About Big Two
Big Two is considered one of the many Climbing card games. It was thought to have originated in coastal China around 1980.
What is a climbing card game? In a climbing card game, each player in turn must play a higher card (or a combination of cards) than the previous player. A player who cannot or does not wish to beat the previous play can pass. This continues for as many rounds as necessary until someone makes a play which no one will beat. That player wins the “trick” and leads to another one. Because players can pass, their cards are not used at an equal rate and some will run out before others. Often the aim is to get rid of cards, but sometimes it may be to win cards in “tricks”.
Objective of the game
The objective of the game is to be the first to get rid of all your cards by playing them to the table. Cards can be played singly or in certain combinations. If you cannot be first to play all your cards, then your aim is to have as few cards as possible when another player finishes.
For some people, the appeal of the game lies in its reliance on skill and judgment, though one can of course throw the decisions of game play to chance.
Big Two is known by many different names to various parts of the world.
The Philippines calls the game Pusoy Dos
Vietnam calls the game Tiến lên. It is considered a national card game in Vietnam.
The Chinese calls it Da Lao Er or Chor Dai Di
The Taiwanese calls it Bu Bu Gao Sheng
The Netherlands calls it Sjalalien
In Malta, it is often referred to as Giappuniza or Ciniza due to its Asian origin.
Regardless of its name the game Big Two is played by people all over China, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Philippines, Vietnam and Singapore and it has also spread to Europe, USA and Australia.
We hope to introduce this game to all the Clubs of Australia. If this is not already in your Club, tell them about it.