DDZ

DDZ, short for Dou Di Zhu (斗地主), is a popular three-player Chinese card game. Played with a standard 54-card deck (including two jokers), the game pits one player as the landlord against two cooperating players, the peasants. The landlord aims to clear all cards first, while the peasants try to prevent that.

Setup and bidding: The 54 cards are shuffled and dealt round-robin, giving 17 cards to each player; the remaining three cards form the bottom stock. After examining their hands, players bid to become the landlord; the highest bidder takes the bottom stock and becomes the landlord, who then leads the first trick.

Play and hands: Players must play a hand that beats the previous hand in size or type, or pass. The common hand types are singles, pairs, and triplets; plus special hands such as bombs (four of a kind) and rockets (the two jokers). Rockets are the highest possible hand and cannot be beaten; bombs can beat most other hands. More complex combinations exist in some variants (e.g., sequences, triplets with attachments, and planes).

Win conditions and scoring: The landlord wins if they discard all their cards; the peasants win if the landlord fails to do so. Scoring rules vary by regional variant and platform.

Variants and platforms: DDZ has numerous regional rule differences, including allowed combinations and bidding methods. It is widely available on online platforms and mobile apps, often with AI opponents and multiplayer modes. The game is a staple in Chinese card game culture and has been used in research on game strategy and AI.