Tiến lên

Tien len is a shedding-type card game that originated in Vietnam, where it is widely regarded as the country's national card game. Its name means to advance or go forward, describing the way players race to be the first to play every card from their hand. The game spread internationally alongside Vietnamese emigration and is now common wherever Vietnamese communities have settled, including across the United States, where it is also known under names such as Viet Cong, VC, Thirteen, Killer or 2's. It is typically played by two to eight players with a standard deck, and belongs to the same broad family as other Asian shedding and climbing games, in which players discard combinations of cards in an effort to empty their hand before their opponents. Regional and household rule variations are common, and the game remains a fixture of casual and family play rather than a formally codified tournament game.