Daifugō
The game is very similar to the Chinese climbing card games Big Two and Zheng Shangyou, to the Vietnamese game Tien Len, and to Western card games like President and "The Great Dalmuti". Like those other games, there are many variations and rules. Basic rules. The rules described here are based on rules made popular in the U.S. by Tokyopop, in volume two of the manga "Fruits Basket". They are fairly basic and attempt to condense the game to its core elements. Since card games like this are taught and evolve by word of mouth, the game play varies  according to state of origin. Special titles. There are five special titles for players during the game, along with popular North American and European equivalents: Some notes: Dealing. The "daihinmin" shuffles and deals the cards. All the cards are dealt, until none are left, in clockwise rotation. Jokers, other wilds or extra 2s from another deck are used to ensure the cards can be dealt evenly. Alternately, the deal starts at the point which will allow the richest players to have the fewest cards (e.g. deal starts on the "heimin" for five players) and therefore be more likely to maintain  their domination. After cards are dealt and after the first hand, the "daihinmin" must hand over their two strongest cards to the "daifugō", while the "hinmin" must hand over their one strongest card to the "fugō". The "daifugō" and "fugō" then hand back an equal number of any "junk" cards they do not want. This process is known as "zeikin" (taxation). Playing. Play in Daifugō is organized into "tricks", much like Spades or Bridge. However, unlike those games, each trick can involve more than one card played by each player, and players do not have to play a card in  a trick. The player on the dealer's left begins by leading any number of cards of the same rank (1-4, 5 or more are possible with wilds). The player on the left may then play an equal number of matching cards with a higher face value, or may pass. (In a few variants, it is permitted to play cards with an equal value as the last cards played. Doing so may skip the player next in order.) Note that the same number of cards as the lead must be played. If the leader starts with a pair, only  pairs may be played on top of it. If three-of-a-kind is led, only three-of-a-kinds can be played on top of it. (There are notable exceptions among the variants; see below) The next player may do the same, and so on. This continues until all players pass, or until one or more 2s are played; as the 2 is the highest value, nothing can beat it. The last person to play a card leads the next trick. Notes on game play: End of a round. When one player runs out of cards, he/she is  out of play for the rest of the round, but the other players can continue to play to figure out the titles. A few versions hold that once a player goes out, players count remaining card values to establish titles, or simply count the number of cards remaining in each player's hand. When playing by traditional rules, once titles are decided, everyone needs to get up and move. The "daihinmin" is the dealer, and the players must rearrange themselves around the dealer so that they are seated in order of rank, clockwise. Most American variants do not rearrange the  seating of the players, so everyone plays in the same order each hand (though the "daifugō" still leads the first trick). Winning the game. The winner is usually the player who is "daifugō" at the end of the game, but a point system can also be used, where the "fugō" and "daifugō" earn 1 and 2 points, respectively, every round. Basic strategy. The basic strategy of Daifugō is very simple; players attempt to get rid of weaker cards first so that only stronger cards are left in the players' hands near the end of a game. If a player is  stuck with a low card, it will be very hard to get to play it and empty a hand. However, as winning a trick lets the player lead any card to start the next trick, one weak card can be kept to be played last. However, when trying to prevent a player who is low on cards from emptying their hand, the player preceding him/her can elect to try to block the next player by playing a high value card or combination even if a lower value combination is available, and thus hopefully prevent the next player from playing  as they are unable to top it. Additional elements of strategy can be introduced with optional rules (see below) such as skips and clears, which afford the other players more options in attempting to prevent play by a person about to empty their hand. Optional rules. One or more house rules are usually observed when playing a game of Daifugō. Here are a few examples: Social aspects. Often the titles used in the game can be extended to social interactions. The "daihinmin" may be required to get up and fetch everyone's snacks and drinks (often this task is given  to the "hinmin" so the "daihinmin" can shuffle and deal). Also the "daifugō" may be able to give an order after each round that must be followed, like "all "heimin" must bark like dogs", or "the "hinmin" must give me a backrub". The "daifugō" - can also add rules related to the game itself, such as the rules in the list above, or any rule that suits him. It is often a good idea to impose limitations on such rule-making before the game starts, such as a maximum number of additional rules (requiring rules to be repealed when new ones  are added), and allowing other players to override a new rule by unanimous vote (or a sufficiently large percentage).