Ganjifa Play 2019

Ganjifa playing cards were introduced and popularized by Mughal emperors in the 16th century. It has always been one of the popular card games among Moghul Emperors, Emirs and Maharajas. When it was first established, the cards started spreading to many regions of India in the original form or Hindu form. Nowadays it’s difficult to find a suitable deck to play in India. Only a small handful of artisans located in 2 cities still produce Ganjifa cards.

This is where we come in. Let me introduce you to Ganjifa Play.

In Ganjifa Play, players take turns playing suits, taking tricks, and building temples. Ganjifa Play is a trick-taking, hand management game for 2-4 players. Several chips are randomly drawn from the bag to determine (one round, one square, and one diamond) the highest suite symbol that round, the time of day, and the location.

The Round pawn sets the highest deck in the game for that round. The Raja of this suit goes first.

The Diamond pawn, with the time of day symbol indicates the suit that defines the direction of the game. For example, the player whose Raja matches the chosen time of day makes the toughest decision. Does gameplay go Clockwise or Counterclockwise?

The Square pawn defines the location. The players who Raja matches may exchange two cards of their choice with any two from an opponent’s hand.

Once all cards have been played, players count their tricks to determine the winner that round. The winner places the base of their temple onto the mandala playing field. If a number of players have the same number of tricks, all players are deemed winners that round and should put the first part of their temple on the playing field.

The goal is to be the first player to build a complete temple made up of three parts.

—description from the designer