78 Card Game

Overview

78, also written Saat Aath (सात-आठ), is a two-player trick-taking card game played with a 30-card deck. Each deal has 15 tricks.

The two sides have different targets: the player who calls trump must win 8 tricks, and the defender must win 7. The web version plays against the computer.

The deck

8 through Ace in all four suits, plus the 7 of Hearts and the 7 of Spades — 30 cards, 15 per player.

Hearts and Spades therefore hold eight cards each; Clubs and Diamonds hold seven. The two Sevens have no special rank in this version: a 7 is the lowest card of its suit, below the 8. Aces are high and there are no other rank exceptions.

The deal

Each player is dealt five hand cards first, visible only to their owner. Trump is chosen at this point from those five cards.

After trump is fixed, each player receives five closed table cards, then five open cards placed on top of them, forming five two-card stacks. Open table cards are visible to both players; the closed card under each is not.

That gives each player 15 cards per deal: five in hand, five face up, five face down.

Playing a trick

The trump caller leads the first trick. On your turn you may play from your hand or from the top of any table stack — both count as available cards.

You must follow the led suit if you hold it in either place. If you hold none of it in hand or on top of a stack, you may play any available card.

Same suit: the higher rank wins. If one card is trump and the other is not, trump wins. If neither is trump and the suits differ, the card that led wins. The winner leads the next trick.

Revealing table cards

When an open table card is played, the closed card beneath it is turned face up and becomes available. A stack that has had both cards played is empty. The deal ends when both hands and all ten stacks are empty.

Scoring

At the end of a deal each side's score changes by tricks won minus their target — 8 for the caller, 7 for the defender. There is no penalty for exceeding a target: nine tricks as the caller scores +1, ten scores +2.

Because 8 and 7 total the 15 tricks available, the two round scores always sum to zero.

Match length

The right to call trump alternates every round, so the 8-trick target passes between the two players. Scores accumulate, and the first side to reach 5 match points wins.

Controls

When it is your turn to call, select a suit from your opening five cards. During play, tap any legal card in your hand or on top of a table stack; the game enforces following suit across both. Playing an open table card reveals the card beneath it. Trick counts, each side's target and the running match score are displayed during play.