Collecting games

In collecting games the player has to collect combinations in his hands and if his hand has collected all the needed combinations, he puts them on the table and wins. Sometimes combinations can be laid out during the game, sometimes only at the end.

Usually in these games the dynamics of the game are very similar – the player takes either the last discarded tile or the closed one from the deck, and discards one tile from the hand. The western card games Canasta, or Rummy, have a similar principle. Mahjong, which actually supplanted Chinese dominoes, also belongs to collecting games.

Often at the start of the game, the first player gets one more tile than everyone else. In fact, it doesn’t technically matter if a player gets five and picks one, or if they get six all at once, but there is a tradition.

Although collecting games are similar in dynamics, each of them uses its own combinations.

• Ho-Hpai (Barbarian Tablets) is a Korean game that uses most of the combinations of classic triplets, adding its own combinations.
• Jjak-mat-chu-gi is another Korean game in which you have to match civilian and military pairs.
• Kap Shap is a Chinese game in which tiles are paired according to the principle of equality, or so that the sum of their points is a number divisible by ten.
• Little Mahjong uses its unique way of combining tiles.

All games except Little Mahjong were described by Culin. I also found a modern version of Ho-Hpai called Tok. As I mentioned, in most collecting games, the player can take the discarded tile. Surprisingly, in all collecting games, the conditions for this are different. They all differ in three parameters:

1. Which tile can be taken (only the last one, or any)
2. Who can take the tile (next player only or any)
3. Is it mandatory to create a combination

In Jjak-mat-chu-gi, the last placed tile can only be taken by the next player, provided that a combination is made. In Kap Shap – the player can take any tile that has been set aside without any conditions. Ho-Hpai does not offer this option at all, but there is one problem with this, which I will mention in the corresponding section. Tok is a modern variant of Ho-Hpai – it allows the last discarded tile to be taken by the next player only but without any conditions. As for Little Mahjong, any player has the right to take the last tile placed there, provided that a certain combination is created.

In fact, it’s a bit surprising that the ruleset is so diverse. And I have serious doubts about the accuracy of the description of all three games described by Culin, i.e. Jjak-mat-chu-gi, Kap Shap and Ho-Hpai. Therefore, it is very likely that one of two rules was usually played:

1. The last tile is taken by any player under the condition of creating a combination (this is how modern Mahjong is played now, from the mentioned games this is how Small Mahjong is played)
2. The last tile is taken only by the next player without the requirement to create a combination (this is how modern European card games such as Rummy or Canasta are played now, from the mentioned games this is how Tok is played)

I suspect Jjak-mat-chu-gi, Kap Shap and Ho-Hpai were played by one of the rules mentioned above.