shedding / layout (card dominoes) · India (as Satti / Badaam Saat); played worldwide as Sevens, Fan Tan, Domino and Parliament
Satti (Sevens)
Also known as Sevens · Badaam Saat · Satti Centre · Badam Satti · Fan Tan · Domino (card game) · Parliament · Card Dominoes · Laydown · Parking
Satti (Sevens) — known across India as Badaam Saat or Satti Centre, and internationally as Fan Tan, Domino or Parliament — is a fast, friendly layout game for 3 to 7 players using a single 52-card deck. The whole pack is dealt out, and players take turns laying cards onto a shared tableau: each suit grows as a single run, starting from its seven in the middle and stretching up toward the Ace and down toward the two. The catch is that only a seven can open a new suit, and you must play a card whenever you legally can. The first player to shed every card in hand wins, which makes Satti a clever mix of luck, sequencing and a little blocking-the-table strategy. Play Satti online free here — no money, just the classic Sevens experience.
3–7 players · free · no download · no signup
How to play Satti (Sevens)
- Gather 3 to 7 players and deal out the entire 52-card deck one at a time, clockwise; uneven hands are fine.
- The player holding the seven of hearts (Badaam Saat) opens by laying it in the center; play then moves clockwise.
- On your turn, play one legal card: any seven to start its suit, or a card one rank above or below a same-suit card already on the layout.
- Build each suit outward from its seven — up toward the Ace on one side, down toward the two on the other.
- If you cannot play any card, pass (knock the table); remember you must play if you have any legal move.
- Watch your sevens — delaying a suit's seven can block opponents, but you can never skip a turn when another legal play exists.
- Keep going until a player sheds their final card; that player wins, and remaining players are ranked by how few cards they hold.
Satti (Sevens) rules
Objective
The goal of Satti is simple: be the first player to get rid of every card in your hand by playing them onto the shared layout in the center of the table. Cards are placed into four suit runs (hearts, diamonds, clubs, spades), and each run is built outward from its seven. Because you can only ever play a card that legally extends one of those runs — or a seven to open a new one — much of the game is about whether the cards you hold can actually connect to what is already on the table. There is no melding, drawing or capturing as in rummy; Satti is a pure shedding-and-layout game where the winner is whoever empties their hand first. When stakes are used, remaining players are also ranked by how many cards they were left holding.
The deck and the deal
Satti uses one standard 52-card deck and is typically played by 3 to 7 players (it works from 3 up to 8, and is best with 4 to 6). The cards rank in natural order within each suit: A-2-3-4-5-6-7-8-9-10-J-Q-K. The dealer deals out the entire pack, one card at a time clockwise, starting with the player to the dealer's left. When the deck does not divide evenly, some players simply receive one card more than others — that is normal and does not affect play. There is no draw pile or stock; once dealt, you play only from the cards in your hand. The turn to deal passes to the left for the next round.
Starting the game
In the Indian Badaam Saat tradition, the player holding the seven of hearts (badaam saat means 'seven of hearts') must lead it to open the game, placing it in the middle of the table. From there play continues clockwise. Some rule sets instead let the player to the dealer's left start, or require the seven of diamonds as the opener — these are common, equivalent variations. Once the first seven is down, that suit's run is open and the other three sevens become the only way to start their respective suits. Each seven, when played, founds a new row for its suit in the center of the layout.
How to play — building the layout
On your turn you must, if you can, play exactly one card to the layout, then play passes clockwise. There are only two kinds of legal plays. First, any seven: a seven starts a brand-new row for its suit. Second, any card that is the next rank up or down from a card of the same suit already showing — higher cards build out toward the Ace on one side, lower cards build out toward the two on the other. For example, once the seven of clubs is down, only the six or eight of clubs can be added next; play the eight and the nine of clubs becomes possible, and so on, until the run reaches the Ace at one end and the two at the other. You may add to any suit and either direction on your turn, but only one card per turn.
Passing and the must-play rule
If, and only if, you cannot legally play any card, you must pass — often signaled by a knock on the table. The key rule that gives Satti its strategy is that passing is illegal if you hold a playable card: if you can play, you must. This stops players from sandbagging useful cards. Because a suit cannot grow until its seven appears, a player holding a seven can deliberately delay opening that suit (by playing elsewhere) to keep opponents stuck — a legitimate and important blocking tactic. In stake games, an illegal pass (or any failure to play when able) is penalized, and some versions add a pool contribution each time a player legitimately passes.
Winning and scoring
The first player to play their last card and empty their hand wins the deal. In casual play, that is the whole result. Many games continue dealing out the finishing order — second, third, and so on — to settle the round fully. When Satti is played for chips or points, each non-winner is scored by the cards still in their hand: fewer cards left is better. A common method counts one penalty point per remaining card (some scoring schemes weight face cards higher or add an extra penalty for still holding a seven, since hoarding sevens blocks the table). In a pooled-stake version, players ante before the deal, passers add to the pool, and the winner collects the pool plus a chip for every card left in opponents' hands.
Etiquette and the layout
By the end of a deal the table holds up to four complete suit rows, each running from two to Ace through the central seven — neat and easy to read. Keep your run cards aligned so everyone can see which ranks are still open. There is no bluffing about your hand size, but skilled players watch which cards have appeared to deduce who is blocked. Because the must-play rule is strict, the tempo is brisk and a single game takes only a few minutes, which is why Satti / Badaam Saat is such a popular family and party game in India and a classic worldwide as Sevens and Fan Tan.
Strategy tips
- Hold your sevens as long as you legally can. Until a suit's seven is down, no one can play that suit — so timing your sevens is the single biggest lever for blocking the table.
- Play your extreme cards (Aces, Kings, twos and threes) when the chance appears, because they can only go down once the run reaches them — getting stuck holding end-of-run cards is how players lose.
- Track which suits are flowing and which are stalled; favor extending runs that help unload your own awkward cards rather than ones that mainly free your opponents.
- Be careful about opening a new suit with its seven if doing so hands opponents an easy stream of plays — sometimes a worse-looking move that keeps a suit closed is stronger.
- Count the gap. If you hold a card that needs three intermediate ranks played first, prioritize moves that advance that run before opponents go out.
- When you must play and have a choice, prefer the card that keeps your remaining hand connected to open runs, so you are never forced to pass while opponents shed freely.
Variants
Badaam Saat / Satti Centre (Indian standard — seven of hearts must open) · Seven of diamonds as the compulsory starter · Player to dealer's left starts (any seven may open a suit) · Five or Nine (a five or a nine, not only sevens, can start a suit) · Card Dominoes / Parliament (British names, same layout play) · Domino (French equivalent) · Pooled-stake scoring (ante, passers pay the pool, winner takes pool plus per-card chips) · Penalty-point scoring with an extra penalty for unplayed sevens · Deviatka (Russian version starting from the nine of diamonds)
Satti (Sevens) — frequently asked questions
How do you play Satti (Sevens)?
Deal the whole 52-card deck to 3 to 7 players. The holder of the seven of hearts starts the layout, then each player, in clockwise turn, plays one card: either a seven to open a suit or a card one rank above or below a same-suit card already on the table. You must play if you can; otherwise you pass. The first player to shed all their cards wins.
What are the basic rules of Satti / Badaam Saat?
Cards are arranged into four suit runs that build outward from each seven, up toward the Ace and down toward the two. Only a seven can start a new suit. On your turn you must play a legal card if you have one — passing is only allowed when you genuinely cannot play. Win by being the first to empty your hand.
Who starts the game in Satti?
Most commonly the player holding the seven of hearts must lead it to begin (that is why the game is called Badaam Saat, 'seven of hearts'). Some variations instead start with the seven of diamonds or simply let the player to the dealer's left go first.
Can you pass in Satti if you have a playable card?
No. The core rule of Satti is that you must play a card whenever you legally can. You are only allowed to pass — usually by knocking the table — when none of your cards extend any suit run and you hold no seven that can open a suit.
How many players can play Satti (Sevens)?
Satti is played by 3 to 7 players with a single 52-card deck, and it can stretch to 8. It plays best with about 4 to 6 players, where the layout fills steadily and blocking with sevens becomes interesting.
What is the difference between Satti, Sevens and Fan Tan?
They are essentially the same game under different names. 'Satti' or 'Badaam Saat' is the Indian name, 'Sevens' and 'Fan Tan' are common English names, and it is also called Domino, Parliament, Card Dominoes or Parking. The rules — build suit runs out from the sevens and shed your hand first — are the same, with only minor local differences in the opening card and scoring.