Taash Khelकॉल ब्रेक शब्दावली
Call Break glossary
Ten terms, and one of them is in the name of the game.
Break is the one to learn first. It means playing a spade on a trick led in another suit — because spades are permanent trump, the spade takes the trick from whoever was winning it.
That is the game's name: you call your tricks, then you break to win them.
The terms
| Term | Hindi | What it means |
|---|---|---|
| Call | कॉल | The number of tricks you commit to winning this round, announced before any card is played. Also called the bid. |
| Trick | हाथ | One round of four cards, one from each player. Thirteen tricks make a full round. |
| Trump | तुरुप | Spades, permanently. Unlike most trick-taking games there is no trump selection - it never changes. |
| Break | ब्रेक | Playing a spade on a trick led in another suit, which takes the trick from whoever was winning it. |
| Follow suit | रंग निभाना | Playing a card of the suit that was led. Compulsory if you hold one. |
| Void | खाली | Holding no cards in a suit. Being void in a suit forces you to play a spade when it is led. |
| Lead | पहल | Playing the first card of a trick. The winner of each trick leads the next. |
| Overtrick | अतिरिक्त हाथ | A trick won beyond your call. Each is worth 0.1 points - deliberately small. |
| Undertrick | कम हाथ | Falling short of your call. Costs the full value of the call as negative points. |
| Lakadi | लकड़ी | A regional name for Call Break, used in parts of north India and Nepal. Also spelled Lakidi. |
Void is the term that costs people games
Being void in a suit sounds like an advantage — you get to trump. In Call Break it is frequently a liability, because trumping is compulsory, not optional.
If hearts are led and you hold no hearts, you must play a spade if you have one. You do not get to save it for a trick you actually wanted. A player who is void in two suits will have their spades pulled out one by one, often on tricks worth nothing, and will arrive at the end of the round without the trumps they were counting on when they made their call.
Overtrick and undertrick are not symmetrical
An overtrick earns you 0.1. An undertrick costs you the entire call. Those two words describe outcomes separated by a factor of thirty or more, which is the whole reason experienced players undercall.
See Call Break scoring for a worked example showing a player winning the most tricks and still finishing second.
Common questions
What does break mean in Call Break?
Playing a spade on a trick that was led in a different suit. Because spades are permanent trump, the spade takes the trick from whoever was winning it - hence the name of the game.
What is a void in Call Break?
Holding no cards at all in a particular suit. It matters because the rules force you to play a spade when a suit you are void in is led, whether or not you wanted to spend one.
What is another name for Call Break?
Lakadi or Lakidi in parts of north India and Nepal, and sometimes Racing. The rules are identical under every name.
How much is an overtrick worth in Call Break?
0.1 points. Ten overtricks are worth one point, which is less than a single accurate call - the bonus is intentionally small so that calling accurately matters more than winning tricks.
What is a trick in Call Break?
One round of four cards, one from each player. The Call Break glossary defines the rest of the terms. Thirteen tricks make up a full round, and the highest spade, or the highest card of the led suit if no spade was played, takes it.
What does follow suit mean in Call Break?
Playing a card of the suit that was led — compulsory under the Call Break rules if you hold one. It is compulsory if you hold one, and only when you are void in that suit do you get to play something else - and even then a spade is forced if you have one.
What is the Lakadi card game?
Lakadi, also spelled Lakidi, is a regional name for Call Break used in parts of north India and Nepal. It is the same game with the same rules.
What is the Hindi name for Call Break?
Lakadi, written लकड़ी, in parts of north India and Nepal. It is also spelled Lakidi, and the game is widely called Call Bridge across India and Bangladesh. All of these are the same game with the same rules.
Void, break and overtrick all show up within a round or two. Free download of Adda Callbreak, a Callbreak game for Android.
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