Pakistani game terms
From the gali to the card table: 70 terms explained. Meanings refer to the versions in the linked guides; house rules can differ.
chai.games Khel Kitab team · Last updated:
- Chhakka
A six: a cricket boundary cleared without the ball first touching the ground. An agreed no-hit-zone rule can still make that shot out in a street match.
Read the guide →- Chauka
A four: a cricket shot that reaches the boundary after touching the ground. Mark the boundary before the toss.
Read the guide →- Baari
A turn to play, bat, bowl or act. Agree whose baari follows before beginning a group game.
Read the guide →- Over
In standard cricket scoring, six legal deliveries. Wides and no-balls normally need replacement deliveries.
Read the guide →- Wicket
The target the bowler attacks, or a batter’s dismissal. The meaning depends on the sentence.
Read the guide →- Crease
The marked line used for batting position, bowling and run-out decisions. A casual match can use a safe chalk mark.
Read the guide →- One tip one hand
An optional gully-cricket rule: a one-handed catch after exactly one bounce is out. Agree whether a wall touch counts as the bounce.
Read the guide →- Khala rule
A playful name for a window or house being a no-hit zone. In the Gully Cricket arcade game, a six during Khala alert is out.
Read the guide →- Last-man batting
A house rule that lets the last remaining batter continue. Strike changes and run-outs need a clear agreement.
Read the guide →- Tape ball
A tennis ball partly or fully wrapped with tape for cricket. Tape changes its bounce and speed, so match the ball to the space and players.
Read the guide →- Run out
A dismissal when the wicket is broken while a batter is short of the required ground under the chosen rules.
Read the guide →- Toss
A random choice, often a coin flip, used to decide first choice of batting, fielding or another opening role.
Read the guide →- Rung
The trump suit in Rung or Court Piece; also the name commonly used for the game. Trump can beat a led-suit card when a player legally cannot follow suit.
Read the guide →- Court Piece
A four-player partnership trick-taking card game also known as Rung. Each player receives 13 cards from a standard pack.
Read the guide →- Kot
A sweep or shutout achievement in some Rung versions. The required sequence and scoring vary, so agree the kot definition before dealing.
Read the guide →- Patti
A playing card; sometimes used more broadly for a card game or a hand of cards.
Read the guide →- Haath
A hand: the cards a player holds, or a deal or trick in casual speech. Say which meaning you intend when recording scores.
Read the guide →- Dukki
A two in a standard playing-card pack. Its value depends on the card game being played.
Read the guide →- Tikki
A three in a standard playing-card pack. Card rank and score are not always the same thing.
Read the guide →- Ikka
An ace. Its rank or point value depends on the game, so check the selected rules.
Read the guide →- Badshah
A king in a pack of cards, or the king role in Badshah Wazir Chor Sipahi.
Read the guide →- Begum
A queen in a standard pack of playing cards.
Read the guide →- Ghulam
A jack in a standard pack of playing cards.
Read the guide →- Trump
The suit given special winning power in a trick-taking game. Rung is the local term used in Court Piece.
Read the guide →- Follow suit
Play a card of the suit that led the trick when the rules require it and you hold one.
Read the guide →- Trick
One round of cards, usually one card from each active player, won according to that game’s rules.
Read the guide →- Dealer
The person who shuffles or distributes the cards for the hand. Dealing order and dealer rotation depend on the game.
Read the guide →- Bhabhi
A shedding-style card game in which the aim is to finish your cards and avoid being left last. It is also known as Get Away.
Read the guide →- Seep
A fishing card game involving captures and built houses. The word can also refer to clearing the table under the selected scoring rules.
Read the guide →- House
In Seep, a declared combination of table cards with a value that a matching card can capture. It creates obligations under the chosen version.
Read the guide →- Teen Do Paanch
A three-player trick game with rotating targets of 3, 2 and 5 tricks. The selected 30-card pack differs from a full 52-card pack.
Read the guide →- Satti
A card-layout game built outward from sevens in each suit. Some groups call related versions Sevens or Fan Tan.
Read the guide →- Bluff
A card game where players declare cards face down and opponents may challenge the claim. Agree challenge and pickup rules before play.
Read the guide →- Chit
A folded slip of paper used to assign a secret role. Identical folds help keep roles hidden.
Read the guide →- Wazir
The minister role in Badshah Wazir Chor Sipahi. Different families assign the guessing task differently.
Read the guide →- Chor
The thief role that another player tries to identify in the secret-chit game.
Read the guide →- Sipahi
The soldier role in Badshah Wazir Chor Sipahi. Check who guesses and who receives which score in your version.
Read the guide →- Raja Mantri Chor Sipahi
An alternative name for the four-role chit game; Raja corresponds to Badshah and Mantri to Wazir.
Read the guide →- Goti
A playing piece or token. In carrom it may mean a coin; in Ludo it means a token moved by the die.
Read the guide →- Home lane
The coloured final path a Ludo token enters before finishing. It is separate from the shared track.
Read the guide →- Safe square
A marked or agreed Ludo square where capture is restricted. The exact locations depend on the board and version.
Read the guide →- Blockade
A Ludo house-rule formation involving multiple tokens on one square. Whether it stops other tokens varies by ruleset.
Read the guide →- Exact finish
A rule requiring the die to show precisely the remaining number of spaces to finish a Ludo token.
Read the guide →- Striker
The larger disc flicked to hit carrom coins. It is placed on the permitted baseline before the stroke.
Read the guide →- Queen
The red carrom coin. Pocketing it requires a valid cover before it can remain claimed.
Read the guide →- Cover
The required own-colour pocket that secures the carrom queen under the chosen rules.
Read the guide →- Due
A carrom penalty that may require a previously pocketed coin to be returned to the board. Specific consequences depend on the stroke and rules.
Read the guide →- Rebound
A shot that changes direction off a carrom cushion. Aiming depends on angle and board conditions.
Read the guide →- Break
The opening carrom stroke into the central arrangement. It also has separate meanings in other games.
Read the guide →- Pithu
The stack of flat pieces used in Pithu garam, and a short name for the game. A team knocks it down and tries to rebuild it.
Read the guide →- Lagori
Another name used for games in the seven-stones or Pithu family. Local tagging and rebuilding rules may differ.
Read the guide →- Stapu
A hopping game played on a marked course with a small marker. It belongs to the hopscotch family.
Read the guide →- Kanchay
Marbles, and the games played with them. Agree the target, turn order and whether marbles are returned after play.
Read the guide →- Gulli
The short piece used in Gulli danda. It is struck with the longer danda in a suitable clear area.
Read the guide →- Danda
The longer stick used in Gulli danda. Safe spacing and supervision matter because both pieces can travel.
Read the guide →- Baraf
Frozen: the tagged state in Baraf pani. A frozen player waits for a legal rescue.
Read the guide →- Pani
The rescue or unfreezing part of Baraf pani. Agree the permitted rescue action before the round.
Read the guide →- Pakran pakrai
A chasing or tag game. Boundaries and what counts as a legal tag should be clear before the first chase.
Read the guide →- Oonch neech
A tag variation involving agreed high and low places. Only safe, stable surfaces should count as refuges.
Read the guide →- Chupan chupai
Hide-and-seek. Agree permitted hiding places, a counting point and a way to end the round.
Read the guide →- Raid
A kabaddi attacking turn into the opposing half. Casual non-contact versions should be distinguished from formal competition rules.
Read the guide →- Zero Kata
A local name for noughts and crosses or tic-tac-toe. Players try to complete a line of three on a 3×3 grid.
Read the guide →- Dabba
A box in Dots and Boxes. The player completing a box claims it and normally gets another turn.
Read the guide →- Patang
A kite. Patang Baaz uses a kite character in a fictional browser obstacle game.
Read the guide →- Dor
The line controlling a kite. Outdoor use is subject to local restrictions and safe-space requirements.
Read the guide →- Pech
A contest or entanglement between kite lines in patang bazi.
Read the guide →- Manjha
A term for treated kite line used in kite contests. Some lines can injure people; this guide does not recommend their use.
Read the guide →- Phirki
A reel used for winding kite line.
Read the guide →- Lafz
An Urdu word meaning word, and the name of chai.games’ daily Urdu and Roman Urdu word puzzle.
Read the guide →- Gola
A round ball or sphere in everyday Urdu; its use in game talk depends on context. Do not confuse it with a scored goal.
Read the guide →