tile. They have been available in playing card format since the beginning of the 17th century. Turning Heaven and Nine Turning Heaven and Nine (扭天九) is a simple two player trick-taking game of chance. The 32 dominoes are stacked in eight piles of four tiles each. The first player takes a domino from the top of a pile while the second player takes the one below it. The second player must draw a higher tile of the same suit or lose it to the first player. If she manages to do so, she will take both tiles and lead the next trick. Game continues until all tiles are exhausted. Players count the red pips in their captured tiles with the loser having to pay the difference to the winner. Playing Heaven and Nine Playing Heaven and Nine (打天九) is a multi-trick game for 4 players. All tiles are distributed by the banker so each player gets eight. The banker leads the first trick with a single, double, triple, or quadruple trick and the others must play out with an equal number of tiles. Players that are unable to beat the trick discard their tiles face down (this is characteristic of some trumpless trick-taking games like Madiao and Ganjifa). The winner leads the next trick. The player who takes the last trick or multi-trick becomes the next banker. Players who have not won any of the first seven tricks automatically lose the last trick regardless of the strength of their final tile. In double tricks, there are two additional suits, mixed and supreme: Mixed: Heaven and a Nine; Earth and an Eight; Man and a Seven; Harmony and a Five Supreme: Six and Final Three As the supreme suit consists of a single pair, it is unbeatable if led but considered a discard if not led. In triple and quadruple tricks these are the only valid combinations: Heavens and Nines; Earths and Eights; Men and Sevens; Harmonies and Fives Triple tricks have a rule that a triplet consisting of two civil and one military tiles can only be beaten by a triplet consisting of the same suit compositions. Likewise, a triplet consisting of two military and one civil tiles can only be beaten by the same. There are complex rules to the game play and scoring. There is an accumulating multiplier to the winning and loss as the game proceeds. There