CHINESE GAMES WITH DICE AND DOMINOES. 513 



2 or 3 pieces, liis opponent may take it, and follow by laying out a piece 

 and continuing tbe game. The game proceeds until one of the players 

 has laid out all of his pieces, when the one who counts highest 

 wins. 



k'ap tai shap. 



Khn tai shap, " to grasp many tens;" 67/'i tdi shap, "to grasp many 

 tens ; " K''ap tdi shap, " to complete many tens ; " is played by any number 

 of persons from 2 to 20 and upward, and is the favorite game with 

 dominoes in the Chinese gambling houses in the United States. In 

 many of these houses a large table covered with matting to deaden 

 the sound is kept apart for this game. As there played, many sets of 

 dominoes are used which are well mixed by the players and piled faces 

 down, side by side, in piles 5 pieces high in a long stack upon the table. 

 The croupier, or one of the players, shakes 4 dice under a cup, and 

 counts around to the right, commencing with the player on his right, 

 up to the number thrown. The one at whom he stops becomes the first 

 player. The top piece on the third j^ile from one end of the stack, with 

 each alternate piece on the top up to the number of persons playing, 

 less'one, is now removed and placed in a pile at the other end of the 

 stack. The first player takes 2 piles at the end and gets 10 pieces; the 

 second player on his right takes the 2 next piles and gets 9 pieces, and 

 so on, each player except the first getting 9 j)ieces. 



In this game each piece in a set of dominoes may be mated with a 

 dui)licate piece to form a pair called ngdu, " eye." The ngdn or eyes 

 thus formed by the pieces on the left (pi. 6) are called iln ngdn or 

 "weak eyes," while those formed by the pieces on the right are called 

 ngdng ngdn, or " strong eyes." The object of the game is to get 10 

 pieces in each of which 2 are the same and form either an iln or ngdng 

 ngdn, and the others form 4 pairs, in each of which the sum of the 

 spots is 10 or a multiple of 10, whence the name of the game. The 

 j)iece 2-4 is only counted as 3 in making up tens. 



The players examine their pieces, and the first player if he has not 

 drawn a winning hand, discards a piece which he throws face up on 

 the table. The next player to the right may take this piece to comi)lete 

 a winning hand, or in exchange for a piece from his hand, which he 

 places face up on the table. He also draws a piece from the bottom of 

 the exposed pile of the stack. If it does not complete a winning hand 

 he may either throw it face up on the table, or keep it and discard a 

 piece from his hand. The third player may now take one of the pieces 

 on the table and draw one from the bottom of the exposed pile. The 

 game proceeds in this way until one of the players gets 10 pieces, of 

 which 2 form a ngdn, and the others pairs on which the sum of the 

 spots is 10 or a multiple of 10 and wins the game. 



In gambling houses the stakes are placed in a box on the table at 

 H. Mis. 184, pt. 2 33 



