Complete Rules Guide

How to play Rung (Court Piece) — step by step

Rung — also called Court Piece or Coat Piece — is a trick-taking card game for four players in two teams of two. It's one of the most-played card games across Pakistan, India, and the South Asian diaspora. This guide covers everything from the deal to the final Court, including every official rule variant.

What you need

• A standard 52-card deck (no jokers)
• Four players — or fewer, if you're playing online against bots
• A flat surface and partners sitting opposite each other

Card ranking

Cards rank from high to low: Ace, King, Queen, Jack, 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2. The Ace is the highest card in every suit. When trump is in play, any trump card beats any non-trump card, regardless of rank.

Step 1 — Form teams and deal

Players form two teams of two. Partners sit directly across the table so play alternates between teams as it goes round. The dealer shuffles a 52-card deck and gives the first five cards to the player on their right — this player is the caller. (On rung.gg a one-card flip decides the caller.)

Step 2 — Call the Rung (trump)

The caller looks at their five cards and declares the trump suit — called the Rung. The Rung beats every non-trump card for the entire round, so this is the most important strategic decision in the game.

Smart callers pick a suit where they hold high cards (Ace, King) and ideally length (four or more). Calling a short suit can backfire if the opposing team holds the top trumps.

Step 3 — Deal the rest

Once trump is named, the dealer distributes the remaining 47 cards — in batches of 5, then 4, then 4 — so that every player ends up with exactly 13 cards in hand. The round can now begin.

Step 4 — Play tricks (Sars)

The caller leads the first trick by playing any card from their hand. Play continues anticlockwise. Each player must follow the led suit if they have a card of that suit. If they are void in the led suit, they may play any card — including a trump.

The trick — called a Sar — is won by:

• The highest card of the led suit, if no trump was played, or
• The highest trump card played into the trick, if any.

The winner of each Sar leads the next one. This continues until all 13 tricks are played.

Step 5 — Score the round (Pees / Court)

Sars aren't banked one by one. Every trick adds 1 to a shared pot. From the 5th trick on, a player who wins two tricks in a row — a Double Sar — claims the whole pot for their team. Any pot left at the end goes to the winner of the final trick. Then count sars:

• Pees — a team with 7 or more sars wins the round: 5 points. The losing side deals next.
• Court — the caller's team wins all 13 sars: 10 points.
• Goon Court — the caller's team loses all 13 sars: 20 points to the defenders.

Step 6 — Win the match

The host picks a match target — 50, 75, 100 or 120 points. The first team to reach it wins the match. A Court or Goon Court can swing a match in a single round.

Official rule variants

Senior Ace

The winner of each trick becomes Senior. A first Ace always wins normally. The rule only bites on "Ace on Ace" — leading an Ace right after winning the previous trick with an Ace. In Demote mode (the default) that Ace counts as a 2; in Block mode it can't win the trick, so you can't bank the pot off it. It can also be turned Off.

Double Sar (the pot)

From the 5th trick on, winning two tricks in a row claims every sar sitting in the pot. It's the heart of Rung scoring — and not the same thing as a Goon Court.

Goon Court

When the caller's team loses all 13 sars, the defenders score a Goon Court — 20 points, double a Court. Calling trump and taking nothing is the biggest shame at the table.

Void Twelfth (12th Sar)

On by default. No sar is awarded for the 12th trick — it goes into the pot instead, and whoever wins the 13th trick takes the whole pot. The last trick always matters.

Hidden Trump

In some variants, the caller names trump without showing their five cards. The trump is only revealed when the first off-suit card is played. This adds an information-warfare layer to the game.

Common beginner mistakes

• Calling a short trump suit. Five cards aren't a lot of information — if you only have two of a suit, calling it as trump usually backfires.
• Wasting high trumps early. Save your Ace and King of trump to break critical tricks late in the round, not for opening leads.
• Not signalling to your partner. The card you discard tells your partner what you have. Beginners ignore this; experienced players treat it as the language of the game.
• Forgetting to count trumps. Track how many trump cards have been played. Once they're exhausted, your long side suits become unbeatable.

Where to play Rung online

You can play Rung free in your browser at rung.gg — real-time 2v2 multiplayer with voice chat, smart bots to fill empty seats, and adjustable house rules. Play at play.rung.gg (no download) or get the Android app on Google Play — free, with one-tap Google sign-in.