02-008 Hoo Hey How

02-008
Hoo Hey How

A while ago, I have written a post about the traditional game of Mexico, the Lotería. You may wonder if there is anything similar around my area. The answer is certainly yes. It is called Hoo Hey How, or Fish-Prawn-Crab (魚蝦蟹).

Hoo Hey How, or Fish-Prawn-Crab

I have no idea who first invented this game. I think the idea came from the sea. Hongkong and nearby areas, from Fujian in the north to Ho Chi Minh City in the south, people are traditionally fishermen.

Fishing boats in Hongkong

Imagine you throw a net into the sea. What can you catch? Fish, prawns and crabs of course. Or maybe some lobsters if you are lucky. Yes, Fish-Prawn-Crab is a gambling game.

Although the nearby Macau is themed as Las Vegas in the East, gambling isn’t exactly legal in Hongkong. Only limited gambling activities are allowed here. Horse racing, football betting, and the local lottery “Mark Six” are the only gambling options offered by the Jockey Club. Due to Chinese tradition, one can also gamble on Mahjong and Chinese Dominos, either play at home between friends or in some authorized premises. Anything other than these are illegal. Offenders are subjected to fine or jail.

You can see that Fish-Prawn-Crab is not in the list. Selling Fish-Prawn-Crab gambling set falls into the gray area. Chinese New Year is a traditional time for family gathering. Law enforcement is more relaxed around that period. Some shops will start selling Fish-Prawn-Crab around that time. I decided to buy a pack and show you what exactly are inside.

Hoo Hey How gambling sets selling
in 7-Elevens during Chinese New Year

Fish-Prawn-Crab game set can be found in some 7-Elevens on a special shelf, together with other new year consumables like Red Pockets & Fai Chuns. 7-Elevens only sell those around new year time. Even the shelf itself is temporary, made by cardboards. It was selling at HK$10 per pack. I bought it way after the new year and price has dropped to only HK$6 (less than 1 US).

Let me make this game more international

To make the game a bit “international”, I paid by Visa.

Hoo Hey How in basic packing

The packing is very simple. It looks very like the Mexican Lotería. Everything is put inside a plastic bag and stapled to a cardboard. Inside, you can find a double side playing mat and 2 sets of d6 dice. 3 are standard Chinese dice in around 13.5mm in size. The other 3 in bigger size are 16mm with special patterns for playing the game Fish-Prawn-Crab. And that’s all inside the pack. There are no instructions!

The Hoo Hey How betting mat

On the Fish-Prawn-Crab mat, there are 6 squares. Apart from the 3 common ocean catches, there are other 3 squares for coins, calabash and chicken. Since it is a gambling game, those 3 items have meanings. Needless to say, coins mean wealthy. Calabash is frequently made into wine bottle and in old Chinese legends, the God of Longevity uses calabash bottle to hold the wine. Calabash is a symbol of long life. I have no idea why a chicken is here. Maybe chicken is a common food in new year dinner?

Hoo Hey How is a game of pure luck, with absolutely no strategy. Or maybe, the best strategy is not to play at all!

The other side printed the Sic Bo betting mat

Other side of the mat is for Sic Bo, another traditional Chinese gambling game. The 3 standard dice use there. Sic Bo is a more common game than Hoo Hey How and can be found in many casinos worldwide. But I am not going to cover Sic Bo in this post.

General Information

Player	2 to 99
Playing Time	1 min
Age	8+
Year Released	(Public Domain)
Designer	(Public Domain)
Publisher	Sun Hing Toys
Family	Dice Rolling
Score	4.4 (Board Game Geek)

Specifications

Dice size	16mm, for Hoo Hey How 13.5mm, for Sic Bo
# of dice	3, for Hoo Hey How 3, for Sic Bo
Faces	6
Details	On the Hoo Hey How dice, each side is marked with symbol of Fish, Prawn, Crab, Coins, Calabash & Chicken. Dice for Sic Bo is just standard Chinese dice.

The game play

Hoo Hey How is a gambling game in Macau casinos. The way of playing is defined as a law in Macau. The “official” way of playing is very complicated and similar to Sic Bo. The gambling mat also provides more gambling options. However, in Hongkong, we only use the simple way of playing as described in this video. 

Where to buy?

You can buy from Amazon or drop me a message if you want a local copy.

Go back to the Lobby ...