"Now, the landlord, if they WIN, everybody pays them. But if the LANDLORD wins, they have to pay everybody else."

Said it last video but I’ll say it again; this series is a great idea. Introduced Ricochet Poker to my group over the weekend and will get this one to the table soon too - thanks for digging through a mountain of card games to find a few gems to try out!

As a fan from HK I can say this is one of the most popular card games in HK and even China. People play it on their phones all the time. Happy to see this game get some recognition in the West. :)

I got confused and now I need to find a new flat. 1/10 would not fight my landlord again.

So at the end of this series, are we getting a SU&SD deck of cards with a rulebook for all of these games? Or maybe just that Kirby deck, it's adorable!

I love these videos. Almost entirely down to the pure spherical orb of positive energy Quinns takes during these. Despite the chaos of his guests, he shines radiantly with such joy. It's great.

I have a card game called 'Gang of Four' which is very similar. It uses a specialist pack, rather than a normal one.

I'm digging this new series. And I appreciate the gentle gambling warning, that seems like a good, social responsible thing to include. Love your work, folks.

I thought the way to beat the landlord was organizing a tenants union, but rockets and bombs sound promising too 🤩

This seems like a 3-player variant of Big Two, one of the most common card games in China. (Also, Richard Garfield put out a really fun, simplified version of this with a modified deck to spice up the odds called The Great Dalmuti sometime in the late 90s.)

"I'm seizing the means of kicking your ass." needs to go on a t-shirt.

Love it. This is my new favorite series. I’ve been playing ricochet poker with my kids for the past week and they love it. I’m excited to teach them this game. Thanks!

The game Clubs (by Northstar games) is a good introductory game to climbing games like this. Every clubs card is worth a certain amount of points at the end of the round, and there are some difficult decisions to make between going out early (first few players get bonus points at the end of the round) or taking your time to try and win the most tricks in which people had played clubs (point cards).

I don't know if these have already all been recorded, but I wanted to recommend another fantastic Card Game That Doesn't Suck. It's called Durak, and is apparently Russia's most popular card game. The way we always play it is a bit different from the rules explanation on Wikipedia (only the defender's immediate neighbors may attack, but they attack at the same time instead of passing on the opportunity to attack), but the gist is the same. It's great fun and not nearly as complicated as it looks on Wikipedia.

Absolutely love these videos. the only thing i wish they had is a segment at the end of you all playing the game so we can actually see it play out.

I loved this. Absolutely loved it. While I purchased games like Gloomhaven and Magic Maze on your recommendation, I could never convince say my parents to sit down and play because its all a bit too much for them. Most people know a deck of cards and a simple game like poker or euchre to enjoy. I feel like Fight the Landlord is a great game to be able to easily introduce and have everyone on board with relative ease. Looking forward to more of the series!

"We need socialism quite badly" - Matt Lees, 2019

The pay dynamic also reminds me a bit of Pai-Gow Poker, where players have the option of being the "banker" when it's their turn come around. Great series so far, thanks!

This series is awesome! If you guys haven't heard of it, Euchre is my absolute favorite game you can play with a 52-card deck. It's relatively unknown outside of the Midwestern United States, but almost everybody who grew up with it treasures it with more devotion than I've ever seen for any other card game.

00:30 🃏 "Fight the Landlord" involves dealing cards among three players, reserving three cards face-down in the middle. 01:13 💰 Players bid to become the landlord in a gambling style; the landlord wins against all others or pays them. 02:51 🃏 The game revolves around shedding cards; first player to discard all cards wins as the landlord or the team wins if others do. 04:00 ♠ Gameplay involves players strategically discarding sets (e.g., pairs, triples) in a specific order. 05:49 🚀 "Rockets" and "bombs" are exceptional hands that can beat any set; rockets are the highest, doubling the bet when played. 07:26 💣 A "bomb" (four of a kind) beats any set, doubling the bet; the only thing to beat a bomb is a higher bomb or a rocket.

I grew up playing a similar game which we called warlords and scumbags. Same shedding game, but in the next round the last person to play all their cards had to donate their best card to the person who emptied their hand first. Catch is that if the warlord (the person who emptied their hand first in the previous round) doesn't win the next round they are automatically relegated to scumbag and need to give up their best cards to the new warlord. Makes for some great tension and bargaining

Very much enjoying this series. What's even more remarkable is that so far, neither of the games covered so far appear in David Parlett's Penguin Book of Card Games, the horrifically beat-up copy of which has been my go-to resource for unusual card games for years.

One of my favorite card games is a similar game - Gang of Four.

Thanks for this video! It would be especially interesting to hear some more about the history and relatives of these games, especially since card games generally come in clusters. As other commenters here have noted, this one has a lot in common with games like President and Tichu (a recent hit).

I’ve played this many times with my family of 3. There aren’t many card games that suit this player count, but Dou Di Zhu does so perfectly with a nice 2 against 1 dynamic. Another great card game for 3 is Skat (the German point-trick game) but requires some mental investment to learn the scoring/bidding complexity, but has that 2v1 idea. 3-player “500” is simpler also scratches that itch too.

More of these video please! Already have a deck of card with me for skull and roses and would love to have more games to break out in a pinch!

I played this recently with some friends, but decided to use standard US poker hands instead. Still ended up being a fine game with plenty of tension and scheming.

For the entirety of this video I thought there was another person (Bratt?) in the corner of the room, then I realised it was Quinn's reflection...

If you'd like to play a version of this game with no betting/gambling, check out "Chimera". It's played with a special deck, but if you are willing to mark up a regular deck, you can easily play with that.

Mate we called this 13 or big 2 in Australia when I used to play it in highschool like 10yrs ago... I always though we invented it and now I find out that people play it in England as well.

Great tutorial, but there are 2 small corrections: 1. the three cards left are supposed to be shown to everyone once the landlord has been chosen. 2. each time a bomb/rocket is played, the bid doubles (not just increment by the starting bid). so it would x4 starting bid upon the 2nd bomb, and x8 starting bid upon the 3rd.

If you need a card game for a large group of people, our family often plays something called Devil. It can be played with 1 or 2 decks and the dealer doesn't change until the deck runs out. Everyone gets 3 tokens, meaning they're still active players. The dealer gives everyone with at least one token a card, then knocks on the table indicating players can touch their cards. If anyone touches their card before they lose a token. Once the dealer knocks, players can see their card. As are low, and Kings block trades. Starting from the player next to the dealer, they decide if they want to trade their card with the next player or pass. The player being traded to has to give their card to the player trading unless they have a King, at which point they turn it face up to block the trade. Once the first player completes their trade, the next player trades with the following, and so on until the last player trades with the dealer. At this point, the dealer can decide to trade with the top card of the deck by pulling it out face up. If it's a King the trade is blocked, if not, they keep the new card and discard the old one. Now, everyone turns their cards face up, and the person with the lowest card loses a token. When someone in the table loses all their tokens, they become a devil. This means they're not active in the game, but if anyone with a token pays attention to them, they have to give the devil a token and they come back into the game. Tokens must be always visible, devils are not corporeal, so they can't touch active players, can't manipulate cards or tokens, and your table has to decide what constitutes paying attention to the devil. I'd recommend verbally addressing the devil or doing an overt action that indicates they were responding to the devil (trying to pass them a glass, dealing them a card, etc). Devils are encouraged to try to get players attention. The game ends when only one player remains with tokens. It becomes hilarious madness the more devils you have, with people going from subtle attempts to ridiculous lengths to get players to respond to them.

The Quinns List has one thing over The Chuck Norris Lost... unlike The Chuck Norris List, The Quinns List has an item that Quinns defeated a landlord using Kirby.

Ah! I know a game with quite similar mechanics to this! It was taught to me by friends from Thailand. They call it slave or "slaf"(สลาฟ). But, that one isn't a betting game. In slave the first person out of cards becomes the king and the last person to still have cards becomes the slave. On the next hand, the slave has to pass their two best cards to the king before play begins.

How did you get Emma Watson into this video?

Very cool game, best played at 3, that you can also play without gambling token. Only tedious thing is to have a deck with 2 distinct jokers (like do Bicycle for example) There is a lot of chinese CGTDS, like Da Bai Fen (Hundred), Tuo La Ji (Tractor), Zhao Pengyou (Looking for Friends), Zheng Fen, Jiăn Hóng Diăn, that all together inspired Tichu, the best of all trick-taking games.

Interesting, this game is nearly identical to a game I used to play at work with some of my workmates (except we didn't gamble with money). The only real difference is, there's no "bidding" at the start, the player who plays first is the person with the 3 of clubs. There are no "Rockets" as the jokers are removed, but there are bombs (we called the game "Bomb"). The card ranking was the same (2s were high), and we also played that the suits were ranked, so 2 of spades was highest (other than a bomb). We also played that you could play pairs on other pairs, provided at least 1 card in your pair was higher than the pair that was laid (which generally meant you needed the spade). You could lay triplets and straights as well. For straights, they had to be a minimum length of 3, but could be longer. To play on another person's straight, you had to have a straight of equal length as the one played (you couldn't play a longer one), and either the values had to be higher than that of the one played, or the suit of straight had to be higher. The point of the game was not so much to win as it was to not lose, as the loser had to deal. Obviously, due to luck of the draw, you'd sometimes get players with super powerful hands while yours was weaker. So in this case, your strategy was simply to shed what cards you could but not really waste your powerful cards trying to stop him (which was usually futile), and then try to take on the other players once the powerful player has gone out.

This is a LOT like presidents and assholes, which is my favorite card game. This one adds betting and complicated plays. Presidents has a grossly unfair legacy thing that happens that makes for some really exciting come from behind wins but usually just the absurdity of the president punishing everyone.

In certain parts of China's Shandong province they play this and a similar, but in my opinion better, game called Bao Huang. It's played with four decks (minus the 3, 4 and 5 cards) and five players - 2 vs 3. One of the red jokers and one of the black jokers are marked. The player that draws the marked red joker is the emperor and the others are farmers. The twist is while the emperor is known to all (because he leads the first hand), one of the farmers has drawn the marked black joker and is the 'Bao', who secretly supports the emperor. The Bao is known only to himself, the farmers don't know who it is and neither does the emperor. So much of the dynamic of the game is the social deduction hand by hand on who is or isn't 'hitting' the emperor. Playing as a farmer, emperor or Bao feels quite different. The Bao can pull off some really cleaver sleights of hand. It's always fun where in a game everyone is convinced player 3 is the bao and then player 5 leads his last hand with the marked joker - Especially if player 5 had convinced the farmers to use all their good cards to stop player 3 from winning. Even better are the games where you can't workout who is the Bao and then it turns out the emperor also drew the Bao card and has been 'hitting by himself'. Find someone who grew up playing this in Shandong and they will not want to play anything else. (Warning: Never play Bao Huang or Fight the Landlord with a Chinese Grandpa. They're wicked card counters.) (Another note: At least where I was in China they don't deal out the cards. They let the deck of cards fall sideways on the table and everyone takes turns drawing one card from the top. That allows all players to organize their hands as they're gaining their cards. That way you don't have to wait for the dealer to organize their hand after handing out the cards. Real useful when you're almost holding a whole deck in your hand)

Ha! What a crazy game! We are DEFINITELY going to have to try this one out. Thanks for the vid!

Oh man I remember playing this back in highschool after my friends and I got bored of playing Big 2. Even better is when you play with two decks of cards and make it a 4 player game, things like bombs come up a lot more often but with the rule that points doubling only counts if it's 6 of a kind or more.

"I'm seizing the means of kicking your ass." - New Marx

This is very-very-very similar to Chimera.

we play a similar game in Aus called presidents and assholes (same core mechanics but different starting hand rules [asshole has to give their best 2 cards to president, vice asshole has to give their best card to vice president] some seat shuffling is involved so the asshole is always last in clockwise formation and the president first, who leads). thanks will try this version out.

sooo...Tichu for 3?

I'm so glad you're doing this. This is phenomenal.

Easy to understand. Good teach, Quinns!

The only thing that troubles me about these games is the artificial gatekeeping. Making Ace high and then Deuce even higher doesn't change the game at all in its mechanics. All it does is make it harder to memorize for new players, giving vets an advantage.

Thumbs upped. Liked and subscribed. And I hear commenting helps. But really, my family always celebrates what new game we get to play together. I'm from a separated family who are quite different. Thank you for giving me a way to always bring something both families can come together with. That's special. That's Shut Up and Sit Down.

Very similar to Red 10, another Chinese card game that folks in the family play often. Unlike bidding for the start position, teams are determined by who has the red 10s. This info is typically kept secret but can be revealed at the start for bonus points in the event of a win. Naturally someone can have both red 10s as well, so teams can be everyone one against one like this. Great video!

You should try Chimera. It's the modern evolution of fight the landlord, with a touch of Tichu in it. In my opinion, it's the better game.

If you like this game, please check out Ladder 29 from Green Couch Games. It's a shedding/ladder climbing card game (free for all) with similar rules for playing cards, though it is simpler than this, and involves playing with rules that are unique to each player (like can only lead with runs, or may not lead with singles, etc) that are "backdrafted" and based on the difficulty of that rule, will allow points to the player who goes out first, second, etc. Plays up to 5 and is great family fun. Cheers!

I am a big fan of this series. Please keep them coming!

There is a brilliant Finnish card game called shithead that I picked up awhile back. One of my favorite ways to kill a long trip, or for talking around a table. The best part is how much SKILL it involves...

I used to play Big Two/Presidents all the time in high school and uni. Good fun.

Really loving this series, guys!

6:03 - The collective action of the working class? "Rockets and bombs!" :c 8:08 c:

First time hearing of this game while reading ‘Release that Witch’. Came to have a look and am pleasantly surprised.

the option of desk vs 1 is cool. also option in doppelkopf where you play in teams - but you don't know with whom you are playing until the card's that denote it are played.. if by chance (uses 2 decks) 1 person holds both of the queens, they have to play solo.. but you also can choose solo and you can even bet you win (before your opposite 3 can play) 30/60/90/120 points.. my "solo, win under 60" where I was able to put my whole hand down without any hitch. hmm, sweet luck. still forgot most of the rules - _-

I've been keen to learn this game for ages to prove that I am the most serious revolutionary ever -- thanks comrades!

Blood, President, Scum, Tichu, each plays 2+, up to five per deck. Poker hands, plus double runs, with the qualification that runs require a minimum of three cards, not five. No betting required. Tichu is the best of these, a 4-player game with partners playing for points.

What about card games to play around a campfire? I'd love to have a game that didn't require a table.

almost like the great dalmuti or presidents. Great series of videos ! keep them going !

we used to play this, but there was a suit hierarchy so 2 2's could be played on 2 2's

This looks a lot like the french game 'Président' or 'Trou du cul' named after the winner or loser. Except there is no biding but the loser gives his best card to the président for the next round, who gives his worst card to the loser. With 3 or more players, the middle one is/are safe and with 4 or more player, the winner trades 2 cards, the second one 1 card respectively from the last and second last player. For me the best card game that don't suck!

1:14 if the landlord wins only they score and if the team wins both of them score

OMG this is a western take on a game that I used to play with my friends all the time back in Middle/High school. We called it VC (Vietnamese Cards) but I think it has a bunch of different names since its popular in a bunch of different countries. I just know that one potential sequence you could play was a dragon, and another was a bomb.

There's a lot of 1 VS 2 games like this and they're all great. Chimera is my favorite non-gambling version. Still has bidding though.

Instructions unclear, I accidentally summoned my Blue Eyes White Dragon

There is so many things you can do with a deck of cards! This is great variant :)

I play that game but with a variation. Is a free for all but ranked and no bets. The first one to free his hand is the king, next is prince, neutral, slave, mega slave. or just King, neutral and slave if you play 3 friends. Right, the king has to give his lower card to the slave and backwards, the slave has to give his best one. Neutral remains the same. And, if we have king and prince, it'll be 2 for the king and 1 for the prince. The funny thing is that the game can finish whenever you want because and you can end up being king starting as a neutral or slave if you play wisely. Ranks can always change from one play to another.

In Malaysia we call this game Dai di. Big two. Tho there's no joker variation

Aren't you supposed to play counter-clockwise? :) Also, I never found out whether the partners are able to communicate in any way. We always presumed that that's not allowed.

Wow, Quinns found 3 beers for his good friends. Also, nice to see Annie again!

Thanks for sharing! I’m gonna give this a shot.

"We need socialism quite badly!" - Mat Lees (2019)

This card game is a combination of Big 2 (Dai Di) and Mahjong. It's very challenging, I could play it for 8 hours straight and I'm 40 years old (you have to play it with money so people will be serious about it, but it does not need big money, just make it small sum just to make it fun). It really takes a lot of brainpower as memorizing the cards that come out will increase your chance of winning. After I played it for 8 hours, my body really felt tired the next day.

Makes me feel like Mao.

What happens when you only have one joker?

We need to see Bridge in this series!

When I saw the list of different hands I immediately thought of Pai-Gow which makes sense after learning its a Chinese game.

This reminds me of a weird hybrid between Tapp-Tarock and President.

I'm at 4'06 and begging for matt to drop a standard reftence pear, claiming it's higher than the flat cards. Please, I am begging!

I want to see you guys actually play a series of these games!

Card Games that don't suck: Up and Down the River. Hot damn, natural arc, fun beginning and end game, closely balanced, and something to think about no matter what hand you are dealt. Top, top game.

Loving this series.

When the landlord was chosen, that person was supposed to reveal the 3 cards on the table to everyone.

i got curious about this game coz of a novel I've been reading.. so its a pusoy dos with a slightly different setting

Instead of having to bet with money, could you do it where you just get points? First to obtain a certain number of points win? Similar to the betting mechanic in a game like Pitch for example?

These rules seem really similar to Big Two, though the landlord/team mechanic is distinct

This feels like a video I'd ask for if I did those things.

This very similar to a game we have in Albania called Murlan (or Mulan). Wherein 3-4 players fight to remove all cards from their hands by playing in the same order and rules as this game. But. Theres no landlord. Its everyone against everyone. And that is also hard to win. So i dont see how a landlord can win against two other players playing together. Must be way harder

Instructions unclear. Now own my apartment complex.

What is the rule regarding if you only had 1 joker in you hand, unable to play "rockets"?

Great series! Keep it up!

most ppl dont do all that complicated starting step. we just distribute the cards and organize them

wow I played a modified version of this with a friend that traveled to india and learned it there, it had more special cards but no betting

Can't use Twos or Jokers in any of the runs, except as kickers, so JQKA2 at 4:16 incorrect.

MORE PLEASE! YOU GUYS ROCK!

That Kirby deck is great!