Court Piece (Rung): rules and how to play
Court Piece, also called Rung, Rang or Court Peace, is the favourite four-player team card game in Pakistan and India. You play with the person sitting opposite you, and your team tries to collect seven of the thirteen tricks.
Rules
- Four players in two teams. Partners sit opposite each other.
- The dealer gives each player 5 cards. The player after the dealer looks at those 5 cards and chooses the trump suit, called the rung.
- The rest of the pack is dealt, 4 cards at a time, until everyone has 13. The trump caller leads the first trick.
- You must follow the suit that was led if you have it. If you don't, you may play a trump or throw away any other card.
- The highest trump wins the trick. If no trump was played, the highest card of the led suit wins. Aces are high. The winner leads the next trick.
- Won tricks are not taken straight away. They pile up in the middle.
- When one player wins two tricks in a row, they collect the whole pile for their team. The first pick-up can only happen from the 5th trick onward, and after each pick-up it takes two new wins in a row to collect again.
- The winner of the last trick takes whatever is left in the middle.
- The team that collects 7 or more tricks wins the deal. Collecting all 13 tricks is a Court.
- The losing team deals next. If the dealer's team loses, the same dealer deals again.
House rules in this version
- If none of the trump caller's first 5 cards is above 10, they can ask for a redeal.
- The deal ends once one team has collected 7 tricks, unless the other team has collected nothing yet: then play goes on to see if it becomes a Court.
Tips
- Pick as trump the suit you hold most of, especially with high cards.
- Lead your aces in plain suits early, before opponents run out of that suit and trump them.
- If your partner is already winning the trick, play low and save your big cards.
- Watch the pile in the middle: when an opponent has just won a trick, stopping them winning the next one keeps the pile safe.
- When you can't follow suit, trump only if the trick is going to the other team.
- Count the trumps: once all the opponents' trumps are gone, your plain-suit cards are safe winners.
Play online
Play free with a bot partner against two bots, or tap Play with a friend online, create a game and send the code. Empty seats are filled with bots. Works on mobile and PC, no sign-up.