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Glite Dictionary
🃏 A card game 🎲 A gambling game
fantan

fantan

9.9
A card game where players start with sevens then add cards to suit sequences to use all cards first
  • noun
  • /ˈfænˌtæn/
translation icon : fantan
  • He taught his friends how to play fantan with a standard deck of cards.

Examples

  • Every Friday night, the family would gather around the table to play fantan.

  • I learned how to play fantan from my grandfather.

  • At the party, they started a lively game of fantan that lasted for hours.

  • They played fantan for hours last night.

  • At the party, they started a lively game of fantan that lasted for hours.

  • Every Friday night, the family would gather around the table to play fantan.

  • He taught his friends how to play fantan with a standard deck of cards.

Synonyms

sevens
vsfantan
2 7.8

A card game where players place the seven of a suit and then play cards in order to win

is the same game but presented under another name
parliament
vsfantan
  • UK
2 9.9

A card game where players play sevens and suit sequences to finish their cards

has identical rules but is called by another name

Surface Forms

fantan singular
fantans plural

Etymology

Fantan for the card game was borrowed into English from the Chinese game name fan-tan, and it became used for a simple table game where players lay down cards in order. Think of it as a game where people put down sevens and then add cards in sequence until one player uses all their cards, which is why the same name fits a game that ends when someone finishes.