Qi Dao (Seven paths), for 2- 4 players: Except for scoring & number of cards dealt, the rules are the same regardless of the number of players. The object of the game is to build formulas. For 2 people, deal 11 cards face down (3 people, 7 cards, 4, 5 cards), then flop (deal face up) 7 cards. If you flop a complete formula, discard those cards and flop the cards you need to get back to seven. If you are playing with the wild cards and one is flopped, discard it and flop another. Stack together those flopped cards that are of the same formula.

Here is a flop dealt from the yellow deck, which contains Expel Damp & Expel Phlegm formulas. You can see Hou Po & Chen Pi, the 1st Deputy herbs from Huo Xiang Cheng Qi Tang, Zhi Gan Cao, the Assistant herb from Er Chen Tang, Gua Lou, the Deputy herb from Bei Mu Gua Lou San, Du Huo, the King herb from Du Huo Cheng Qi Tang, Ban Xia, Tian Ma & Bai Zhu, respectively the King & Deputy herbs from Ban Xi Bai Zhu Tian Ma Tang, and DengXin Cao & Gan Cao, the Envoy herbs from Ba Zheng San

Next, players see which cards they have that match the suits of the ones in the flop. If three people were playing, one might be dealt an initial hand like this one.

Then, each player may discard and draws up to four cards. In the above example, the player has three cards which show up in the flop. From the left, they are Sheng Jiang & Da Zao, the 2nd Assistant from Ban Xia Bai Zhu Tian Ma Tang, Huo Xiang, the King Herb from Huo Xiang Cheng Qi Tang, & Mu Tong, the King Herb in Ba Zheng San. Our player has also drawn a wild card. The other three cards cannot be used, so in this case, the player will discard three cards and get three more. The other players do the same with their hands, discarding those cards which are not in the flop in the hope of drawing cards that are. However if a player has drawn a complete formula which is not in the flop, she should hold onto it as it may be played for points. If a player has two out of three or three out of four of a formula not in the flop and wishes to take a chance of completing that formula on the draw, he may do so but the odds are slim. After all players have discarded and drawn their cards, the player to the left of the dealer places down a card belonging to any one of the formulas represented in the flop. The next player does the same. Players continue putting down cards. When a formula is built, each player who has put down at least 1 card in the completed formula gets a point. If a player completes a formula in the flop by himself, she gets a point for each player in the game (2 players = 2 pts, 3 = 3 pts etc). If a player is holding a complete formula not represented in the flop, she can lay it down all at once and get a point for each player in the game. Wild cards can represent any card & may be played at anytime. These are Qi Dao basic rules.

Betting/Scoring: By keeping a running score of successive hands, play to a given amount (eg 20 points). If the winner has 20 & the secondplayer has 17, the difference is 3. If a thirdplayer has 15, then the winner would get (3+5) 8. If you treat each hand separately, betting may take place first, after everyone has drawn up to their four card limit and has sized up their hand, and next, each time after a formula is made. To best keep track of scoring, each player should choose a color from the different decks and set down a card from that deck above the formula to which they have added a card.

Qi Dao Optional Rules:

Don't let the basic rules I listed limit you in playing the game and advancing your herbal knowledge. You may want to award extra points for the first player to name a completed formula. (Name them after the formula is made. If that is too easy, try naming them after the flop), the dosage of the King herb, the formulas action, tongue & pulse, etc.