s combination is currently highest wins the trick. They collect all dominoes into stacks of 4 in front of themselves, with the winning combination on top. Then, they lead to the next trick.

Certain types of trick may require mid-game payments, which will be explained under Scoring, below. For now, let’s look at a couple of example tricks.

In the first trick, nobody contested Player A’s [5-5]. After taking the trick, Player A leads a Goose & Five mixed pair. Player B beats it with People & Seven. Player C can’t beat that, so they discard 2 dominoes face-down, before Player D wins the trick with Earth & Eight.

Two turns later, Player C has the lead, and plays a Supreme Pair.

This combination can’t be beaten when led, so all the other players must discard 2 dominoes, and Player C wins the trick. Winning with the Supreme Pair is a special condition, so Player C immediately collects 2 chips each from Players B and D, and then 4 chips from the Banker. You’ll see why in a moment.

Scoring

After all the tricks have been played, the winner of the last trick becomes the new Banker. Except for special payments for individual tricks that I’ll outline in a moment, the Banker must pay or receive all penalties for the hand. Essentially, they’re the “house” the other players are gambling against.

Your score is determined by how many stacks you’ve accumulated against a base goal of 4. This score is then doubled to become the amount of payment to or from the Banker.

No Stacks: 5 points. Pay 10 chips to the Banker.
Fewer than 4 Stacks: (4 – # of stacks) points. Pay twice that in chips to the Banker.
Exactly 4 Stacks: No points, so no payments are exchanged.
More than 4 Stacks: (# of stacks – 4) points. The Banker pays you twice that in chips.

In our example game, Player A won the last trick, so they remain the Banker. This means they won’t pay any penalties for capturing fewer then 4 stacks. Player B won no tricks and has no stacks, so they pay 10 chips to Player A. Player C won 3 stacks, and owes Player A 2 chips. (4 – 3 = 1, 1 x 2 = 2) Finally, Player D has 2 stacks, and owes Player A 4 chips. (4 – 2 = 2, 2 x 2 = 4)

Payments for Special Tricks

As I mentioned before, winning some tricks under specific conditions earns payments during the game, separate from the end-of-hand scoring. Be aware that the multiplier for payments to or from the Banker still applies. The two ways to earn these payments are:

Supreme Pair Trick: If you win a trick with the Supreme Pair [4-2][2-1], you immediately collect 2 chips from each other player (4 chips from the Banker). If the Banker wins with a Supreme Pair, they collect 4 chips from each other player.
Quartet Trick: Winning a trick with a Quartet earns 4 chips from each other player (8 from the Banker). Of course, if the Banker does this, they collect 8 chips from each other player.

In a different game, Player B is currently the Banker. They lead with an Earth & Eight Quarter, which nobody else can beat.

After taking the trick, Player B collects 8 chips from each other player, rather than the normal 4 that a non-Banker would have won.

Special Situations

“Early Death”: If the last trick is a single-tile trick (that is, if 7 dominoes have already been played by each player), then any players who have not yet won a trick must forfeit their final domino, regardless of its rank. These are automatic discards.

Here, Player D has the lead and plays a [4-4]. Even though Player A’s [6-6] would normally beat it, they saved that domino for too long and never took any tricks. As a result, they must discard it, allowing Player D to win the final trick and become the Banker.

Last Trick Bonus: The end-of-hand payments are doubled (including for the Banker) if the final trick is won by one of the following:

Supreme Pair
Any Quartet
The [2-1] as a Singleton (this can only be accomplished by leading it when nobody has a Military suit domino, or they all suffered the Early Death penalty).

This doubling only applies to the payments for the base comparison to the 4 stack goal. It does not double the normal trick bonus for winning with a Supreme Pair or Quartet.

Shutout Bonus: If any player wins all 8 stacks, all end of hand payments are doubled. Again, this also doubles the Banker multiplier. If the final trick earns one of the bonuses described above, both doublings apply.

However, the Banker cannot receive the Shutout bonus if the combination led in the first trick was “unbeatable in their own eyes.” That is, it was the highest-ranked possibility of that combination, or they held dominoes another player would need to beat it.

In this example, Player A has good odds of earning the Shutout bonus. But, they may not lead any of the highlighted dominoes to the first trick. [6-6] and [5-4] are unbeatable singly or together. A pair of [1-1] could only be beaten by a pair of [6-6], one of which is in Player A’s hand. Player A’s best option is to lead a Goose & Five Triplet, because it couuld only be beaten by a [4-4][5-2][4-3] People & Seven Triplet from their perspective. Another player might have the combination, but the odds are against it. Of course, we can see Player A would end up winning the trick. After that, they may play out their unbeatable dominoes for the next two tricks, then win the last trick with their [4-4] because of the Early Death rule.

“Big Six Captures Little Three” Bonus: If the last trick is a single domino tricck, led by the [2-1], and someone else wins it with the [4-2], then all payments that anyone might make to the holder of the Big Six during scoring must instead be made by whoever led the Little Three.

One Red Dot Hand: This rule is optional – a player does not have to announce it. If someone is dealt a hand that contains only a single red pip, they may reveal their hand to declare victory immediately. Their winnings are determined as though they won all the tricks, including the Shutout bonus.

In this deal, Player A gets lucky with a One Red Dot hand, despite it being otherwise weak. They declare victory and become the new Banker. They also get the Shutout bonus, which will double all payments. Each other player must pay Player A 20 chips, because none of them captured any tricks. (5 points x 2 = 10, 10 x 2 = 20)

Variations

As with all ancient games, variant rules have developed over time, depending on where and with whom you play the game. Here are a few popular ones.

Banker’s Interest: A variant in Hong Kong is that if the Banker remains the same at the end of a hand by taking the final trick, their multiplier increases with each consecutive hand. (2x the first time, 3x after the second hand, 4x after the third, etc.) Usually, they put a chip next to the Banker marker after each hand to remind the other players of the current multiplier. This multiplier resets back to 2x whenever the Banker changes.

Fewer Players: A common method of play is for one player to sit out each hand, with this position rotating around the table after a round. In this mode, whoever sits out acts as a dealer. Additionally, the deck is reduced to 30 or 24 tiles, so that it may still be dealt evenly.

Reduced Deck: Some people play with fewer dominoes, for aesthetic reasons, a challenge, or to shorten the game. The most common reductions create a deck of 30 or 24 tiles. The 30 tile reduction is exclusively used when there are only three active players.

No Supremacy (30 Tiles): Remove the Supreme Pair – [4-2] and [2-1]
Weakened Military (24 Tiles): Remove all Military suit dominoes except for the Mixed Nines – [6-3] and [5-4]. In this variant, the Mixed Nines play the same role as the Supreme Pair in the normal game.
Supreme Civilians (24 Tiles): Remove all Military suit dominoes except for the Supreme Pair.
Reduced Populace (24 Tiles): Remove both [5-1] dominoes from the Civil suit, and all Military suit dominoes except for the Mixed Nines and Supreme Pair.

Civilian Triplets: Some groups add two special Triplets composed only of Civil suit dominoes. Each of these act like the Supreme Pair, in that they always win a trick when led, but otherwise can’t beat any other Triplet.

Pendulum: [6-6][5-5][4-4]
Fish: [3-3][2-2][1-1] – When a Fish is led, it can only be beaten by the Pendulum.

Final Thoughts

Growing up, I only ever played with the common double-six set of dominoes, and I only learned the basic Block and Draw games. Later, I picked up Fives (where you score points by making the domino ends total a multiple of 5), and some other connection games. Eventually, I learned about Texas 42 from a book, which showed me that dominoes also had trick-taking games. Naturally, I started diving into the subject out of curiosity, and found an invaluable resource in Pagat.com. This is where I first heard about the Chinese domino set.

Tien Gow is an interesting case. Rather than a simple trick-taking game, it incorporates the “beating” element found in card games from the climbing family. I had first been introduced to this mechanic by Tichu. When researching games for my book, Pai Gow & More, I discovered several of these types of games, and most included the face-down discarding mechanism that made it much harder to judge what other players had in their hands. This adds an interesting challenge by encouraging you to play your best tiles and keep the lead, instead of leading lower ranks to tease out other players’ high options. I also enjoyed the evocative pairs for the four highest Civil suit dominoes. I’d see them used over and over in different games.

I also loved learning that trick-taking games, which are my favorite type of card game, have been around since the birth of cards and dominoes. They’re a great way to think on your feet, and learn to manipulate the odds in your favor, no matter how good or bad the hand you’ve been dealt. Give it a shot, and keep playing games!

Tien Gow – One of the First Domino Games

Dice with Suits?

Wén – The Civil Suit

Wu – The Military Suit

Supreme Pair