How to Play

Gong Zhu (Chase the Pig) is a Chinese 4-player no-trump trick-taking game in the Hearts family with bonus cards: the Pig (Queen of Spades, -100), the Sheep (Jack of Diamonds, +100), the Transformer (10 of Clubs, score-doubler), and graduated Hearts penalties.

Gong Zhu (拱猪, literally 'Push the Pig' or 'Chase the Pig') is a Chinese four-player no-trump trick-taking game in the Hearts family. Unlike standard Hearts, bonus cards exist alongside penalty cards: the Pig is -100 (the worst card), the Sheep is +100 (the best card), each Heart carries a graduated penalty (low Hearts -10 up to -50), and the Transformer doubles whatever you score that round. Before each deal, players may expose any of the special cards to double their value, raising the stakes. A match runs to an agreed cumulative target (commonly ±1000) and the lowest score loses (the 'pig').

Players

Exactly 4 players, each playing for themselves (no partnerships in standard play; a team variant exists). Choose a first dealer at random; deal and play rotate counter-clockwise following Chinese convention. There is no partner-passing of cards between deals (unlike Western Hearts).

Card Deck

One standard 52-card pack, no jokers. Ranks high to low in every suit: A, K, Q, J, 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2. No trump suit exists; only the led suit can win a trick. The four special cards that drive scoring are: Pig (-100), Sheep (+100), Transformer (multiplier; +50 alone or score-doubler), and the entire Hearts suit (graduated penalties; see Scoring).

Objective

Across many hands, avoid being the player with the lowest cumulative score. On each individual hand, capture the Sheep and avoid the Pig and Hearts; or, if you believe you can sweep all penalties, attempt Shooting the Moon to convert them into bonuses. The match ends when any player reaches -1000 (or by group agreement at +1000); the lowest scorer is the 'pig' (loser).

Setup and Deal

1. Shuffle the 52-card pack and cut. The dealer deals all cards face-down, one at a time, counter-clockwise: each player receives 13 cards.
2. Exposure phase: After looking at their hand, each player in counter-clockwise turn may expose one or more of the four special cards they hold (, , , or ) by laying it face-up in front of them. Exposing is optional; once exposed, that card stays visible to all and doubles its scoring effect.Q♠J♦10♣A♥
3. Restrictions on exposed cards: An exposed card may not be played the first time its suit is led, unless it is the holder's only card of that suit (a 'singleton'). This prevents an exposed Pig being dumped immediately on a Spade lead.
4. The player holding leads the first trick.2♣
5. Misdeal: if any player has the wrong number of cards, reshuffle and redeal.

Gameplay

1. Lead: The player on lead plays any card face-up in the centre. The first trick is led by the holder of , who must lead it.2♣
2. Follow suit: Each subsequent player, in counter-clockwise turn, must play a card of the same suit if able. If void in the led suit, they may play any card (it cannot win since there is no trump).
3. Winning the trick: The highest card of the led suit wins. The winner takes the four cards face-down into their personal pile and leads the next trick.
4. Hearts breaking: A player may not lead a Heart until Hearts have been 'broken' (a Heart has been discarded on a non-Heart trick), unless their hand contains nothing but Hearts.
5. Pig restriction: A player who holds the should usually not lead Spades themselves; many groups also forbid leading Spades on the very first trick (so the Pig cannot be discarded in trick 1).Q♠
6. End of hand: After all 13 tricks, every player counts the special cards in their pile and applies any doublers; scores are added to the running match total.

Scoring

• Pig : -100 points (-200 if exposed before play).Q♠
• Sheep : +100 points (+200 if exposed).J♦
• Hearts (graduated): -50, -40, -30, -20, through -10 each, are 0. Total Hearts penalty when one player takes them all is -200 (-400 if was exposed).A♥K♥Q♥J♥10♥5♥4♥3♥2♥A♥
• Transformer : If captured alone (with no Hearts, Pig, or Sheep) it scores +50. If captured with other special cards, it doubles your hand's special-card score (i.e., it multiplies the algebraic sum of your other special cards by 2). If exposed, the multiplier becomes ×4. A captured Transformer with no other special cards in your pile scores +50 (+100 if exposed).10♣
• Shooting the Moon (collecting all four Hearts groups + Pig): If a single player captures every Heart and the , the entire Hearts and Pig penalty becomes a bonus of equivalent magnitude (commonly +200 for full Hearts and +100 for the Pig become +200/+100 in their favour, with the other three players unaffected). House rules vary; agree before play.Q♠
• Order of operations: Sum the algebraic value of your captured special cards (Pig, Sheep, Hearts), then apply the Transformer multiplier (if captured), then apply any exposure doublers that have not yet been applied.

Winning

• Match end: Continue dealing hands until a player's cumulative total reaches -1000 (or whatever target the group agreed). That player is the 'pig' (loser).
• Match winner: The player with the highest cumulative score when the match ends wins.
• Single-hand cap: Some groups end the match the first time any player exceeds +1000 instead.
• Ties: Ties are unusual but if two players are level at the end, play one further tiebreaker hand.

Common Variations

• No Exposure: Skip the exposure phase entirely; everything scores at base value. Recommended for first-time players.
• Partnership Gong Zhu: Players sit alternately and partner with the player opposite. Scores are combined; strategy shifts dramatically because partners signal through which suits they break or hold.
• Q♦ (Diamonds Queen) Bonus: Capturing earns 10 points per subsequent trick won, an aggressive variant.Q♦
• Swap Phase: Before exposure, each player passes 3 cards to the next player, as in standard Hearts. Exposure follows the swap.
• Bonus Hand Cap: A perfect hand (all 4 special cards captured by one player with shooting-the-moon doubles applied) is sometimes capped at +800 to prevent runaway match wins.

Tips and Strategy

• Treat exposure as a contract. Expose only if your hand has the Diamonds strength to win the trick that contains it (long Diamonds with ). Expose only as a desperate signal that your Spades are short and you can dump it.J♦A♦K♦Q♠
• Void a suit early. A void in any non-Heart suit lets you legally throw penalty cards on opponents' tricks. Aim to void Spades fast if you don't hold the Pig.
• Don't lead Spades while the Pig is live. Leading any Spade above the Queen invites the Pig onto your trick. Wait for someone else to break Spades.
• The Transformer cuts both ways. If you've already collected the Sheep and avoided Hearts, capturing doubles a fat positive total. If you've collected Hearts, it doubles your loss. Don't accidentally win a low-Clubs trick that contains it.10♣
• Track the Hearts. Count which Hearts have fallen. Once are out, the remaining Hearts are cheap; aggressive Heart-leading by anyone left holding strong off-suit cards is a tell.A♥K♥Q♥
• Shoot the Moon only with both and the Hearts strength. You need to win every Heart trick and the trick containing the Pig. Without under control, attempting the moon hands the Pig to the wrong player.Q♠Q♠

Glossary

• Pig (猪 zhū): ; -100 base, -200 if exposed.Q♠
• Sheep (羊 yáng): ; +100 base, +200 if exposed.J♦
• Transformer (变压器 biànyāqì): ; doubles your special-card score (or scores +50 alone). Quadruple effect if exposed.10♣
• Exposure: Playing a special card face-up before the first trick to double its scoring effect, with the cost that you cannot dump it on the first time its suit is led.
• Trick: One round of play where every player contributes one card; the highest card of the led suit wins.
• Follow suit: Required action of playing a card of the led suit when you hold one.
• Hearts breaking: The first time a Heart is played on a non-Heart trick; once broken, Hearts may be led.
• Shooting the Moon: Capturing all the Heart penalties and the Pig in a single hand, converting penalties into bonuses.