CHINESE GAMES WITH DICE AND DOMINOES. 525 



3-3 are first withdrawn. The game is begun by someone asking who 

 has the Tcoan a ? The holder of this piece, the 5-2, lays down any 

 piece he may select from his hand, face up, at the same time crying out 

 a number on one side of it, which number must be paired. The next 

 player must mate the side designated with one of his pieces, but if 

 unable to do so, must lay a piece from his hand, face down on the table. 

 The game is continued around until all have been paired or all have 

 laid down their pieces. Then each counts the spots on the pieces they 

 have been compelled to lay down, which naturally have been selected 

 from those with the fewest spots in their hands, and the one who has the 

 highest number of spots pays the one who has the lowest number of 

 spots. When 4 play, all players who count more than 30 must pay; 



KOL-YE-SI.* 



Kol-ye-si is played by two or more persons, not exceeding ten. The 

 set of dominoes is placed face down and shuffled, and i;)art, if not all 

 of the set, are placed end to end in an irregular line. One of the 

 players acts as banker, Moul-tjyou (Chinese, Mat chii "things' ruler"). 

 The other players each draw 1 piece in turn from the line. They exam- 

 ine this piece and each put whatever stake they choose on the piece 

 drawn. The Moul-tjyou puts down the same amount, whatever it may 

 be, beside each j)layer's stake and takes the next 2 pieces. If his pieces 

 are identical, a perfect pair, he at once wins all that has been staked. 

 Otherwise the other players draw in turn either 1 or 2 pieces from 

 the line. This done, they and the J/oj<7-/(?/o« turn their pieces face up. 

 They all count the spots on their dominoes. The remainders, after deduc- 

 ting the tens, count, and if the Moul-tjyou has an excess over that of 

 any player, he takes the stakes, but if a i^layer has an excess over that 

 of the Moul-tjyou when the tens are deducted from the sum of the spots, 

 that player wins the amount of the stake he has staked. 



This is a common game in gambling houses. It is customary to keep 

 a water jar there, in which the i)layers voluntarily put a portion of 

 their stakes before the result is disclosed, or, if unmindful, at the sug- 

 gestion of some one interested in the house. 



RYONG-HPAI. 



Dominoes are used in Korea as in China in playing solitaire, which, 

 as in China, is a favorite kind of sortilage, not regarded seriously, but 

 often j)layed at the beginning of the day, the player wishing for a happy 

 omen. The solitaire game described under the name of hoi fdp, 

 page 516, is known under the name of Ryong-hpai (Chinese, lung p''di)y 

 "Dragon tablets," while another arrangement is shown in fig. 20. 



^Kol-ye-si means Ml {lipai) or "domiuo" ye-si, the latter being the name of a 

 game played with cards. 



