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Guides and rules

Learn the games we play at home

Clear rules, real strategy and the house-rule arguments every family has, for the card and board games people in Pakistan and India grew up with. Each guide is written from the game on this site, so what you read is exactly how it plays here.

01

Bhabhi

Also called: Thulla, Getaway, Laad

Play Bhabhi

6 guides

  1. Rules6 min readBhabhi rules: how to play Thulla, step by stepEverything you need to sit down at a Bhabhi table: the deal, following suit, the thulla, who picks up the pile and how the last player holding cards becomes the Bhabhi.
  2. Strategy6 min readBhabhi strategy: from first game to sharp playerBhabhi looks like luck until you watch a good player. This guide walks from the habits every beginner should learn to the card counting and timing that win family tournaments.
  3. Variants5 min readBhabhi house rules and variants families argue aboutNo two families play Bhabhi exactly the same way. Here are the common house rules, what each one changes at the table, and which of them you can switch on or off in our game.
  4. Mistakes4 min readNine Bhabhi mistakes that make you the BhabhiMost Bhabhi games are not lost to bad cards. They are lost to the same few mistakes, made again and again. Here is each one, why it hurts, and the simple fix.
  5. Comparison4 min readBhabhi vs Uno vs Getaway: same idea, different gamesBhabhi, Getaway and Uno all ask you to get rid of your cards, so people mix them up. Two of them are really the same game, and the third works in a completely different way.
  6. Other names3 min readLaad, Getaway or Donkey: the card game we call BhabhiIf your family calls it Laad, Getaway or Donkey, you are almost certainly playing the game the rest of us call Bhabhi or Thulla. Here is what each name means and the one Donkey that is a different game.
02

Rung

Also called: Court Piece, Coat Piece, Hokm

Play Rung

6 guides

  1. Rules5 min readRung (Court Piece) rules: the complete guideFour players, two partnerships, one trump suit chosen from five cards and a race to seven tricks. This is how Rung, also called Court Piece or Coat Piece, is played, step by step.
  2. Strategy5 min readHow to choose trump in Rung from just five cardsYou get one look at five cards and then you must name the trump for the whole round. Here is a simple, reliable way to make that call, with examples and the maths behind it.
  3. Strategy5 min readRung partnership strategy: how to play with your partnerRung is won by teams, not by single hands. These habits help you and your partner share the work, waste fewer high cards and take seven tricks before the other side does.
  4. Variants5 min readRung variants: Sar, Double Sar, hidden trump and moreCourt Piece has as many versions as it has family tables. This guide explains the variants you are most likely to meet, Sar and Double Sar above all, and is clear about which rules our game plays.
  5. Comparison4 min readRung vs Hokm vs Spades: three partnership trick gamesThree games with the same bones: four players, two teams, thirteen tricks and a trump suit. Rung and Hokm are close cousins; Spades took the idea somewhere very different.
  6. Other names4 min readCoat Piece, Court Piece, Rung or Hokm: one game, many namesSearch for Coat Piece and you will find Court Piece, Rung, Rang and Hokm too. They are all names for the same partnership trump game or its very close Persian ancestor.
03

Ludo

Also called: Pachisi, Chaupar

Play Ludo

4 guides

  1. Rules5 min readLudo rules: the complete guide, house rules includedThe standard rules of Ludo, written clearly, followed by the house rules families argue about: 1 or 6 to get out, kill to unlock home, blockades, team play and more.
  2. Strategy5 min readLudo winning strategy: how to beat luck with better choicesYou cannot control the dice, but you choose which goti moves on every roll. These are the choices that win more Ludo games over an evening, with the odds behind them.
  3. Strategy4 min read2-player vs 4-player Ludo: how tactics changeA Ludo duel and a full four-colour table are almost different games. Here is what changes when the board empties or fills up, and how to adjust your play and settings.
  4. Comparison4 min readLudo vs Ludo King vs Parcheesi vs Pachisi: what is the difference?Four names that get used as if they were one game. One is an ancient Indian game, two are simplified versions of it, and one is an app. Here is how they really compare.
04

Chess

Also called: Shatranj

Play Chess

5 guides

  1. Rules5 min readChess rules for beginners, special moves includedEverything a beginner needs to play a full, legal game of chess: the setup, every piece, the three special moves, how to win and the ways a game ends in a draw.
  2. Strategy4 min readChess opening principles: the first ten moves without memorisingYou do not need to learn opening names to play the first ten moves well. Six principles, a sample game and the most common early traps will carry you to a good middlegame.
  3. Strategy5 min readCheckmate patterns every beginner should knowMost checkmates follow a handful of shapes. Learn to spot the back rank mate, the ladder and the smothered mate, and you will finish games you used to let slip.
  4. Strategy4 min readHow to play chess with a friend online, free and without an accountA step-by-step guide to playing a real game of chess with a friend who is somewhere else, or sitting right next to you, using nothing but a browser.
  5. Other names3 min readShatranj: the old name of chess, and how the game changedIn Urdu, chess is still called shatranj. The word also names the older game that travelled from India to Persia and the Arab world. Here is what changed, and what the Urdu names mean.
05

Satti

Also called: Sevens, Lucky Sevens

Play Satti

1 guides

  1. Other names4 min readSatti, Sevens and Badam Satti: which game is which?Three names built on the number seven, and at least two very different games behind them. Here is how to tell them apart, and exactly which one you play on PlayNest.

From the blog

Longer reads on playing with family and friends.