Vazhushal
Vazhushal is a rummy game for two to six players. Its most distinguishing feature is the practice of organizing the discards into a line, rather than a typical discard pile. If a player can use a card anywhere in the discard line in a new meld, they can take it—and all the cards on top of it!
Vazhushal originates from the city of Chennai, India. The name translates from the Tamil word for “wipe”, referring to the way that a player can “wipe” a considerable number of cards away from the discard pile in one fell swoop!
Object of Vazhushal
The object of Vazhushal is to be the first player to form their entire hand into melds.
Setup
A two-player game of Vazhushal will need one standard 52-card deck of playing cards, including two jokers. For a game with three or more players, you’ll need two 52-card decks with two jokers each (108 cards in all). For a worry-free hosting experience, make sure you always use the most durable playing cards in the world, Denexa 100% Plastic Playing Cards.
Shuffle and deal thirteen cards to each player. If anyone has been dealt three or more instances of both copies of the same card (for example 2♥-2♥-5♣-5♣-J♦-J♦), they must alert the other players. In this case, the hands are thrown in, and the same dealer deals new hands. Otherwise, the dealer places the stub in the center of the table, forming the stock. They then turn the top card of the stock face up and placed it next to the stock, which becomes the first card of the discard line. The bottom card of the stock is turned up as well and placed so that it is partially covered by the stock. This card is called the negative joker.
Game play
The player to the dealer’s left goes first. Game play in Vazhushal follows the normal draw-meld-discard flow found in most rummy games. A player starts their turn by drawing, either from the stock or from the discard line (as described below). Then, they meld any cards they are able and willing to. Finally, the player discards one card to the discard line.
Melding
Vazhushal allows the two types of meld commonly found in rummy games. One is the sequence, which is three or more consecutively-ranked cards of the same suit, like 5-6-7♦. Aces can be at either end of a sequence, but not in the middle (A-2-3 or Q-K-A, but not K-A-2). The other type of meld is three or four cards of the same rank. Two cards of the same rank and suit are not allowed in the same meld.
Jokers are wild for the purposes of melding. The cards of the same rank, but the opposite color, of the negative joker are considered wild. For example, if the A♠ is the negative joker, the A♦ and A♥ are both wild. A wild card being used as its natural value, like a wild A♦ in a Q-K-A♦ meld, does not count as a wild card.
There are some restrictions on melding. A player cannot have two melds identical in suit and sequence at any time. Also, a meld cannot consist of only jokers; it must have at least one natural card in it.
A player’s first meld of the hand must be a sequence of three or more cards with no wild cards. Once this is done, a player may meld whatever they are able to on their turn. Melds are placed face up in front of the player they belong to. A player cannot lay off cards on their opponents’ melds.
A player can rearrange their previously-melded cards to facilitate new melding as much as they like. However, there must always be a sequence of three or more cards with no wilds, and all of the melds must follow the rules outlined above. Also, a player cannot return previously-melded cards to their hand.
The discard line
After a player has melded, they end their turn by discarding one card to the discard line. Unlike most rummy games, in Vazhushal, the discards are not kept in a simple pile. Instead, they’re spread out in a line, with each index kept clearly visible.
Drawing from the line
At the start of their turn, a player can choose to draw from the discard line instead. A player drawing from the discard line may take as many consecutive cards from the line that they wish, starting from the most-recently discarded. However, the deepest card taken (the one that was least-recently discarded) must immediately be used in a new meld (not an existing one already on the table). The new meld can be made using additional cards from the discard line as well. Having done this, the player then takes all of the cards on top of the drawn card (those discarded more recently) and adds them to their hand. These cards are then also available for melding.
For example, suppose the discard line contains the following (oldest) 7♦-Q♦-3♥-9♠-10♠-K♦-10♦ (newest). A player holds the 8♠ in their hand. They may start their turn by taking the 9♠ and 10♠ from the line to form a new meld. This 9♠ is immediately used in a new meld, so the draw is legal. The player would also take the K♦-10♦ into their hand, as those cards were on top of the 9♠.
Drawing from the line for the initial meld
A player who has not made their initial natural sequence meld may only draw from the discard line if the card drawn allows them to immediately form the sequence meld. A player who has not yet melded, but already has a natural sequence meld in hand, may meld this sequence first, then draw from the discard line, so long as the card drawn can immediately be used in a meld. This is the only time a player can meld before drawing.
Going out
When a player is able to form all of their cards into melds except for one, which they then discard, they have gone out. That player wins the game.
If the stock is depleted before a player can go out, game play stops at the end of the turn that the last card was drawn from the stock. Each player may make any additional melds from their hand at that point. Then, the hand scores are determined. Aces and face cards count as ten points each, and all other cards count as their pip value. Wild cards count as the card they are substituting for. Each player calculates the value of their melds and subtracts the value of the cards left in their hand. The player with the highest score wins the game.
Court Piece (Rang)
Court Piece (one of many names it is known by in India) or Rang (as it is known in Pakistan), is a trick-taking game for four players in partnerships. Court Piece features an unusually tough requirement for scoring points, called courts. A partnership has to collect more tricks than their opponents for seven hands in a row to score! This is not quite as difficult as it seems, though—when a team wins a hand, they have the advantage of choosing the trump suit on the next hand. This makes it more likely that a partnership will be able to rack up a streak of wins.
Object of Court Piece
The object of Court Piece is to score more courts than your opponents. Courts are primarily scored in two ways:
- By taking seven or more tricks on seven consecutive hands.
- By taking the first seven tricks on one hand.
Setup
Court Piece uses a standard 52-card deck of playing cards. As per usual, we suggest using Denexa 100% Plastic Playing Cards for your game. You’ll also want something like a piece of scratch paper for recording the score and the number of hands each team has won.
Partnerships can be determined by some random method, or simply deciding who wants to be partners with who. Players should sit between their opponents, with their partner across from them. Thus, as the turn proceeds around the table, it will alternate between players. The first dealer should also be determined, randomly.
Shuffle and deal five cards to each player. The player to the dealer’s left examines their cards and, without consulting with their partner, chooses a suit to be trump. Then, deal the rest of the deck out, so that all players have thirteen cards.
Game play
Game play begins with the player to the dealer’s left leading to the first trick. Each player in turn plays one card to the trick. If a player has a card of the suit led, they must play it; otherwise, they may play any card, including a trump. When all four players have contributed a card to the trick, whoever played the highest trump wins the trick. If nobody played a trump, the highest card of the suit led wins the trick.
Captured tricks are removed from the table and neatly stacked in front of one of the partners of the side that took the trick. (Both partners share a won-trick pile.) Tricks should be kept separate, such as by placing them at right angles, so the number of tricks taken can clearly be discerned. When a player wins a trick, they then lead to the next one.
Revokes
Court Piece has special procedures for handling a revoke (i.e. when a player fails to follow suit). If a player revokes, but realizes their mistake before the trick has been played out, they may call attention to it and play an appropriate card instead. Everyone that played after the revoking player may then change the card they played. The trick is awarded, and play continues as usual.
If it is discovered over the course of the hand that a player revoked on a previous trick, the revoking partnership forfeits the hand, which ends immediately. The opponents score a court. If the dealer’s side revoked, the previous dealer’s partner deals the next hand; if the dealer’s opponents revoked, the deal passes to the left.
Scoring courts
Aside from a revoke, the first opportunity to score a court occurs after the seventh trick has been played. If one side has captured all of the first seven tricks, they score a court. Customarily, the hand is abandoned at this point, and the next hand is dealt. If the winners choose to, however, they may play on with the hope of collecting all thirteen tricks. This feat is very rarely achieved, but if it is, it scores 52 courts for the side that did it! There is no penalty for trying and failing to capture all of the tricks.
If the two teams split the first seven tricks between them, the hand is played out, ending after all thirteen tricks have been played. Each partnership counts up the number of tricks they took and compares them. Whichever side took more tricks wins the hand.
A running tally of how many consecutive hands the presently-dominant side has won is kept on the score sheet. If the same team that won the first hand also wins the second, the count increases from one to two, and if they win again it increases to three, and so on. If their opponents manage to break the streak by winning a hand themselves, however, the counter resets, with that side starting over with a tally of one.
Should a team reach a streak of seven consecutive hands won, they score a court. The counter is then reset to zero.
Passing the deal
After a hand ends, one player on the losing team deals the next hand. This grants the winning partnership the advantage of getting to declare trumps on the upcoming hand. If the outgoing dealer’s team won the hand, the deal simply passes to the left. If the dealer’s team lost the hand but the opponents did not score a court, the same player deals again. When a court is scored, the deal passes to the outgoing dealer’s partner.
Play continues for a predetermined length of time. Whichever side has the most courts at that time wins the game. If neither team has scored any courts, or both teams are tied, the result is a draw.
