Taash Khelकॉल ब्रेक
Call Break
Say how many tricks you will win. Then win exactly that many — because missing by one costs you all of them.
In short. Four players get thirteen cards each. Everyone calls a number of tricks they expect to win. Play thirteen tricks with spades as permanent trump.
Make your call and you score it. Fall short and you lose the full call as negative points, not just the difference.
The call
After the deal, each player looks at their thirteen cards and announces a number from one upward. That is the minimum number of tricks they are committing to win in this round.
The asymmetry in scoring shapes everything. Winning more tricks than you called earns you almost nothing extra. Winning fewer wipes out the entire call. So the skill is not in winning tricks — it is in counting them correctly before you have played one.
Callbreak and its other names
Call Break — written Callbreak as one word on most app listings — is a four-player trick-taking game. The Call Break card game is also known as Call Bridge across much of India and Bangladesh, and Lakadi or Lakidi in parts of north India and Nepal. The rules are identical under every name.
Playing the tricks
The player to the dealer's left leads. Everyone else plays one card, in turn, under two hard constraints:
- You must follow the led suit if you hold a card in it.
- If you cannot follow, you must play a spade if you hold one. Discarding a different suit is only allowed when you have neither the led suit nor any spade.
That second rule is what separates Call Break from most trick-taking games. You do not get to choose when to trump — the moment you run out of a suit, your spades start being pulled out of your hand whether you wanted to spend them or not.
The highest spade played wins the trick. If nobody played a spade, the highest card of the led suit wins. The trick winner leads the next one.
How to play Call Break, step by step
- Deal all 52 cards, thirteen to each of four players.
- Call your tricks. Each player announces the number they expect to win.
- Play thirteen tricks. Follow the led suit if you can; if you cannot, play a spade if you hold one.
- Take the trick with the highest spade, or the highest card of the led suit if no spade was played.
- Score the round and repeat. Five rounds decide the game.
Step two is where the game is won or lost. The play itself rarely surprises anyone; the call frequently does.
Scoring
| Outcome | Score | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Exactly your call | The call, as points | Called 3, won 3 → +3 |
| More than your call | The call, plus 0.1 per extra trick | Called 3, won 5 → +3.2 |
| Fewer than your call | Minus the full call | Called 3, won 2 → −3 |
A standard game runs five rounds. Scores carry across, and the highest total after the fifth round wins. Because a missed call is a full negative, a single greedy round can undo three careful ones.
Where the game is played
Call Break is one of the most widely played card games in Nepal and across north-eastern and eastern India, where it is also called Lakadi, Lakidi or Racing. It descends from Spades, the American partnership game, but is played individually rather than in pairs — which is why the call is personal and there is nobody to cover for you.
Common questions
How do you play Call Break?
Four players each receive thirteen cards. The Call Break rules cover the deal, the call and trick play. Each player calls how many tricks they expect to win, then play begins. Spades are always trump. A player who wins at least their called number scores it; a player who falls short loses it.
What happens if you do not make your call in Call Break?
You lose the full value of your call as negative points — Call Break scoring shows what that does across five rounds. Calling three and winning two scores minus three, not minus one. This is why over-calling is punished far harder than under-calling.
Do extra tricks count in Call Break?
Yes, but only slightly — see Call Break strategy. Tricks beyond your call are worth one tenth of a point each, so calling three and winning five scores 3.2. The bonus is deliberately small so that an accurate call matters more than raw trick count.
Are spades always trump in Call Break?
Yes. Unlike most trick-taking games, Call Break has no trump selection — spades are permanently trump. You must follow the led suit if you can, and if you cannot, you must trump with a spade if you hold one.
How do you play Call Break step by step?
All 52 cards are dealt out, thirteen to each of four players. Each player announces the number of tricks they expect to win. Play proceeds trick by trick with spades as permanent trump. Make your call and you score it; fall short and you lose it. Five rounds decide the game.
How many cards does each player get in Call Break?
Thirteen. The full 52-card deck is dealt out between four players with nothing left over.
What is trump in Call Break?
Spades, always — see the Call Break glossary. Unlike most trick-taking games there is no trump selection and it never changes - any spade beats any card of any other suit.
Is Call Break the same as Call Bridge?
Yes. Call Bridge is the name used across much of India and Bangladesh, and Lakadi or Lakidi is used in parts of north India and Nepal. The rules are the same under every name.
Can you play Call Break with 3 players?
The standard game needs exactly four, since the deck divides evenly between them. Three-player variants exist regionally but change the deal and the scoring.
A free Callbreak game for Android with four seats and spades as trump. Free download on Google Play, and free to play.
Get it on Google Play