Bhabhi vs Uno vs Getaway: same idea, different games

01The short answer

Bhabhi and Getaway are the same game under two names. Bhabhi (or Thulla) is what it is called in Pakistan and India; Getaway or Get Away is the name you will see in English rule books and apps. Both are trick games with a normal 52-card deck where the last player holding cards loses.

Uno is a different kind of game. It is a matching game with its own special deck: you play a card that matches the colour or number on top of a discard pile, draw when you cannot, and the first player out wins. Its closest relative on PlayNest is Satti, not Bhabhi.

02Bhabhi (Thulla) in brief

The whole deck is dealt out. Players take turns playing to tricks and must follow the suit that was led. When everybody follows, the trick is thrown away. When someone cannot follow, they throw any card, which is a thulla, and the player with the highest card of the led suit picks up the whole trick and leads next. Players drop out as their hands empty, and the last one left is the Bhabhi.

The full details are in our Bhabhi rules guide.

03Getaway in brief

Getaway follows the same pattern: a full deal, the Ace of Spades leading the first trick in most versions, follow suit if you can, and a pickup for the highest card when someone breaks suit. The goal is to get away from the table first, and the last player is the loser.

Differences between Getaway and Bhabhi are the kind you find between two families, not between two games: whether the first trick counts, who starts, and how losses are tallied. Our game lets you switch the two most common ones; see Bhabhi house rules. Many people also know the game as Laad or Donkey, which we cover in Laad, Getaway and Donkey explained.

04Uno in brief

Uno uses a special 108-card deck in four colours, with number cards and action cards such as Skip, Reverse, Draw Two, Wild and Wild Draw Four. Each player starts with seven cards. On your turn you match the top card of the discard pile by colour, number or symbol, or play a Wild. If you cannot, you draw. You must call Uno when you are down to one card, and the first to empty their hand wins the round, scoring points for the cards left in other hands.

05Side by side

Here is how the three compare on the things that change how they feel at the table.

• Cards: Bhabhi and Getaway use a normal 52-card deck. Uno needs its own 108-card deck.
• Deal: Bhabhi and Getaway deal out every card. Uno deals seven each and keeps a draw pile.
• How you play a card: in Bhabhi and Getaway you follow the led suit in a trick. In Uno you match the single top card by colour or number.
• How cards come back to you: in Bhabhi and Getaway only by picking up after a thulla. In Uno by drawing from the pile, or by being hit with a Draw Two or Draw Four.
• Who the game is about: Bhabhi and Getaway find one loser, the last player with cards. Uno finds one winner, the first player out.
• Players: Bhabhi works best with 3 to 6. Uno works from 2 up to about 10.
• Skill: Bhabhi rewards memory, especially remembering who is out of which suit. Uno rewards holding the right action card at the right time.

06Which one should you play tonight?

Play Bhabhi when you have three to six people who enjoy a bit of memory and a lot of teasing, and only a normal pack of cards. The pickup swings keep everyone in the game until the end.

Play Uno if you have the boxed deck and younger children who like loud, quick turns. Or play its free cousin on our site: Satti uses a normal deck, where 7s make the next player draw, Jacks change the suit and 8s skip a turn.

Our Bhabhi game runs in the browser with computer players for any empty seat and a room link for friends, so you can try it before your next family night.