trick-taking · India, Pakistan, Bangladesh and the wider South Asian diaspora (related to Persian Hokm)

Court Piece

Also known as Rang · Rung · Coat · Kot · Hokm · Court Piece Rung · Rang Coat

Court Piece (also called Rang, Rung, Coat or Kot) is a fast, partnership trick-taking card game from India and Pakistan, closely related to Persian Hokm. Four players split into two teams of two, the trump suit ("rang") is chosen from the very first cards dealt, and the first team to take 7 of the 13 tricks wins the hand. Play Court Piece online free here — no real money, no ads, just the classic Rang Coat game against smart bots or friends in your browser.

Coming soon — learn the rules below

4–4 players · free to play online

How to play Court Piece

Sit as two teams of two, with your partner directly across the table; play moves anticlockwise.
The player to the dealer's right cuts, and the dealer gives everyone the first 5 cards.
Look at your 5 cards and name the trump suit (the 'rang') — pick your longest, strongest suit.
The dealer deals the rest in batches of 4 so each player holds 13 cards.
The trump-caller leads any card; everyone must follow the led suit if they can.
Highest trump wins the trick, or the highest card of the led suit if no trump is played; the winner leads next.
Win 7 of 13 tricks to take the deal — sweep the first 7 straight to score a 'court' (coat).

Court Piece rules

Objective

Court Piece is played by 4 people in two fixed partnerships, with partners sitting opposite each other across the table. Each deal is split into 13 tricks (called 'hands' or 'sir'). Your team's goal is to win at least 7 of those 13 tricks to win the deal. Winning the first 7 tricks in a row — leaving your opponents with zero — scores a 'court' (coat / kot), the big knockout result the game is named for.

The deck and the deal

Use a standard 52-card deck with cards ranking high to low: A, K, Q, J, 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2 in every suit. There are no jokers and aces are always high. Deal and play go anticlockwise. The player to the dealer's right is the 'trump-caller' (eldest hand): they cut the deck before the deal. The dealer first gives each player a batch of 5 cards. The remaining cards are then dealt out in batches of 4 (a 5-4-4 deal), so every player ends with 13 cards.

Choosing the trump (Rang)

After the first 5 cards are dealt, the trump-caller looks only at their own five cards and — without any signals or talk with their partner — names the trump suit, known as the 'rang'. That suit outranks the other three for the whole deal. Only then does the dealer deal out the rest of the cards. Because trump is locked in from just five cards, the call is a real gamble: a strong five-card suit usually makes the best rang.

How to play a trick

The trump-caller leads any card to the first trick. Going around anticlockwise, each player must follow the suit that was led if they can. If you have no card of the led suit, you may play any card, including a trump. The highest card of the led suit wins the trick — unless someone played trump, in which case the highest trump wins. The winner of each trick leads to the next one. You may not lead trump until trump has been 'broken' is NOT a rule here: in standard Court Piece you can lead any card you like once you are on lead.

Winning the deal and scoring a Court

Count tricks at the end of the deal: the team that takes 7 or more of the 13 tricks wins the deal. The standout result is the 'court' (also spelled coat, kot or kout). You score a court immediately by winning the first 7 tricks of a deal while your opponents win none. Alternatively, winning 7 deals in a row (where none was itself a court) also counts as a court. Sweeping all 13 tricks is a rare 'baavan' / 52-court — the ultimate whitewash. Tracking is usually by deals and courts rather than card points.

Variants

Double Sir (Double Sar) is the most popular variant: trick winners do not collect their cards immediately — won tricks are turned face down in the middle and are only gathered when the SAME player wins two tricks in a row (a 'sir'). In Double Sir you must win all 13 tricks to score a court in a single deal. Hidden / Blind Court Piece (Hidden Rung): the trump-caller picks trump secretly by placing one trump card face down; the suit is only revealed when a player can't follow suit and asks, or the caller chooses to show it.

Strategy tips

Call trump on your longest suit, not just your highest cards — five small trumps beat a high pair in a short suit because length wins the late tricks.
Lead trumps early to pull them out of opponents' hands, then cash your side-suit winners safely once the table is stripped of trump.
Count the trumps as they fall; once all outstanding trumps are gone, your long side suit becomes a string of guaranteed tricks.
Watch your partner's discards — when a partner can't follow suit, the card they throw signals which side suit they want led back.
When you're chasing a court, hold the lead and run your strongest suit; when defending against one, break the streak by trumping in as early as you can.

Variants

Double Sir (Double Sar) — tricks stay face down until one player wins two in a row; a court needs all 13 tricks · Hidden / Blind Court Piece (Hidden Rung) — trump is set face down and revealed only when someone can't follow suit · Ace / Ekka Court Piece — the player dealt a chosen ace becomes the trump-caller · Goon Court — when the dealing team sweeps the first 7 tricks, counted as an extra-heavy court · Hokm — the Persian/Iranian cousin with its own 1/2/3-point scoring · Seven-deal court — winning 7 deals in succession scores a court even without a single-deal sweep

Court Piece — frequently asked questions

How do you play Court Piece?

Four players form two teams of two sitting opposite each other. Everyone gets 5 cards first, the player to the dealer's right names the trump suit ('rang'), then the rest are dealt for 13 cards each. Players follow suit each trick, the highest trump (or highest led-suit card) wins, and the first team to take 7 of the 13 tricks wins the deal.

What is a 'court' or 'coat' in Court Piece?

A court (also spelled coat, kot or kout) is a clean sweep where one team wins the first 7 tricks in a row while the other team wins none. It scores a court immediately. Winning 7 deals in succession also counts as a court, and taking all 13 tricks is a rare 'baavan' or 52-court.

How is the trump suit chosen?

The trump-caller — the player to the dealer's right — looks only at their first 5 cards and, with no signals to their partner, announces the trump 'rang'. Trump is decided before the remaining cards are dealt, so picking your longest suit is usually the smart call.

How many cards does each player get?

Each of the 4 players gets 13 cards from a standard 52-card deck. They come in a 5-4-4 deal: a batch of 5 first (used to choose trump), then two batches of 4.

What is the difference between Court Piece and Double Sir?

In standard Court Piece the winner collects each trick right away, and winning the first 7 tricks scores a court. In Double Sir, won tricks stay face down in the middle and are only collected when the same player wins two tricks in a row (a 'sir'); to score a court in one deal you must win all 13 tricks.

Is Court Piece the same as Hokm or Rang?

They are very close relatives. 'Rang' and 'Rung' are South Asian names for Court Piece, while 'Hokm' is the Persian/Iranian version. All are 4-player, 2v2 trick-taking games where trump is named after the first cards and a team races to win the majority of tricks; small dealing and scoring details differ by region.