Description

Zhuang Yuan Chou (Chong Yuen Chow in Cantonese) is a gambling game using dice and tallies, first mentioned in Chinese texts in the late 18th century, but still played today.

'Zhuang Yuan' is the title given to the scholar who achieved the highest distinction in the imperial examinations that determined entry into the Chinese bureaucracy.

The game consists of six dice and sixty-three tallies bearing titles of ranks of achievement in the examinations and the number of points they are worth. There is only one each of the top 3 positions, of which the highest value (32 points) and the largest tally is the Zhuan Yuan.
The lower the position, the thinner/shorter the tallies and the fewer points each is worth. At the lowest rank, Xiu Cai, there are 32 tallies worth 1 point each. As with many Chinese dice games, a porcelain bowl is often used to hold and roll the dice.

To play, punters agree on a value per point (Dobree mentions 1 cent, 10 cents or 50 cents). Each player takes turns rolling all six dice. According to the roll, the player is allowed to claim tallies of equivalent worth from the center of the table where they are initially placed. Certain rolls allow one to claim tallies from other players if those tallies were previously claimed. The game is played until all tallies have been claimed.

The best roll is six of a kind, allowing the player to claim all the tallies, whether they are in the pool or with other players. Five of a kind allows the player to claim the Zhuan Yuan tally wherever it is. Red fours (on Chinese dice, the one and four spots are red) are also good to roll - four of them will also get you the Zhuan Yuan tally. Dobree and Culin have both described the game including the values of the rolls.

In the past, tallies were made of bone and hand-engraved. Modern sets have brightly colored plastic tallies and can be found for sale in Mahjong shops in Singapore (and likely elsewhere).