Gongzhu - All you need to know about it.

Gongzhu is a Chinese version of Hearts. In the game, the queen of spades is a penalty card, known as the pig - players may try to drive out the queen of spades by leading spades.

The game is for four players using a standard 52 card pack. The cards in each suit rank from high to low: A K Q J 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2. At the beginning of the hand all the cards are dealt out equally to the players.

But, how do you play Gongzhu?

The play is in tricks. There are no trumps. In the first hand the holder of the two of spades leads to the first trick. Subsequent hands, the player who took the queen of spades on the previous hand leads to the first trick.

Any card may be led. Players must follow suit if possible. If you cannot follow suit you may play any card. The trick is won by the highest card of the suit led. The winner of a trick leads to the next.

Here are the scoring points of Gongzhu.