Callbreak is a four-player trick-taking card game popular in Nepal, India, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka. Everyone plays alone, spades are always trump, and before each round you call the exact number of tricks you promise to win. This guide explains the rules used by our browser game: deck, calling, play, scoring with worked examples, strategy and an FAQ. Callbreak has house-rule differences, including the minimum call and whether you must trump when unable to follow suit. Check the rules of the table or app version you are playing.
Jump to: 60-second version Deck and deal Calling Winning tricks When you cannot follow Scoring Variations Strategy Names FAQ
Callbreak uses a standard 52-card pack. Cards rank ace-high down to 2 in every suit. Spades are permanent trumps: any spade beats any card of any other suit, so the 2 of spades beats the ace of hearts. The dealer gives every player 13 cards, one at a time, so the whole deck is in play. Deal and play rotate around the table, and the deal passes to the next player after every round.
After the deal, starting with the player after the dealer and ending with the dealer, every player calls the number of tricks they promise to win: from 2 to 13 in our browser game. The main buttons offer 2-8, with a separate option for 9-13. Your call is your contract. Make it and you score it, with a small bonus for extra tricks; miss it by even one trick and you lose the full call. Courage pays: eight tricks on a call of 8 scores 8.0, while the same eight tricks on a timid call of 2 scores only 2.6.
The player after the dealer leads the first trick, and the winner of each trick leads the next. One card each, in turn. You must follow the suit that was led if you hold a card of it. The trick goes to the highest spade played; with no spade in the trick, it goes to the highest card of the led suit. When you follow suit you are not forced to beat the card currently winning: any card of the led suit is legal, high or low.
The following forced-trump rule is for our browser game; some Callbreak versions allow any card when you cannot follow suit.
If you hold no card of the led suit, spades come in. When the trick has no spade yet, you must play a spade if you hold one. When a spade is already winning the trick, you must play a higher spade if you hold one. Only when you have no spade that can win the trick may you play any card, which is the moment to throw away a low card you do not need, or to waste a low spade that cannot win.
Use the four-player Callbreak score calculator to track a match, edit rounds and print your score sheet, with a complete five-round worked example.
After each round, compare tricks won with the call:
| Call | Won | Score | Why |
|---|---|---|---|
| 4 | 4 | +4.0 | Made the call exactly |
| 4 | 6 | +4.2 | Call plus 0.1 for each extra trick |
| 4 | 3 | -4.0 | Fell short, even by one |
| 2 | 8 | +2.6 | Big haul, small call: the bonus stays tiny |
| 8 | 8 | +8.0 | Made a call of 8 exactly; not the maximum |
| 13 | 13 | +13.0 | Highest possible round score in our browser game |
Scores carry forward across the five rounds of a match and can go below zero. The highest total after round five wins; when the leaders tie in our browser game, all four players continue into another round until one player has the highest total.
Callbreak rules travel from table to table, so agree before the first deal. Common differences:
Call your true worth. Count your likely winners: aces, strong spades, and kings with protection. A call you make beats a brave call you miss, and over-calling is the most expensive habit in the game.
Count the spades. There are only thirteen. Once the ace and king are gone, your queen of spades is a winner. Track what has fallen before you trust a middle trump.
Win tricks cheaply. If the eight of spades already takes the trick, do not spend the king. The cheapest winning card keeps your honours for the tricks they alone can take.
Use your voids. Running out of a suit is a weapon: it lets you trump in and steal tricks from aces. Some players declare an empty suit before play begins, so check the house rules.
Once your call is safe, get small. Extra tricks are worth only 0.1 each. After you have made your call, shedding dangerous high cards is often the right play.
The same game travels under many names: Callbreak, Call Break, Call Bridge, Callbridge, and in places Lakdi or Lakadi. Many players know it simply as a tash game: tash means cards, so "call break tash" is the same game. It is a close cousin of the American game Spades, with the same permanent spade trump but a different scoring soul: your call is personal, and there are no partnerships to hide behind.
Four. Each player plays alone and holds 13 cards from a standard 52-card deck.
Spades are always trump. Every spade beats every heart, diamond and club, and the highest spade wins any trick it is played in.
Before the round, each player calls the number of tricks they promise to win. Our browser game allows calls from 2 to 13, with buttons for 2-8 and a separate option for 9-13. The dealer calls last.
Make your call and you score it, plus 0.1 for every extra trick: call 4 and win 6 and you score 4.2. Fall short and you lose the call: 3 tricks on a call of 4 scores -4.
In our browser game, you must play a spade if you hold one that can win the trick. With no winning spade available you may play any card. Other versions may allow any card whenever you cannot follow suit.
No. When you hold the led suit you may play any card of it, high or low. Some tables play a stricter must-beat rule; agree before you start.
Our browser game plays five rounds, with the deal rotating. The highest total wins; if the top score is tied, all four players continue into another round until there is a single leader. Other versions may use different match lengths or tie rules.
Call Break, Callbridge, Call Bridge and sometimes Lakdi or Lakadi. It is a close cousin of Spades, popular in Nepal, India and Bangladesh.
Yes. You can play free in your browser against 3 bots on our Callbreak online page, with no download or sign-up.
Play Callbreak in your browser against 3 bots. Callbreak is in our free Android app by Team Handyapps, alongside 3-2-5 (Teen Do Paanch). Both games support offline play; online rooms with friends are for 3-2-5, not Callbreak. Browser and Android rules may differ, so check the version you are playing.