Sì Sè Pái/Bài tứ sắc Playing Cards

Translated into English as “Four Colors,” this 2014 edition set of playing cards has a long history dating back to 18th-century China. The deck consists of 112 cards, which are split into four different colors (essentially the suits). Each card in the deck is also lettered with 1 of 7 characters, which come from Chinese Chess.

In its beginnings, the cards were used by the lower class in Southern China to gamble. Since gambling in China was outlawed at the time, the cards were made small and cheap for ease of disposal. Due to this nature, written rules for the game are hard to find. The rules of the game were mostly passed down orally, which states this game belongs to the rummy family, a sector of card games where the goal is to acquire certain melds, like sets (3-4 of a kind) or runs (chains of sequential cards). 

The game spread through many cultures in Southeast Asia, acquiring different names and designs, but the general rules of play remained consistent. It is still popular today.

Sources:

“Rules for Si4 Se4 Pai2 (Four Color Cards, Aka Chinese Chess Cards).” Accessed October 25, 2024. https://web.archive.org/web/20081210050742/www.ofb.net/~whuang/ugcs/gp/ssp/.

Culin, Stewart. Korean Games : With Notes on the Corresponding Games of China and Japan. Philadelphia : University of Pennsylvania, 1895. p. 143 http://archive.org/details/cu31924023272424.

histlovers. “Vanishing Game in Singapore – Four Colours Cards （四色牌）.” Histlovers (blog), February 17, 2019. https://histlovers.wordpress.com/2019/02/17/vanishing-game-in-singapore-four-colours-cards-%ef%bc%88%e5%9b%9b%e8%89%b2%e7%89%8c%ef%bc%89/.

“Andy’s Playing Cards - Chinese And Hong Kong Cards - Chinese Chess Cards - Part 2.” Accessed October 28, 2024. http://a_pollett.tripod.com/cards18.htm.