layout / shedding · India (international layout-game family — Sevens / Fan Tan)

Satte Pe Satta

Also known as Sevens · Card Dominoes · Parking · Fan Tan · 7 on 7 · Satti Centre · Parliament

Satte Pe Satta — literally "seven on seven" — is India's beloved name for the worldwide layout game known in English as Sevens, Fan Tan, Card Dominoes or Parking. It is a fast, friendly shedding game that needs nothing more than a single standard 52-card deck and 3 to 8 players, which is why it appears at Diwali parties, family gatherings and lazy holiday afternoons across the subcontinent. The whole deck is dealt out, the sevens become the foundation of four growing rows on the table, and everyone races to play their cards in sequence up toward the Ace and down toward the 2 of each suit. The catch that makes it tense: on your turn you must play a card if you possibly can — you can only pass when you are completely stuck. The first player to get rid of every card wins, and the rest are ranked by how few cards they are left holding. Easy to learn in one round, genuinely tactical once you start hoarding the cards your neighbours need — Satte Pe Satta is the perfect free, social card game to play online with friends.

3–8 players · free · no download · no signup

How to play Satte Pe Satta

Gather 3 to 8 players, take one standard 52-card deck, and deal the entire pack out clockwise one card at a time so every hand is roughly equal.
Sort your hand by suit and in number order (2 up to Ace) so you can instantly see which cards you can play.
Start the round by laying the seven of hearts in the middle (or the seven of diamonds / any seven if that is your group's convention) to open the first suit row.
On your turn, play any seven to open a new suit row, or add a card one rank higher or lower than a card already showing in the same suit.
Remember you MUST play a legal card if you have one — you may only knock and pass when nothing in your hand fits the layout.
Keep building each suit upward toward the Ace and downward toward the 2 as the four rows grow at their own pace.
Be the first to play your very last card to win the round; the others are then ranked or scored by the cards left in their hands.

Satte Pe Satta rules

Objective

The goal of Satte Pe Satta is simple: be the first player to get rid of all the cards in your hand by playing them onto a shared layout in the middle of the table. You never draw new cards — you only shed the ones you were dealt. The very first player to reach an empty hand wins the round outright. If you are playing for points across several rounds, the remaining players are then ranked by how many cards (or how many penalty points) they were still holding when the round ended, so finishing second-last is far better than being caught with a full hand.

Players, deck and the deal

Use one standard 52-card deck with no jokers. The game works with 3 to 8 players and is widely considered best with 4 to 6. Cards in each suit rank in natural sequence from low to high: 2-3-4-5-6-7-8-9-10-J-Q-K-A. The dealer shuffles and deals the entire deck out one card at a time, clockwise, starting with the player to the dealer's left, until no cards remain. If the number of players does not divide 52 evenly (for example with 3, 5, 6, 7 or 8 players) some players will simply receive one extra card — this is normal and does not affect the rules. Most players sort their hand by suit and in number order so they can spot what they can play at a glance.

The layout: sevens start every row

All play happens on a face-up layout that grows into four rows, one per suit. Each row is started by a seven, which is laid in the middle of its row. From that seven the row builds in two directions: upward (8, 9, 10, J, Q, K, A) and downward (6, 5, 4, 3, 2). A card may only be played if it is the very next card in sequence, in the same suit, next to a card already on the table — so a club 8 can only go down once the club 7 is laid, and the club 9 only after the club 8. The four suit rows fill up independently and at different speeds. In the common Indian version the round opens with the seven of hearts being laid first; in the international Fan Tan version play begins with the holder of the seven of diamonds, and some groups simply let the first seven of any suit get the layout going.

Taking your turn — and the must-play rule

Play proceeds clockwise. On your turn you look at the layout and at your hand and ask: can I play anything? You may (a) lay down any seven to open or continue its suit row, or (b) add a card that is exactly one rank above or below a card already showing in the same suit. The defining rule of Satte Pe Satta is that you MUST play if you are able to — if you hold even one card that legally fits the layout, you are required to play it. You may only pass (often shown by a knock on the table) when you genuinely have no legal move at all. Deliberately passing while holding a playable card is illegal; if caught, house rules usually make you take it back and play, sometimes with a penalty.

Sevens take priority (common Indian rule)

A widely used Indian convention makes the sevens special: if a seven of any suit is among the cards you can legally play on your turn, you must play the seven first rather than building an existing row. This opens new suit rows sooner and keeps the game flowing, because a suit cannot grow at all until its seven is on the table. Be aware this priority rule is a house convention — many casual and international groups simply treat a seven as one option among your legal plays and let you choose freely. Agree on whether sevens are forced before you start, because it changes the tempo and strategy significantly.

Passing and getting stuck

Because you only ever play cards you hold and never draw, it is perfectly normal to reach a turn where nothing in your hand connects to the layout — for instance, you hold high spades but the spade seven and the cards between have not been played yet. When this happens you pass and the turn moves to the next player. Passing is not a penalty in the basic game, but in the scoring (chip-pool) variant each pass costs you a chip into the pot. Skilful players sometimes find themselves blocked because an opponent is sitting on a key card; this is part of the game, not a fault.

Winning and scoring

The instant a player lays their last card, they win the round and play stops. To keep score over multiple rounds, the remaining players count what is still in their hands: the simplest method ranks them by the number of cards left (fewest is best). A common points method instead totals the pip value of the unplayed cards as penalty points — number cards at face value, the Jack, Queen and King at 10 each, and the Ace at 1 (some groups count the Ace as 11 or as 15). The chip-pool variant from the classic Fan Tan rules is also popular: everyone antes a chip before the deal, every pass adds a chip, and the winner sweeps the pool plus one chip from each opponent for every card they still hold. Lowest cumulative penalty total after the agreed number of rounds is the overall winner.

Strategy tips

Hold back the sevens (when free choice is allowed) and the cards immediately around them — releasing a seven or a connector unlocks rows your opponents are waiting on, so play them when it helps you more than them.
Track which suits are blocked: if a suit's seven is still unplayed and you hold the high end (K, A) of that suit, those cards are dead weight until someone frees the row — prioritise emptying suits that are already flowing.
Count danger cards. The card just above or below a 'gap' in a row is what others need; sitting on it can stall opponents, but holding too long risks being caught with a heavy hand if someone goes out suddenly.
Play your highest and most isolated cards (lone Aces, Kings) as early as you legally can, because those are the points that hurt most if you are still holding them at the end.
Watch the player who is nearly out and, when you have a choice of legal plays, prefer the one that does NOT open a row they obviously need to finish.
When sevens are forced first, plan around it: laying your seven early thins your hand but also opens a fresh row that your rivals can exploit, so know when emptying a hand beats keeping the board tight.

Variants

Seven of hearts opens the round (common Indian version) · Seven of diamonds opens the round, played by its holder (classic Fan Tan) · Any first seven of any suit may open the layout (casual rule) · Sevens must be played first when playable (Indian priority rule) vs. free choice · Chip-pool scoring: ante a chip, pay a chip per pass, winner sweeps the pot plus one chip per opponent's remaining card · Penalty-points scoring: count unplayed cards (faces 10, Ace 1) and lowest total wins over several rounds · Ace plays low (below the 2) instead of high in some house rules · Round-of-the-mill 'Parking' two-direction builds vs. one-directional Stops-style variants

Satte Pe Satta — frequently asked questions

How do you play Satte Pe Satta?

Deal a full 52-card deck out among 3 to 8 players. The seven of hearts (or seven of diamonds in some versions) is laid in the middle to start. On each turn, players either lay another seven to open a new suit row or add a card one rank above or below a card already on the table in the same suit. You must play if you can, and may only pass when you have no legal move. The first player to play all their cards wins.

What are the basic rules of Satte Pe Satta?

The core rules: sevens are the foundation of four suit rows; each row builds up toward the Ace and down toward the 2; you may only play a card next in sequence to one already showing in that suit; you are forced to play if you hold any legal card and can only pass when stuck; and the first player to shed their whole hand wins while everyone else is ranked or scored by the cards they have left.

Why is it called Satte Pe Satta?

Satte Pe Satta means 'seven on seven' in Hindi, named because the game is built entirely around the four sevens, which start every suit's row on the table. In English the same game is known as Sevens, Fan Tan, Card Dominoes, Parking or Parliament — all describing the way cards are laid out in sequence around the sevens.

How is Satte Pe Satta scored?

The simplest way is that the first player to empty their hand wins and the rest are ranked by how many cards they still hold. For a points game, players total the value of their unplayed cards as penalty points (number cards at face value, J/Q/K as 10, and the Ace as 1), and the lowest total over several rounds wins. A popular chip-pool version pays the winner one chip per remaining card from each opponent.

Do you have to play a card if you can in Satte Pe Satta?

Yes. The must-play rule is central to the game: if you hold any card that legally fits the layout, you are required to play it on your turn. You are only allowed to pass (usually by knocking the table) when nothing in your hand connects. In many Indian groups there is an added rule that if you can play a seven, you must play the seven before any other card.

How many players can play Satte Pe Satta?

From 3 to 8 players can play with a single 52-card deck, and the game is generally considered best with 4 to 6 players. With more players each hand is smaller and rounds are quicker; with fewer players hands are larger and the layout fills more slowly, making blocking tactics more important.