Kuzeke elang
Kusyeke kherang (Baphian: kusyeke kherang, lit. 'shark food', Kzmr: 'kshkhi) is a card game in the rummy family popularly played in much of Ukilen, particularly the former states of the Baphian Democratic Union. It was most likely developed in Baphia during the late 19th century, but has since spread to many parts of the world. It is played with a large deck consisting of 212 cards.
Cards
The cards used in kusyeke kherang are divided into two categories, known as the major and minor cards. The minor cards have numerical values whereas the major cards do not.
Minor cards
The minor cards are divided into four suits: ribbons, lances, beads, and rings. In each of these four suits, there are cards for the ranks one through nine with four copies apiece, as well as two copies for each of two special cards. These are the 'ten', which is able to stand for either zero or ten in the context of a run, and the suit-specific joker. The tens are represented by various types of vexilloid, while the representations of the jokers vary.
| Suit | Ten design | Joker design |
|---|---|---|
| Ribbons | Flagpole with five ribbon-like pennants | Three vertical ribbons |
| Lances | Tug-like flag with a spearhead finial | Three double-headed lances |
| Beads | Flagpole with three round lanterns and a horns-shaped finial | Necklace of fourteen beads |
| Rings | Red vertical flag on crossbar with three gold rings | Chain of alternating silver and gold rings |
Major cards
There are three types of major cards: elements, directions, and seasons.
Elements
The element cards are named after the six Baphian classical elements, and are able to form runs based on their position in the elemental cycle, with moon able to 'wrap around' to sun. There are four copies of each. The order of the cards is as follows:
- Sun (Baphian: zepang, Kzmr: spn)
- Fire (Baphian: neya, Kzmr: nr)
- Water (Baphian: mubeve, Kzmr: þnu)
- Bark (Baphian: zudye, Kzmr: spu)
- Gold (Baphian: sahrot, Kzmr: sþtu)
- Moon (Baphian: ëgye, Kzmr: ng)
Directions
The direction cards are named after the four cardinal directions. There are four copies of each.
Seasons
The season cards are named after the four seasons. There are three copies of each.
Game setup
The players are designated based on the cardinal directions. Traditionally, the player furthest from the door is assigned East and the rest are given corresponding directions based on this. The game begins with the dealer (East in the first round) shuffling the deck, after which they deal 14 cards to each of the other players and 15 to themself. After this, the remaining cards are set face-down in a draw pile in the center.
Card exchange
After the initial setup, each of the players, starting with East and progressing clockwise, passes three cards to the player on their left. This player then chooses two cards to keep in their hand, and passes the third back to the right. Thus, in order, East passes three cards to South and is given one of them back, South passes three to West and is given one back, West does the same for North, and finally, North does the same for East. Once this is complete, play can begin, in which player order is the same as the order of exchange.
Main gameplay
Aside from the dealer's very first turn, which consists solely of the latter half of the standard turn, each turn in a game of kusyeke kherang consists of drawing a card from one of two sources (either the main draw pile, or the discard pile assuming the criteria mentioned below are satisfied), then either discarding a card face up on the discard pile or, if possible, declaring a win.
A card can only be drawn from the discard pile if it can be used to form a meld in the player's current hand. In this case, this card, as well as those that comprise the same meld, are set face-up on the table, with one of them (always the latest in rank in the case of a straight) laid diagonally across the rest.
Deal-ins
In addition, at any point in the game, if a player would be able to form a winning hand with a newly added card on the discard pile, they can declare a win even if they are not the current player. This is known as a deal-in. A win can also be declared off of the diagonal card of another player's revealed cards, so long as it is part of a meld of five cards or more. Similar to the standard deal-in, this must be done immediately after the winning card is revealed.
Game structure
A full game of kusyeke kherang is comprised of a predetermined number of rounds, each of which themselves consist of four hands, with each player being given the title of East, and therefore dealer and first player, in exactly one of these hands. After each hand, the new East player is always the one to the immediate right of the former East player. Rather than having a 'prevailing wind' as in standard mahjong, rounds are each given prevailing numbers, which starts at one and increases by one after each round.