Bhabhi card game rules, and how not to end up the Bhabhi

The game nobody wants to lose last

Bhabhi goes by a handful of names — Bhabho, Laad, Get Away — and by more house rules than that, but the heart of it is the same everywhere. The whole deck is dealt out, and everyone tries to get rid of their cards. The last person still holding any is the Bhabhi, and the family teases them until the next deal.

It is a game of light tactics and big swings, easy enough for children and lively enough for adults, which is why it comes out at weddings, train journeys and long family evenings.

How a trick works

Whoever holds the ace of spades leads it to the very first trick. After that, everyone still holding cards plays one in turn, and you must follow the suit that was led if you can.

If every player follows suit, the trick is simply thrown away — those cards leave the game for good — and whoever played the highest card leads the next trick. That is the calm version of a trick, and every one of them brings everybody closer to getting away.

The thulla, and why it is the whole game

The moment someone cannot follow suit, they play any card they like. That card is the thulla (some families say tochoo), and it stops the trick dead. Nobody else plays. Whoever had put down the highest card of the suit that was led has to pick up every card on the table and add them to their hand — and then lead the next trick.

So the thulla is a weapon. If you have run out of a suit, you can hand a pile of cards to the player who is closest to getting away. If you are leading, a high card of a suit that others are short in is a risk. Watching who has run out of what is most of the skill.

Players disagree about the details at real tables, and the trick on the table is usually a mess of hands. On PartyDen the board says, every time, whether the trick was thrown away or picked up, and by whom, and the cards go where they should.

Getting away, and who is the Bhabhi

When you play your last card you are out and safe, and you stay out. Play carries on among the players still holding cards, and the trick sizes shrink as people get away. The last person left with cards is the Bhabhi.

If the last cards all go out together on a thrown-away trick, the player who played the highest card is the Bhabhi — they would have had to lead next. Because a session should have a winner as well as a loser, PartyDen scores each deal by the order players got away: the first out scores the most and the Bhabhi scores nothing, and a few deals make a match.

House rules, and other Indian card games

Families vary the opening card, whether the trick is picked up by the highest card or the one who led, and how many people can play. The app plays the version above and says so on the board, which settles most arguments before they start.

If your group wants something calmer after a few rounds, Teen Do Paanch is the trick game for three and Call Break the one for four. For pure mischief, Bluff turns the whole table into liars.