Tien Len
Tiến lên — "go forward" — is Vietnam's national card game, also sold as 13 or Thirteen. Shed every card in your hand before anyone else, and remember that the two is the highest card in the pack, not the lowest.
Overview
Tien Len belongs to the same family as President: everyone races to empty their hand, and the last player still holding cards loses. What makes it its own game is the ranking and the bombs. The two sits at the top rather than the bottom, suits break ties, and a hand of twos that looks unbeatable can be cut down by four of a kind or by consecutive pairs. Four players get thirteen cards each — the thirteen that gives the game its other name — or you can play head to head with seventeen each. Both are here, against the computer or against a real person, and a browser player and an Android player can share the same table.Two ways to play
The four-player game is the one people mean by Tiến lên: thirteen cards each, the full pack dealt out, and three opponents to get past. Head to head is the faster variant — seventeen cards each and the rest of the pack set aside — which changes the maths on bombs considerably, because holding four of a kind matters far more when there is only one player left to cut. Both are available against the computer, and the head-to-head game is what you get online.
How it compares to President
If you know President or Scum you already know the shape of Tiến lên: shed every card before anyone else. The differences are what make it worth learning separately. The two is the highest card rather than a low one. Suits break ties, which President ignores entirely. Passing locks you out of the trick for good instead of merely skipping your turn. And the bomb rules give a losing hand a way back in — four of a kind or consecutive pairs can cut a two that would otherwise be untouchable.
The ranking
Cards run low to high 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 J Q K A 2 — the two is the highest card. Suits matter here: spades, then clubs, then diamonds, then hearts. Rank beats suit, so the 3 of spades is the lowest card in the pack and the 2 of hearts the highest.
The deal
Four players get thirteen cards each. Head to head, you each get seventeen and the rest of the pack is set aside. In the very first hand whoever holds the lowest card must lead, and their play has to include it.
What you can play
A single, a pair, a triple, four of a kind, a run of three or more cards in sequence, or a double run of three or more pairs in sequence. Twos may never sit inside a run or a double run.
Beating a play
You must answer with the same shape and the same number of cards, but higher — decided on the highest card, and on suit if the ranks tie. A run of four is only ever beaten by another run of four.
Passing
Pass and you are locked out for the rest of that trick — unlike President, you do not get back in. When everyone else has passed, the cards are set aside and whoever played last leads again with anything.
Bombs and chops
Twos can be cut. Four of a kind or three consecutive pairs beat a single two. Four consecutive pairs beat a pair of twos, and also beat four of a kind. Five consecutive pairs beat three twos. A bomb never cuts anything but twos.
Winning
Shed your last card and you are out. The rest play on for the places; whoever is left holding cards comes last.
Online multiplayer
Online is head to head, seventeen cards each, on the GameYantra server. Pick an opponent from the lobby and challenge them. Matches are cross-platform, so a browser player and an Android player can share the same table.