- BGG rank
- BGG #110
- BGG rating
- 7.8
SCOUT
- 2–5 players
- 20 min
- Complexity 1.4/5
- 2019
- BGG rank
- BGG #17,677
- BGG rating
- 7.4
Guan Dan
Rules assistance for Guan Dan
Plain-language explanations of turns, card effects and disputed situations, with official source references and saved question history.
- 4 players
- 30–60 min
- 12+
- Complexity 2.3/5
For 4 players
Rules assistant for Guan Dan
What would you like to know?
Answers come from the official rulebook, with the page to check.
Guan Dan is a board game for 4 players, 30–60 minutes per game, and ages 12 and up. It was designed by Sun Zhaocheng (孙兆成) and its main mechanics are Hand Management and Ladder Climbing.
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About the game
Guan Dan (掼蛋), or "Throwing Eggs", is a 4-player, fixed-partnership climbing card game. It is played with two standard decks and each player starts with a hand of 27 cards; these are typically held in a jagged 2-dimensional array with each rank grouped together--vertically--and then arranged in ascending rank order--horizontally. The game is related to Zheng Shangyou and other climbing games. Its main distinguishing feature is its scoring system: Each team's score is expressed as a card rank, starting at 2 and progressing up to Ace. This is similar to the trump promotion system in Chinese trick-taking games like Da Bai Fen. In Guan Dan, however, instead of determining trump, the highest card rank score determines the rank that beats an Ace, and two cards of that rank (the Hearts) become wild cards. The first team to win a hand 1-2 or 1-3, when their score has reached Ace, wins. Like many climbing games, Guan Dan's playable combinations include Singles, Pairs, Triples, Full Houses, and Straights. There are also Plates and Tubes, which are consecutive pairs or consecutive triples, respectively. Finally, there are a variety of bombs ranging from 4-of-a-kinds to 10-of-a-kinds as well as straight flushes and the 4-Joker bomb. Given each player's hand size, the variety of combinations available, and the inclusion of wild cards (which can be used to form bombs), the options presented to players at the outset of a given hand are particularly numerous. —user summary
Categories
Mechanics
Designers
Publishers
- (Public Domain)
Questions and answers
Guan Dan supports 4 players according to the catalogue. This is the publisher’s listed player count, so the game is designed for exactly that number of participants. Variants for other group sizes, if any, are described in the rulebook of your edition, so check it before setting up a different configuration.
The listed playing time for Guan Dan is 30–60 minutes. This is the publisher’s estimate for a full game. The actual duration depends on the group, the player count and familiarity with the rules: first sessions usually run longer, while experienced groups often finish faster. Setup and teaching time are not included in this estimate.
The catalogue lists Guan Dan for ages 12 and up. This is the publisher’s recommendation and reflects reading demands, rule complexity and small components rather than theme alone. Younger players can often join with help from an adult, so check the age guidance on your edition and consider your group’s experience with board games.
Guan Dan has a complexity rating of 2.3 out of 5 from BoardGameGeek players, which makes it a medium-light game. The rating reflects how much rules knowledge, planning and decision-making a typical game demands. Expect a longer first teach for heavier games, and use a preparation guide before game night.
Guan Dan belongs to these categories: Card Game. Its main mechanics are Hand Management and Ladder Climbing. Categories describe the theme and setting of a game, while mechanics describe what players actually do on their turns. Each mechanic links to a catalogue hub with similar games, which helps when you want something comparable.
The credited designers of Guan Dan are: Sun Zhaocheng (孙兆成). These credits come from the published game data and name the people responsible for the game’s design, not its illustrators or publishers. Designer pages on MeepleRules collect other titles by the same designers, which helps when you enjoy a game and want to find similar ones.
The catalogue lists Guan Dan as a base game. It can be played on its own with the components in the box and does not require any other title. Expansions, if any exist, add new content or rules on top of it and are listed separately in the catalogue with a link back to this base game.