How to play Court Piece

A step-by-step guide for four players — ten minutes to your first round

You need four people, a pack of 52 cards, and one evening. Here is the game exactly as it is played at a family table, in the order things happen.

Step 1 — Sit down

Two teams of two. Partners sit opposite each other, so play goes you, opponent, partner, opponent around the table — anticlockwise, to the right. For the first hand everyone draws a card: the highest card chooses the trump.

Step 2 — The five-card deal

The dealer gives each player five cards and stops. Nobody picks up more yet. The chooser — the highest card in the first hand, after that the player to the dealer's right — looks at those five cards and names the trump suit, the rang, from them alone. They have 20 seconds, and may pass once to their partner, who must then choose — or the dealer turns a random card and its suit is trump.

Tip: name the suit you hold most of, not the one with your highest card. Length in trump wins rounds; a lone ace does not.

Step 3 — The rest of the deal

Once the rang is named, the dealer deals the remaining cards, four and four: everyone ends with thirteen. Now you can plan.

Step 4 — Playing a haath

1. The leader plays any card.
2. Going right, each player must follow suit if they hold a card of the suit led.
3. If you cannot follow, play anything. A rang card cuts — it beats every non-rang card on the table — but you never have to play one.
4. The haath goes to the highest rang card; if none was played, to the highest card of the led suit.
5. The winner of the haath leads the next one.

Step 5 — Winning the round

In Single Sir the round ends as soon as a team has seven haath. Take the first seven straight, and it is a kot (court) — the round's big prize and the thing your partner will mention for a week. If the team that did not call the trump does it, it is a goon kot.

Step 6 — Scoring and the next deal

Points: callers who win score 1, defenders who win 2, a callers' kot 3, a goon kot 4. Or play courts, where a plain round scores nothing. If the dealer's team wins, the next player deals; if the callers win without a kot, the same dealer deals again; with a kot, the dealer's partner deals. First to 10 points (or 3 courts) wins. More in scoring and the kot and the complete rules.

Five beginner mistakes

• Cutting a haath your partner is already winning.
• Leading rang early when the opponents hold more of it.
• Throwing a court card on a haath you cannot win — keep it for one you can.
• Forgetting which rang cards have been played. Count them.
• Naming rang on a single high card instead of a long suit.

Practice without three friends

Rung Royal deals the same game against three bots that play like real relatives — one aggressive, one careful, one who hoards trumps — with a guided first hand that shows you each decision as it comes. Free, in eight languages, and offline any time with Remove Ads.

Play your first hand free →

Questions people ask

How many cards does each player get in Court Piece?

Thirteen: five first (the trump is chosen on these), then the remaining eight. Four players, 52 cards, nothing left over.

What happens if I cannot follow suit?

You may play any card. If you play a trump (rang), it beats every non-trump card in the haath — this is called cutting. If you play a card of another suit, it cannot win.

Do I have to play a trump if I cannot follow suit?

No. You may play any card. A trump (rang) cuts — it beats every non-trump card in the haath — but you are never forced to play one.

What if the caller does not want to name a trump on five cards?

In Rung Royal the chooser may pass once, to their partner. The partner cannot pass back: they choose within 20 seconds, or the dealer turns a random card and its suit is trump. Offline, for a short video, the app can also deal you a fresh hand — a Rung Royal extra, not a traditional rule.

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