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Thulla Rules

Thulla is a card game for several players using a standard 52-card deck. This page explains the Thulla rules in full: how cards are dealt, how a round works, and how the game is won and lost.

Objective

The goal is to empty your hand. Players who run out of cards are safe, and the last player left holding cards loses and is called the Thulla.

The deck and the deal

The game uses a standard 52-card deck. Aces are high. All the cards are dealt among the players, so some players may hold one more card than others depending on the number of players.

Starting the game

In most versions of the game, the player holding the Ace of Spades plays first and must start the opening round with it.

Playing a round

The first card played in a round decides the suit for that round. Going around the table, each player plays one card:

• If you have the suit: you must play a card of that suit.
• If you do not have the suit: you can play any card from your hand. This is often called cutting.

How a round ends

Everyone followed suit

If every player played a card of the led suit, the cards from that round are discarded. The player who played the highest card of the suit leads the next round.

Someone could not follow suit

If any player played a different suit, the player with the highest card of the led suit must pick up all the cards played in that round. That player then leads the next round.

Winning and losing

A player is out of the game, and safe, as soon as their hand is empty. Play continues until only one player still holds cards. That player is the Thulla and loses the game.

Other names for Thulla

This family of games is played across South Asia and goes by several names, including Thulla, Bhabhi and Get Away. The core idea is the same everywhere, but small rules differ from region to region, such as who starts or what happens in the first round. The rules on this page describe how Thulla works on Thulla Online.

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