Play Kout online with friends, free

How to play Kout

1. Bo 4: four players, 2 vs 2, partners opposite. Every 2, 3, 4 and 5 and the two red sixes are taken out, leaving 34 cards, and two jokers are added: 36 cards.
2. Bo 6: six players, 3 vs 3, with teammates in every other seat. All 52 cards plus the two jokers: 54 cards.
3. Everyone gets 9 cards, so a hand has 9 tricks. The deal passes to the next player each hand.
4. Bidding starts after the dealer, and each player speaks once: bid more tricks than the high bid, from 5 (Bab) to 9 (Bawn), or say Taf to pass. A Bawn ends the bidding at once.
5. If everyone passes, the dealer must bid. A forced 5 is a Malzoom, which costs less if it fails; the dealer may also bid 6 to 9.
6. The highest bidder names trump, any of the four suits, and leads the first trick. The winner of each trick leads the next.
7. Follow suit when you can. The jokers count as trumps, so when trump is led you must play a trump or a joker if you hold one. If you can't follow, play anything; trumping is never forced.
8. A joker may be played on any trick, even when you could follow suit. Leading with one has its own rules, below.
9. Play stops as soon as the result is certain: when the bidders reach their bid, or when the defenders take enough tricks to break it.

Kout at a glance: jokers, bids and points

• Trump order, top down: the red joker (the Jiker), the trump ace, the black joker (the Miker), then the trump king, queen, jack, 10 and down. Other suits rank ace high.
• You may lead a joker only once the trump ace, king, queen and jack have all been played, or when your team holds the bid at 9 (either joker) or 8 (the Jiker only). A joker led this way calls for trump.
• If only jokers are left in your hand and you must lead one without that right, it is dead: it has no rank and can't win, and the next normal card sets the suit.
• Bid made: the bidders score their bid. A Bawn made scores 36.
• Bid broken: the defenders score twice the bid, 18 for a broken Bawn. A broken Malzoom gives them only 5.
• Only one team scores in a hand. The defenders score only when they break the bid.
• Full game: first team to 101. A team that reaches 51 while the other is still at 0 wins at once: that is a Kout. Quick game: first to 51.
• A Bawn made in the first hand of the match wins it at once, in both lengths.

Kout in Rayoosh

• Bo 4 (2 vs 2) or Bo 6 (3 vs 3), with both jokers: the red Jiker and the black Miker.
• Quick: first to 51, about 14 minutes. Full: first to 101 with the Kout rule, about 28 minutes.
• The bid pad shows Bab, 6, 7, 8, Bawn and Taf. During play you see how many tricks each side still needs to make or break the bid, and a score sheet keeps every hand.
• Pearls by finishing place: 50 for each winner of a Quick game and 80 for a Full game, with 10 or 15 for the other team. A first-hand Bawn or a Kout adds bonus Pearls. Never bought, never cashed out.
• In Arabic, English and Hindi, on phones, tablets, computers and TVs with a remote.

Tips to win at Kout

• Count your trumps and jokers before you bid: each joker is close to a sure trick, and the Jiker is the top card in the game.
• A broken bid gives the other team double, so bid what your team can make. A safe 5 or 6 beats a broken 7 that hands them 14.
• As the bidder with three or more trumps, lead trump early to pull the defenders' trumps.
• Cash your side aces early, above all in Bo 6: with six hands, suits run out fast and get trumped.
• Keep the Miker until the Jiker and the trump ace are gone, unless the trick decides the hand.
• As defenders, take your aces at once and trump whenever it wins the trick: you only need 10 minus the bid.
• When your partner's card is sure to win, play your cheapest card.

Play Kout with friends

Create a private table, share the link on WhatsApp, show the QR code or read out the room code, and your friends are seated in seconds with no download.

• Computer players fill any empty seat, so you never wait for a full table of four or six.
• Text chat with quick phrases, voice chat, emotes and gifts at the table.
• A short lesson and practice games against the computer, any time.
• Once Rayoosh is installed, you can play the computer even without internet.