Living in Singapore, we all probably have some degree of familiarity with Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM). You’ve probably heard mom tell you to stay away from fried chicken because they’re heaty and might cause sore throats. Or being prescribed po chai pills to treat stomach aches and pure cordyceps capsules for boosts of energy.
We’re used to blindly ingesting said products, without appreciating the health benefits of these TCM formulations. But now you can delve into the health benefits of TCM herbs with a new card game – Master Sinseh by Eu Yan Sang. While it can’t quite cure your nibbling heatiness, here’s what the game entails, and some tips on how to be the best “physician” at the table.
For starters, Master Sinseh is a card game where up to 5 players take up the role of a Sinseh, the colloquial name for a TCM physician. The game is played over 5 rounds, each represented as a “day”. Each “day”, ailing patients will visit you, seeking the best possible treatment.
Here’s where your Singaporean kiasuness may be of good use: your goal is to cure as many patients as possible and collect the most points, to be crowned the master Sinseh.
For those who’re looking to brush up on their cai fan ordering skills, you can challenge your buds to play this game with you in Mandarin, as there are Chinese translations of the rulebook and cards.
You don’t have to worry about understanding fancy Chinese words either; this card game is mostly in English. You’ll get to learn about the healing properties of commonly-used TCM herbs as you win over patients from your peers. As they say, all is fair in love and war, but at least the patients go home cured, right?
What a 4-player game of Master Sinseh looks like.
The 4 Liquorice cards go back into your hand after each day, a nod to its real-world counterpart that is so common and readily available.
In order to claim the title of the best master Sinseh, you’ll want to accumulate the most amount of Heart points amongst your fellow Sinsehs. This means curing as many patients as you can over the course of the 5 rounds, using your arsenal of herbs in the most efficient way possible.
Do note that other elements not used to cure the patients will not be counted towards your total heal value. In this case, the value of the “Clear Heat” (yin-yang with fire) element is ignored.
In the above example, this Sinseh has amassed a total of 12 Heart points; 8 from Patient cards and 4 from Book cards and Gratitude symbols.
As with every card game, there are some nuanced strategies you can employ to gain the upper hand. Master Sinseh rewards those who can ration their resources wisely, so don’t squander your good Herb cards like the all-curing Codonopsis and Cinnamon on day 1.
This rings doubly true when you know you can’t beat your opponent’s strong combination of Herb cards. Just think of it like folding when you don’t have a good hand in Poker; perhaps it might be wise to use your Liquorice cards for that “unwinnable” patient, as those will return to your hand at the end of the day.
Each player’s Herb deck is identical, which means you can pretty much keep track of which Herb cards your opponents have played to predict which ones they could be holding on to. Much like keeping an eye out for 2s in Big Two, tracking your opponent’s cards can make it easier to decide whether or not to go all in for a particular patient.
Some big Herb cards to look out for include ones that have a multiplicative element value which can result in huge Heal values, like Chinese Peony, Barley, and Poria.
Playing around the Book cards can be a valid strategy as well. The 3 Heart points gained from matching 3 of the same Gratitude symbols can be a game changer. So, it might be smart to target specific patients, as some of them come tagged with a bonus Gratitude symbol to go along with your Book cards.
Conversely, if you’re feeling a lil’ devious, you can also try to deny your opponents those sweet 3 points, by going for patients that they need to complete their set of 3 Gratitude symbols.
Master Sinseh might be a little tricky to get a hang of in the beginning, but as you play through the first days you’ll be curing patients left and right in no time. Once you’ve got a couple of games under your belt and want to spice things up a bit, you can throw the special Eu Yan Sang cards into the mix.
Some of these special cards even feature illustrations of actual Eu Yan Sang products, like the Luk Mey Pills and the Pure Cordyceps.
To implement these purple-bordered cards into your games, deal 2 of them to each player at random, so each player starts the game with 12 cards in hand rather than 10. The special cards are played as your regular Herb cards, and they come with game-changing effects. These include sabo-ing your opponents’ Heal values and drawing extra Book cards.
Essentially, Master Sinseh is designed for players of most ages to enjoy, including TCM noobs. The game is packed with nuggets of information about common TCM herbs and remedies on their cards. Take their Herb cards for instance; they tell you what benefits each herb confers, ranging from reinforcing yang to replenishing blood and qi.
You’ll be able to pick up a copy of Master Sinseh at Eu Yan Sang Stores islandwide and online for $29.90. However, you can snag yours at a special, purchase-with-purchase price of $19.90 when you spend over $38 at Eu Yan Sang from now till 3rd April 2024.
If your usual gatherings are looking a tad lacklustre after cycling though the same old playing card games for far too long, you can give this quirky number a try. Just like how Goji Berries can replenish vital essence, Master Sinseh could breathe new life into your game nights. Just remember to get your IRL afflictions looked at by an actual Sinseh.
This post was brought to you by Eu Yan Sang.
Photography by Shawn Low.
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