RulesRung
Rung (Court Piece) rules: the complete guide
Four 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.
5 min readUpdated By PlayNest team
What kind of game Rung is
Rung is a trick-taking game for exactly four players in two teams. You and the player opposite you are partners. Each round, one player names a trump suit, the rung, and both teams race to win seven of the thirteen tricks. The first team to seven wins the round.
The rules here are the ones our free Rung game uses. They are the plain, widely played version of Court Piece found across Pakistan and North India. Families play many local twists on top, and we cover those in Rung variants: Sar, Double Sar and more.
Seating and direction of play
Partners sit opposite each other. On our table you sit at the bottom, your partner at the top, and the opponents on your left and right.
Play moves to the right, counter-clockwise, which is the traditional direction for Court Piece. The player on the dealer's right receives cards first, calls trump and leads the first trick.
The deal and calling trump
Use a standard 52-card deck with no jokers. The deal happens in three packets, and the trump is chosen in the middle of it.
- The dealer gives five cards to each player, starting with the player on their right.
- That player, the trump caller, looks only at those five cards and names one suit as trump for the round.
- The dealer then deals four more cards to everybody, and then another four, so each player holds thirteen.
- The trump caller leads the first trick with any card.
Tip
The call is made on five cards, so it is always a bet. Our guide on how to choose trump in Rung explains what a good five-card call looks like.
Playing a trick: follow, cut or throw
The first card played to a trick sets the led suit. Each player in turn must follow that suit if they have it. If you have none of the led suit, you have a choice: play a trump to cut, or throw any other card.
When all four cards are down, the trick is decided:
- If any trumps were played, the highest trump wins.
- If no trump was played, the highest card of the led suit wins.
- A card from a third suit, neither led nor trump, can never win.
- The winner of the trick leads the next one.
Card ranking
In every suit the order is Ace, King, Queen, Jack, 10, 9 and down to 2. Suits are not ranked against each other. Any trump beats any card of another suit, so even the 2 of trumps takes an Ace of the led suit. If two players cut, the higher trump wins.
You are never forced to cut. If your partner is already winning the trick and you cannot follow, you may throw a small card from another suit instead. That is often the smart play.
- Example: hearts are trump. Your opponent leads the Ace of spades. Your partner has no spades and cuts with the 3 of hearts. The other opponent follows with the 7 of spades. You follow with the 4 of spades.
- Your partner's 3 of hearts is the only trump, so your team wins the trick, and your partner leads next.
Winning a round and the Court
Each round is a race to seven tricks. As soon as a team reaches seven, the round ends and the remaining cards are not played, since the result can no longer change. The winning team scores 1 point.
If a team wins the first seven tricks without the other side taking a single one, that is a Court, the moment the game is named after. With the Court bonus switched on, which is our default, a Court scores 2 points instead of 1.
Match scoring and who calls next
A match runs to a target. In our game you choose Short, first to 5 points, or Long, first to 7. The scoreboard after each round shows both teams' totals.
Who calls trump next depends on the result. If the calling team wins the round, the same dealer deals again, and the same player calls trump. If the calling team loses, the deal moves one seat along, and the right to call passes to the team that defended. A strong caller can keep the call for several rounds in a row.
Rules summary
The whole game on one card:
- 4 players, partners opposite, play counter-clockwise.
- Deal 5 each; the player on the dealer's right names trump; deal 4 and 4 more.
- Caller leads. Follow suit if you can; otherwise cut with trump or throw anything.
- Highest trump wins, else highest card of the led suit. Winner leads.
- First team to 7 tricks wins the round: 1 point, or 2 for a Court.
- Match to 5 or 7 points. Callers who win keep the call.
Tip
Once the rules click, read Rung partnership strategy. Most rounds are won by two players working together, not by one strong hand.
Questions people ask
- How many cards does each player get in Rung?
- Thirteen. Five first, from which the caller chooses trump, and then two packets of four.
- Who chooses trump in Court Piece?
- The player on the dealer's right, after seeing only their first five cards. The calling team keeps the call for as long as it keeps winning rounds.
- Do I have to cut if I cannot follow suit?
- No. You may cut with a trump or throw any other card. Throwing a small card is often better when your partner is already winning the trick.
- What is a Court in Rung?
- Winning the first seven tricks of a round without the other team taking any. With the Court bonus on, it scores 2 points instead of 1.
- Why does the round stop before all 13 tricks?
- Only seven tricks are needed to win the round. Once a team has seven, nothing can change the result, so the cards are collected and the next deal begins.
