Dou Dizhu
Officially Dou Dizhu (斗地主, 'Fight the Landlord')
CHINESE CLIMBING CARD GAME (1990s Anhui province). 3 players use a 54-CARD DECK (52 standard + 2 jokers). One player is the LANDLORD (地主, dìzhǔ) against 2 PEASANTS. Landlord bids for extra 3 cards; peasants team up to defeat. Play climbing combos (singles, pairs, triples, straights, bombs, rockets). Landlord wins alone if game ends, peasants win together. China's most popular card game — 400M+ players; official online platforms (Tencent, Wechat) run massive daily tournaments; recognized as a MIND SPORT by Chinese state.
Quick facts
Category
Card Games
Type
Team sport
Players
3–3
Duration
~15 min
Where played
indoor
Country of origin
🇨🇳 China
Estimated origin
1990s Anhui province; national by 2000s; online explosion via Tencent 2010s
Olympic
No
Popularity
global
How it works
Objective
Landlord: shed all cards first alone. Peasants: either peasant sheds first, together.
Rules
Basic rules
Bidding phase: players bid 1-3 points to become Landlord
Highest bid gets 3 extra cards.
Landlord starts + must play the first combination
Standard start.
Play combinations in ascending rank (singles, pairs, triples + kickers, straights, bombs, rocket)
Climbing.
Bombs (4 of kind) beat non-bombs regardless of rank
Signature bomb rule.
Rocket (both jokers) is the ultimate combination
Unbeatable.
Landlord alone vs 2 peasants; peasants team up + must cooperate
Asymmetric teams.
Scoring
Bid points × 2^bombs; landlord scored + peasants each score inversely.
| Action | Points |
|---|---|
| Landlord wins | +bid × 2 (from each peasant) |
| Peasants win | -bid × 2 (from landlord to each peasant) |
| Each bomb doubles stakes | × 2 per bomb |
| Rocket doubles again | × 2 additional |
Win condition · Each hand independent; cumulative session score.
Equipment
54-card deck (52 standard + 2 jokers)
Standard doudizhu deck
Online platforms: Tencent, Wechat, JJ World
400M+ registered players
Terminology
- Dìzhǔ (地主)
- 'Landlord' — the solo player with 3 extra cards.
- Nóngmín (农民)
- 'Peasant' — the 2 cooperating opponents.
- Zhàdàn (炸弹)
- Bomb — 4 of a kind, unbeatable except by higher bomb.
- Huǒjiàn (火箭)
- Rocket — both jokers played together; the ultimate combination.
- Chūng zhū (冲主)
- Peasants coordinating to defeat landlord.
Major competitions
Tencent Dou Dizhu Grand Prix
annual · China · since 2010
JJ World Doudizhu Championship
annual · China + global online · since 2008
China Mind Sports Games
quadrennial · China (Dou Dizhu recognized) · since 2008
Where it is played
Governing bodies
Chinese Card Sport Association
Founded 2013 · China
Tencent Games (official online platform)
Founded 1998 · Shenzhen, China
Famous names & records
Famous athletes
- Zhang Jing (China Dou Dizhu champion)
- Wu Junshi (JJ World multi-champion)
- Tencent official commentator team
Frequently asked
How popular is Dou Dizhu?+
IMMENSELY. Estimated 400M+ registered players on Chinese online platforms (Tencent's Dou Dizhu app has hundreds of millions of DAU). Recognized as a MIND SPORT by the Chinese state + featured in the CHINA MIND SPORTS GAMES. Widely called China's most-played card game — more than Mahjong online. Professional tournaments have prize pools exceeding ¥1M.
Dou Dizhu vs Big Two vs President?+
All are climbing games from East Asian tradition. BIG TWO (Cantonese, 4-player individual, 52 cards): most similar structurally; each player plays alone. DOU DIZHU (Mainland Chinese, 3-player asymmetric 1v2): asymmetric team dynamic with landlord bidding. PRESIDENT (Western, 4+ player): simpler, party-friendly, no bidding. Dou Dizhu adds RICHEST BIDDING + asymmetric team play; Big Two adds MOST TACTICAL DEPTH per hand; President is MOST ACCESSIBLE.
Sources & provenance
- Wikipedia — Dou Dizhu— Wikipedia