No. 8090 樂山圈牌， 萬盛達 80+10
This is yet another form of "Long cards". They are used in Leshan, a part of Sichuan, China. These cards do indeed deserve the title of "Long cards". They are significantly longer than most kinds of Chinese playing card, ( 12 x 2.5 cm).
These cards belong to a family known in the west as "Character cards". The Chinese Name, 圈牌, Quanpai, "Round cards" may refer to the distinctive shape of the figures printed on them. The cards are also known as 樂山橋牌 -- Leshaqn Qiaopai -- "Leshan Bridge cards". The Western game of Bridge shares the same name 橋牌Qiaopai , but as far as I know the games played with the Leshan deck have nothing to do with the Western game. They are occasionally known as 樂山貳七拾, Leshan er-qi-shi --Leshan Two-Seven-Ten , after a game played with the cards,
As mentioned in a previous post, these cards use the two forms of Chinese Numeral as "Suits" , each suit containing the ranks from 1 to 10.
This is yet another form of "Long cards". They are used in Leshan, a part of Sichuan, China. These cards do indeed deserve the title of "Long cards". They are significantly longer than most kinds of Chinese playing card, ( 12 x 2.5 cm).
These cards belong to a family known in the west as "Character cards". The Chinese Name, 圈牌, Quanpai, "Round cards" may refer to the distinctive shape of the figures printed on them. The cards are also known as 樂山橋牌 -- Leshaqn Qiaopai -- "Leshan Bridge cards". The Western game of Bridge shares the same name 橋牌Qiaopai , but as far as I know the games played with the Leshan deck have nothing to do with the Western game. They are occasionally known as 樂山貳七拾, Leshan er-qi-shi --Leshan Two-Seven-Ten , after a game played with the cards,
As mentioned in a previous post, these cards use the two forms of Chinese Numeral as "Suits" , each suit containing the ranks from 1 to 10.
The suit of "Large writing" Below the cards are the standard forms of the characters depicted, as well as the Arabic numbers they correspond to. The characters have become extremely stylized, more so than other kinds of card.
The 1 of this suit reminds me of a stout man wearing a bowler hat.
The maker's name, Wanchengda is printed in the middle of each card.
The suit of small writing. Again, the corresponding standard forms of the characters are printed below each card. In this deck, the large suit is printed in red, and the small suit in black. This is unlike other forms of Number cards, like the Luzhou deck. In such a deck, only the Two, Seven and Ten of each suit are printed in red, the rest of the cards printed in black.
Note card of rank 9 (2nd from right). The prominent Loop has three gaps in it. This suggests the cards were originally printed by stencil. Examination of the large suit bears this out. There are no complete white-on-red shapes. All shapes have a small gap in them, necessary for supporting the stencil.
The brash simplicity of the 1 is rather pleasing.
The brash simplicity of the 1 is rather pleasing.
The deck comes with a set of Ten extra cards, each numbered with an Arabic Number from 1-10. The first three are shown above. Each card possesses the same motif on both sides (i.e, no "Backs"). I have yet to find out their function.
Games played with this deck:
As mentioned above, the main game played with the deck is called " Two-Seven-Ten"
樂山貳七拾, Leshan er-qi-shi --Leshan Two-Seven-Ten. This game is of the same family as rummy and mahjongg, but is closer to the latter. Players attempt to form melds of multiple copies of the same card, or sequences of cards. The game also has a special meld, which consists of the Two, Seven and Ten of each suit, hence the name.
