Many Chinese love to play "Mahjong", the Babas created a favourite card game of their own called Cheki. If the Babas say they go "ber-Cheki", then you know, they are playing something similar to "Gin Rummy".
This 60-card pattern is traditionally used by Indonesian and Malaysian players of Chinese descent. About one century ago, the gambling game of Cheki (also spelled as Ceki or Tjeki), also known as Kowah, was particularly popular among the Babas and Nyonyas ethnic groups living in Malacca, but it is still played today by the descendants of such immigrants.
This pattern has very strong analogies with the classic Chinese Dong Guan cards. There are values from 1 to 9 of the suits of 'Coins', 'Strings' and 'Myriads', plus the 'Old Thousand', 'Red Flower' and 'White Flower' cards, and their illustrations are very similar too. Therefore, Cheki cards are a further variety of money-suited cards.
In Cheki decks, each subject is duplicated twice, and there is no 'Gui' (or "devil") card; therefore, the pack contains only 60 cards. But since the game requires two decks (120 cards in total) for being played, a clear analogy with the aforesaid Chinese pattern can be told. Furthermore, the game of Cheki is not very different from Mahjong, whose cards belong to the money-suited group, as well.
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This 60-card pattern is traditionally used by Indonesian and Malaysian players of Chinese descent. About one century ago, the gambling game of Cheki (also spelled as Ceki or Tjeki), also known as Kowah, was particularly popular among the Babas and Nyonyas ethnic groups living in Malacca, but it is still played today by the descendants of such immigrants.
This pattern has very strong analogies with the classic Chinese Dong Guan cards. There are values from 1 to 9 of the suits of 'Coins', 'Strings' and 'Myriads', plus the 'Old Thousand', 'Red Flower' and 'White Flower' cards, and their illustrations are very similar too. Therefore, Cheki cards are a further variety of money-suited cards.
In Cheki decks, each subject is duplicated twice, and there is no 'Gui' (or "devil") card; therefore, the pack contains only 60 cards. But since the game requires two decks (120 cards in total) for being played, a clear analogy with the aforesaid Chinese pattern can be told. Furthermore, the game of Cheki is not very different from Mahjong, whose cards belong to the money-suited group, as well.
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Is there a way that I can learn to play this game?
ReplyDeleteWhere can I buy these cards please.
ReplyDelete