We Indians are a very family oriented bunch; yes there’s always a family gathering, both immediate and extended, just around the corner. Card games work wonderfully well in bridging the generation gap that is inherent to any family flocking situation. What’s more, with the infusion of video games, apps and everything digital into our lives today, card games prove to be a welcome relief from the virtual world.

Learn how to play these 5 very popular Indian card games. They’re simple and they’re loads of fun!

1. Satte Pe Satta (7 on 7)

Rules

- Any number of players can play. If there are too many players then 2 decks can be used.
- The person who holds the 7 of hearts (Laal Paan) starts the game.
- The player next to him/her can only play either a 6 or 8 of hearts.
- If the player does not have either a 6 or 8 of hearts then he/she will have to pass.
- However, if the player has a 7 of any other suit, namely diamonds, spades or clubs, then passing is not an option; the card has to be played.
- As the game progresses all the suits will eventually be completed (ace to king).
- It is a strategy game and hence blocking the others’ cards is the only way to win.
- Whoever finishes their cards first wins.

2. Teen Do Paanch (3-2-5)

Rules

- Three players play this game.

- One player makes 5 hands, the second player has to make 3 hands and the dealer has to make 2 hands.

- There are 30 cards because out of the 52 cards, 22 are removed. Ace to seven of spades and hearts and ace to eight of clubs and diamonds form the playing 30 cards.

- Three cards, namely, 2, 3 and 5 are taken out, shuffled and then distributed. Whosoever gets the 2 becomes the dealer and has to make 2 hands. The person sitting on his/her right has to make 5 hands. The third player has to make 3 hands. In total, 10 hands are to be made.

- The player who makes 2 hands in this game will make 3 hands in the next game. Similarly, the player who makes 5 hands in this game will deal and make 2 hands in the next.
- Each player gets 10 cards. 5 cards are distributed to each player in two rounds. The player who has to make 5 hands declares the trump from those 5 cards. If the player is not comfortable with declaring the trump from those 5 cards, he/she can open a random card from the next 5 cards that he/she would get and that suit becomes the trump for that particular game.
- The player who has to make 5 hands starts the game. The aim is to make more and more hands.

- At the end of the game, if a player makes more hands than he/she is supposed to, he/she has the right to pull those many cards from the other 2 players.

3. Bluff/Challenge

Rules

- This can be played by any number of players.
- All the cards in the deck are equally distributed.
- The game starts by a player throwing up to 4 cards at a time and claiming them to be a set (eg. 4 aces, 3 jacks, 2 tens etc.).
- If any player suspects the genuineness of the cards a player has played he/she can challenge him/her to show the cards.
- If it turns out that the cards are a genuine set then the person who placed the challenge or tried calling the bluff needs to pick all the cards accumulated.
- If it turns out that the cards are not a genuine set then the player who bluffed needs to take all the cards accumulated.
- The player who is left with no cards is the winner.

4. Rummy

Rules

- It is preferably played by only by 4 people.
- 10 cards are distributed to each player.
- The remaining deck is kept in the middle.
- 3 sets of cards need to be made e.g. The 1st set could contain 3 jacks, the 2nd set could contain 3 aces and the 3rd set could contain 4 consecutive cards of the same suit like 3,4,5,6 of diamonds.
- Each player, as per his/her turn, can pick a card at a time from the deck in the middle to help complete the sets.
- If the card picked is useful then the player can add that card to his/her sets and remove a useless one instead and add it to the deck in the middle.
- The next player may pick the card thrown by the previous player or may pick a fresh card from the deck.
- Whoever makes the 3 sets first wins.

5. Donkey

Rules -

This game can be played by any number of players.
- One card is hidden and the rest of the cards in the deck are equally distributed amongst all the players.
- The player who starts the game needs to pick one card from the adjacent player's set.
- If he gets a pair of cards, for eg. 2 kings, then he can open those cards and throw them in the middle.
- The adjacent player would then pick a card from his adjacent player and so on and so forth.
- In the end, the player who is left with a card is named the Donkey.