Gambling Games of Malaya (1955)

Last updated: Saturday, 8 February 2025.

Gambling Games of Malaya is a book written by one C. T. Dobree (Charles Thomas Winston Dobrée), who was at one time Assistant Commissioner of Police in Malaya. Dobree intended it to be useful for identifying games for the purposes of deciding whether or not a particular game was legal, and it remains a very valuable source for information on games which have been played throughout the Malay archipelago.

The law codes of Singapore, Malaysia, and Brunei all contain lists of illegal games which are based on this book (the spelling and ordering of the games are identical).

The games listed in the book are as follows.

Lottery games:

• Chee Fah, Hwah Hwey, or 36 Numbers (huahui)

• Whay

• Chee Tam, or 80 Characters

• Chap Ji Kee

• Sap Sam Tai Poh

• Wee Sua Peow, Wei San Piew, Tong Sua Peow, or Quay Sua Peow

• Pak Kap Piew, or Pigeon Lottery (The Pigeon Lottery)

• Tikam Ekor, or the 100, 1,000, 10,000 number games

Games with cards:

• Games with English cards

• Games with Chinese cards:

  • Sook Sik Pai (Four-Colour cards)

  • Luk Foo Pai

  • Seong Kum Pai or Pin Kum Pai

  • Chi Kee Pai (Ceki)

  • Sap Ng Hor Pai

  • Tung Koon Pai

  • Oh Peh Pai

• Pair

• Sam Sam Cheong or Lushun Poker

• Three Cards, Sam Cheon, Pa Kau, or Daun Tiga

• Koo Kiew, Ten Kiew, or Soo Kiew

• Tau Ngau

• Twenty One

• Thirty One

• Ten and a Half

• Minta Daun

• Three Card Trick, Mai Won, or Tikam Raja

Games with dominoes:

• Pai Kow

• Tau Ngau

• Tien Kow

Dice games:

• Yew Yee Sam, or One Two Three (mentioned in Crown & Anchor)

• Tai Sai or Big and Small (simple version)

• Luk Kow or Dicing Six (Cee-Lo)

• Sepat

• Ta Kai or Cockfighting

• Chong Yuen Chow

• Sek Poh

• Sek Chai Tan or Kok Kok

• Tai Sai or Big and Small (staking board version)

• Hoo, Hey, How (Crown & Anchor)

Miscellaneous games:

• Chap Ji Kee Pangjang

• Daun Empat or See Kee Yah

• Fan Tan or Tuahn (Fan-Tan)

• Poh, Lien Poh, or Ewok (Lián Pó)

• Pek Bin

• Belankai (Belangkai)

• Dadu Katak Ular

• Dadu Muka Enam

• Dadu Belankas Mata

• 136 Numbers

• Solhi

• Games with Mahjong tiles

• Games in amusement parks

• Fruit machines

• Horse race betting and bookmakers

References

1. Dobree, C. T. (1955). Gambling Games of Malaya. The Caxton Press: Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.