Chinese Rank-Match Card Game — Jiezhugan (接竹竿)

Also known as: Jiehuoche 接火车 · Mizhugan 弥竹竿 · Bamboo Pole

Play Jiezhugan (接竹竿, "Bamboo Pole"), the classic Chinese children's card game also known as Jiehuoche (接火车, "Catch the Train") or Mizhugan (弥竹竿). All 52 cards are dealt — 26 each, the table starts empty — and you take turns playing one card at a time. When your card's rank matches a card already on the table, you collect the whole pile on top of it, and captures can chain. A near-pure-luck game of sudden reversals, now playable against the computer. Runs 100% locally in your browser. No ads, no signup.

Your pile 0 Computer pile 0 Cards in hands 52 Difficulty:

Click a hand card to play. Match a rank to grab the pile!

Computer hand (26 cards, face down)

Table (play order: left = oldest)

Your hand — click a card to play

How to Play Jiezhugan

Deal — the whole 52-card deck is dealt: 26 cards to you, 26 to the computer. The table starts empty.
Play a card — click a hand card. It lands face up at the end of the table pile.
Collect — if its rank matches any card already on the table, you take that card, everything piled on top of it, and your own card.
Chain captures — after a capture, if the new top card of the pile matches an earlier card, that chunk is captured too, and so on until the pile has no repeated ranks.
Computer's turn — the computer plays with the same rules after a short pause. A player who empties their hand simply stops playing.
Win — when both hands are empty, whoever collected more cards wins.

Example

The table shows 3♣ K♥ (3♣ first). You play 3♦:

3♦ lands on top of the pile: 3♣ K♥ 3♦.
Its rank (3) matches the 3♣ — so you collect 3♣ K♥ 3♦, all three cards, and add them to your pile.

Now the table shows A♠ 3♥. You play 3♠ — it matches 3♥, so you collect A♠ 3♥ 3♠. But the new pile top is A♠, and it matches… wait, there is nothing left on the table. Now imagine the table had been A♠ 3♥ A♣ when you played 3♠: you would collect 3♥ A♣ 3♠, and then the pile top A♣ would match the A♠ — a chain capture that grabs A♠ too, for 5 cards total.

Strategy — Honest Talk

Jiezhugan is famously almost pure luck: you cannot see the computer's cards or the stock order, so there is no real card counting. The only real decisions are:

Play a rank the table already shows — an instant collect beats waiting for the computer to grab it first.
When nothing matches, play any card — the outcome is decided by the deck order, not by your choice.
Watch pile sizes, not streaks — a big early lead can vanish with one lucky match.

FAQ

What is Jiezhugan (接竹竿)?

Jiezhugan — literally "connecting bamboo poles" — is a traditional Chinese card game for 2–5 players, popular with children. Players take turns adding cards to one shared pile; when a played card's rank matches one already in the pile, the player collects everything in between.

What are the other names for this game?

Jiehuoche (接火车, "Catch the Train"), Mizhugan (弥竹竿), and in English sometimes "Bamboo Pole". The exact name varies by region in China.

How do you capture the pile in Jiezhugan?

When the card you play has the same rank as any card on the table, you collect the matched card plus everything that was played on top of it, plus the card you just played. The matched card is always the most recent one of that rank, so you grab the newest chunk of the pile.

Can captures chain in this version?

Yes. After a capture, the pile's new top card may itself match an earlier card — if so, that chunk is captured too, and this repeats until no rank appears twice in the pile. Chain capturing is a regional folk variant; some families play without it. Both you and the computer chain equally here.

Is Jiezhugan a game of skill?

Almost not at all. With hidden hands and a fixed deck order, the game is decided mostly by luck — which is exactly why kids love it: anyone can win at any moment.

What did you change for the single-player version?

Almost nothing in the core rules: the traditional game deals the whole deck with no stock, and so does this version (26 cards each, empty table). The only change is that your opponent is a computer player — and when one player runs out of cards, the other simply keeps playing until both hands are empty. See the Rule Source section for full details.

Are there difficulty levels?

Yes — Easy, Medium and Hard (switch at the top of the game). On Easy the computer plays fully randomly; on Hard it always captures when it can and maximizes chain gains. The computer always plays first (the opening card of an empty pile can never capture), and cards you can capture right now are highlighted in gold.

Do I need an account or a download?

No. The game runs entirely in your browser and works offline. No ads, no signup, no data collection.

📖 Rule Source — where these rules come from

Source	Traditional Chinese children's game passed on as oral tradition (民间玩法). No canonical English book source exists; names and details vary by region in mainland China.
Original Rules	2–5 players, entire deck dealt. In turn, each player adds one card to a shared face-up pile. If the played card's rank matches an earlier card in the pile, the player collects all cards between them (including both). The player who collects the most cards wins.
Regional Names	接竹竿 Jiezhugan · 接火车 Jiehuoche · 弥竹竿 Mizhugan · Bamboo Pole · Catch the Train
Single-Player Adaptation	The only change from the traditional two-player game is the opponent: a computer plays the same full-deal rules (26 cards each, empty table, no stock). A player who empties their hand stops playing while the other continues, and the game ends when both hands are empty. Collection runs from the matched card (most recent of that rank) to the top of the pile, plus the card just played.
Win Rate / Target	Not recorded. Solo target: win the pile-count against the computer.
Implementation Notes	Three computer difficulties: Easy (plays fully randomly), Medium (captures 60% of the time it can), Hard (always captures, maximizing chain gains). The computer always plays first, since the opening card of an empty pile can never capture — this gives the human a slight edge. Your hand highlights cards that can capture right now. Chain capturing (pile-top repeats auto-capture) is a regional folk variant. The played card lands on the pile first and flashes together with the captured chunk before both are removed. Games are stored only as a win/loss counter in your browser.