Mendikot rules

Also spelled Mendicot · Maharashtra and Gujarat

Mendikot is a four-player partnership trick-taking game in which the tens decide everything. Tricks matter only as a tie-breaker. It is played widely in Maharashtra and Gujarat, and if you already know Court Piece the play will feel familiar — the scoring will not.

The object

There are four tens in the pack. Capture three of the four and your partnership wins the round. Take all four and it is a mendikot — the whitewash the game is named after.

The deal

• Four players in two partnerships, partners sitting opposite
• The full 52-card pack, thirteen cards each
• In the common version the trump stays hidden until somebody cannot follow suit

Playing

• Follow the suit led if you hold it
• Cannot follow? That is when the trump is settled or used, depending on your house version
• Highest trump takes the trick; otherwise the highest card of the suit led

Winning

How it differs from Court Piece

In Court Piece you are counting haath — seven wins the round. In Mendikot you are counting tens, and you can lose nine tricks and still win because three tens fell your way. It changes everything about how you play a hand: a ten is worth spending a trump on, and a trick with no ten in it is often worth losing on purpose.