Playcard games

Court piece: questions and answers

Short answers to the questions people ask most about Court piece. Everything else is in the full rules.

What is Court Piece?
A four-player partnership trick game from Pakistan and northern India, also called rang or seven hands. The first side to seven tricks wins the hand, and a side that takes all thirteen makes a kot.
Who chooses trumps in Court Piece?
On the first hand, the player to the dealer's right. They get the first five cards and call the trump suit from those alone. The call then stays with that player as long as their side keeps winning hands.
How are the cards dealt?
Five to each player first, and the trump caller names trumps on those five. Then the remaining eight are dealt in two batches of four, thirteen each.
Do you have to trump if you cannot follow suit?
No. You must follow the suit led if you can; if you cannot, you may play anything. The highest trump wins, otherwise the highest card of the suit led.
What are the bundles?
Tricks are not gathered one at a time. While one side keeps winning, its tricks lie together in the middle, and when the other side finally takes one, the bundle is carried off. It changes how the table looks, not the count.
What is a kot in Court Piece?
Taking all thirteen tricks. A side that wins the first seven without the others taking one plays on for the kot, which pays three points instead of one. If the other side takes a single trick, the hand ends there and pays one.
How many points is a game of Court Piece?
Usually five, sometimes seven. A hand is worth one point, a kot three.
What is the difference between Court Piece and Hokm?
It is the same game from Pakistan and Iran. In Hokm the first trump caller is whoever gets the first ace when cards are turned up, the rest is dealt in one batch of eight, and the hand always stops at seven tricks, so a kot is seven to none.